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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-11 Committee of the Whole MinutesTukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Meeting City Hall Council Chambers February 11, 2013 — 7:00 P.M. MINUTES COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE CALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council President Hougardy called the Tukwila City Council meeting to order at 7:02 p.m. and led the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. OFFICIALS Present were Kathy Hougardy, Council President, Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Dennis Robertson, Allan Ekberg, Verna Seal, De'Sean Quinn, Kate Kruller. CITY OFFICIALS Jim Haggerton, Mayor; David Cline, City Administrator; Mike Villa, Police Chief; Dennis McOmber, Police Commander; Chris Flores, Acting Fire Chief; Stephanie Brown, Human Resources Director; Kim Gilman, Human Resources Analyst; Jack Pace, Community Development Director; Nora Gierloff, Community Development Deputy Director; Bob Benedicto, Building Official; Kathy Stetson, Code Enforcement; Peggy McCarthy, Finance Director; Derek Speck, Economic Development Administrator; Kimberly Matej, Government Relations; Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS a. Proposed gypsy moth eradication program. Jack Pace, Community Development Director, introduced Brad White, Ph.D., Program Manager, Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA), Plant Protection Division. Dr. White distributed an aerial map identifying the location of the gypsy moth population, an open house announcement, and information on the proposed gypsy moth eradication project. During the summer of 2012, 25 gypsy moths were trapped in Tukwila, and 11 gypsy moth egg masses were also located in the City. He said the Tukwila gypsy moth eradication program is slated to begin this spring. The WSDA is proposing a two -step treatment response to the detected gypsy moth population. The first treatment, set to begin late April or early May, would be a ground treatment that will consist of a biological insecticide on trees and shrubs in the 10 -acre area around the egg mass locations. The second treatment would be an aerial application of an agent that disrupts the mating behavior in any remaining adult gypsy moths. In all, there would be 3 -5 treatments, weather depending. WSDA mailed information about the gypsy moth eradication program to surrounding community members, including an invitation to the February 19, 2013 open house, to be held at Tukwila Elementary School (5939 South 149th Street) from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. They are working with the Starfire Sports complex and other area businesses to coordinate the implementation of the eradication program. Councilmember Duffle asked if the proposed treatment would affect the local wildlife. Dr. White stated the treatment will affect moths, butterflies, and caterpillars. Councilmember Robertson asked if the treatment application to be used will have an effect on river habitat, such as fish. Dr. White explained there has been extensive documentation for the Federal Environmental Impact Statement that covers the proposed product. The WSDA is working with the Department of Ecology to acquire the necessary permit for indirect application of the product to the area surrounding the river. After product information review, it appears the product is okay to use in this area. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes February 11, 2013 Page 2 of 6 Council President Hougardy asked what would happen if the gypsy moths are left alone. Dr. White stated the moth population could become permanently established in Washington, affecting the State's agriculture, and that could cause export trade barriers. Mayor Haggerton reminded the Council that due to the holiday on Monday, February 18, 2013, the Regular Council meeting will be on Tuesday, February 19, 2013. He explained there is an Executive Session scheduled prior to the Regular meeting, and the MPD meeting immediately following. b. Alive & Free Program. Dennis McOmber, Police Commander, explained the Tukwila Police Department along, with other Valley police agencies including Renton, Kent, and Auburn, came together in 2012 to explore a gang violence prevention program. Two other organizations, the YMCA of Greater Seattle (through the Alive & Free program) and A Better Seattle (a community relations program led by the Seattle Seahawks) have partnered with the City in the Valley Cities Youth Violence Prevention Initiative. The purpose of the program is to hire and train street outreach workers to address youth gang activity in South King County. The program is currently active and is reaching out to youth who are at highest risk of committing or being victimized by violence. Funding for this program came from the involved police agencies along with a matching amount from the Seattle Seahawks. Commander McOmber introduced Eleuthera Lisch, Alive & Free Outreach Network Director, and Sean Goode, Alive & Free South King County Outreach Supervisor. Ms. Lisch and Mr. Goode utilized a PowerPoint presentation to update the Council on the Alive & Free program. Highlights of the presentation included: • The Alive & Free MovementTM: o The Alive & Free program began 13 years ago in Seattle in response to the increased gang violence. Recognizing and treating violence as a public health issue is central to the Alive & Free Movement. The program is an international effort to equip youth and young adults to replace high -risk behavior with positive life skills, and to promote community involvement to cure the disease of violence. They employ, train and professionally develop street outreach workers who share a background with the young people. The outreach workers teach and help the youth to navigate out of street and gang violence. • Changing Lives: o Since 1999, Alive & Free staff has served 8,000 Seattle -area youth and have trained 600 community partners. o In the past year, 83% of youth engaged through Alive & Free street outreach returned to school and 92% of youth involved in the justice system did not re- offend. o Alive & Free reduces risk factors and significantly increases protective factors for ALL participants, demonstrated in the City of Seattle's Reinvesting in Youth Promising Program Evaluation. The evaluation showed the program works with youth in this lifestyle. • July 2011 Kent Car Show: o The incident at the Kent car show stimulated the idea that the program should be expanded into South King County cities. Providing outreach and critical incident response to the South King County cities would act as a preventative measure for things like this occurring in the future. o After the incident in 2011, Seattle Seahawks Head Coach Pete Carroll became active in the program. He made sure his contract with the Seahawks included the ability for him to continue this work, which he is passionate about. He is a champion for this work universally, and trying to start a dialogue about this issue on a national level. o In response to the incident at the Kent Car Show, Coach Carroll convened a group of Police Chiefs and other officials to talk about creating a regional approach to addressing gang violence in the area. The partnership with the Valley Cities has allowed Alive & Free to successfully create protocols that are universal to each of the participating cities, Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes February 11, 2013 Page 3 of 6 affirms Alive & Free will deploy critical incident response outreach workers to incidents of violence. This will allow outreach workers to provide support to victims, families and assistance to those involved and hopefully deter retaliation. o Alive & Free are working with National youth prevention efforts and the work done on this issue by the Seattle Seahawks, YMCA's Alive & Free Program, the Valley Cities mayors group, and the participating cities will be reported to the national group and used as a cross - jurisdictional model. • Alive & Free Commitment: o Significantly reduce Failure to Appear warrants for court- referred youth of color who reside in the contracted geographic areas to address disproportionate minority confinement. o Support court- referred youth in obtaining other community -based services to address risk factors to violence. o Provide risk assessment and strategic engagement of high risk youth who are court involved and residing in South King County. o Provide Critical Incident Response by deploying street outreach workers when major acts of violence involving youth occur to provide family and victim support, gather relevant information for community and law enforcement partners, help with crowd control, mediate and deescalate tensions and work to prevent potential retaliation. o Provide major event safety planning and staffing in partnership with law enforcement to maintain safety at community events. o Collaborate with South King County youth service organizations to build a network of support for highest risk youth residing in Auburn, Kent, Renton and Tukwila. Mr. Goode stated he has served as a minister at the Church by the Side of the Road, and is now a Tukwila resident. He explained Alive & Free supports local court- referred youth in obtaining community - based services. Collaboration between the local service providers, Tukwila School District and the teen program at the Tukwila Community Center provides the support the youth in the community needs to aid in the reduction of court issued warrants and helps build relationships between the youth and community service providers. The stakeholders in the community are important to the success of the program. Ms. Lisch conveyed the funding for the Alive & Free Program is unique in that it is a blended partnership of public and private funding, and the Seattle Seahawks match the funding that has been raised. She thanked the City for investing in the program. Councilmember Robertson asked how the City will know 5 years from now if the program was successful. Ms. Lisch explained the program is a coordinated effort with law enforcement and service providers, and in 5 years the statistics should show less youth involved in gang activity. Mr. Goode stated he hopes implementation of the program will have significantly decreased crime along Tukwila International Boulevard in 5 years as compared to today. Councilmember Seal feels this program gives a voice to the youth. Councilmember Quinn requested the Council receive an update on this program next year. The Councilmembers thanked Ms. Lisch and Mr. Goode for the presentation and their work on the program and look forward to annual updates. CITIZEN COMMENTS Joanne McManus, 5610 South 133rd Street, stated she had previously spoken about the assistance provided to her husband by staff from the Tukwila Fire Department. She clarified that the Firefighters Union has been providing the assistance and work at her home on a volunteer basis, and no City funds have been used for any of the work. She thanked the firefighters for their assistance and the service they provide the City. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes February 11, 2013 Page 4 of 6 SPECIAL ISSUES a. An ordinance regarding the Nuisance Code. Councilmember Quinn indicated this item was discussed at the Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting on January 28, 2013. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. Since 2010, Code Enforcement has been responding to an increase in vacant nuisance properties (structures and vacant lots). The process for abatement of these nuisances can take several months to several years to accomplish. Current language in Tukwila Municipal Code Chapter 8.28 includes many topics that are duplicated in the International Property Maintenance Code. Eliminating the duplication and replacing them with updated definitions will serve to simplify and consequently expedite the abatement process. Kathy Stetson, Code Enforcement Officer, explained the Community Affairs and Parks Committee requested changes to the draft ordinance, and those changes are in strike - through, underlined format in the agenda packet. Ms. Stetson conducted a detailed review of the draft ordinance, listed on pages 5 -11 in the agenda packet. Councilmember Robertson stated the issues relating to vacant structures are very important to the City. He asked how the proposed changes will assist in the abatement process, and he requested staff provide the Council an accounting of costs associated with future abatement issues. Bob Benedicto, Building Official, explained the intent of the proposed edits is to establish a streamlined abatement process. The Council exchanged comments and asked clarifying questions of staff on the draft ordinance. After Council discussion, it was determined the Council would discuss the process associated with this issue at their annual retreat. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. b. A resolution regarding the non - represented employees' wages and benefits for 2013. Councilmember Robertson indicated this item was discussed at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting on February 5, 2013. The committee members were unanimous in recommending approval. In alignment with the intent of Council Resolution No. 1537, which establishes that the cost -of- living adjustment occur in odd - numbered years, and is based on 90% of the CPI -W for the Seattle- Tacoma- Bremerton Area Semi - Annual Average, the proposed wage adjustment for 2013 is 2.61%. In addition, there are no recommended changes being proposed to the non - represented benefit schedule. The Council is being asked to consider adoption of a resolution establishing a cost -of- living wage adjustment and benefits schedule for non - represented employees effective January 1, 2013. Stephanie Brown, Human Resources Director, conducted a detailed review of the questions identified at the Finance and Safety Committee meeting (page 34 of the agenda packet). Councilmember Kruller requested information relating to the costs associated with the reclassification of two non - represented positions; the total cost to implement the proposed 2013 cost -of- living adjustment for non - represented staff; and the difference between employee wages from 2012 to 2013. The Councilmembers exchanged comments and asked clarifying questions of staff on the draft resolution. COUNCIL CONSENSUS EXISTED TO FORWARD THIS ITEM TO THE NEXT REGULAR MEETING. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes February 11, 2013 Page 5 of 6 c. A briefing on County -wide Planning Policies. Nora Gierloff, Community Development Deputy Director, explained the proposed policy changes have been recommended by the Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC), a representative body of elected officials from King County, the cities of Seattle and Bellevue, and the Sound Cities Association (formerly Suburban Cities Association). The 2012 policies will become effective upon ratification by 30% of local governments representing 70% of the King County population. Ms. Gierloff utilized a PowerPoint presentation to conduct an overview of the Growth Management Planning Council's recommended changes to the County -wide Planning Policies. The Councilmembers asked clarifying questions of staff on the above topic. REPORTS a. Mayor Mayor Haggerton attended the Tukwila Government and Community Affairs meeting on February 5, 2013, and the February 6, 2013 Sound Cities Association Public Issues Committee meeting. On February 7, 2013, he participated in a tour of the Tukwila Pool. On February 8, 2013, he attended the community outreach meeting relating to the proposed development of the Circuit City site, the Southwest King County Chamber luncheon and the ribbon - cutting event at Mucho Burrito at Westfield Southcenter. He explained the proposed 17 -story development of the Circuit City site includes a new hotel in one wing and condominiums and other housing in the second wing. The Development Agreement for this project is scheduled to be reviewed by the Council in March. b. City Council Councilmember Robertson requested that the proposed Development Agreement for the Circuit City site include an engineer's report relating to earthquakes and information from the Fire Department relating to life- safety response for a 17 -story building when it is presented to the Council. Councilmember Seal apologized for missing the Council Coffee Chat. She thanked Councilmember Ekberg for providing the information presented by interested individuals. Councilmember Kruller attended the Sound Cities Association Public Issues Committee meeting on February 6, 2013. Council President Hougardy attended the Tukwila Government and Community Affairs meeting on February 5, 2013. c. Staff David Cline, City Administrator, explained that staff is moving forward with the implementation of the 2013 -2014 Biennial Budget, specifically the crime reduction initiatives. He announced that Department Directors and members of the Executive Staff will be touring Tukwila International Boulevard with Chief Villa. Each department will be looking at how they can coordinate support of the City's efforts in the implementation of the Strategic Plan. d. City Attorney The City Attorney's presence is not required at Committee of the Whole meetings. e. Intergovernmental The Council will be in Olympia at the Association of Washington Cities Legislative Action Conference February 13 — 14, 2013. Tukwila City Council Committee of the Whole Minutes February 11, 2013 Page 6 of 6 MISCELLANEOUS Councilmember Quinn requested annual information relating to the amount of staff time and associated costs relating to public records requests. This issue will be discussed with the City's Washington legislators this week in Olympia. Mayor Haggerton commented that staff is able to provide information relating to the impacts of public record requests, and he hopes there can be focus on public records request abuses. Kimberly Matej, Government Affairs, referenced 2012 statistics recently provided by Christy O'Flaherty, City Clerk, relating to public records requests. • In 2012, 792 hours of Tukwila staff time amount to approximately $50,000, were spent fulfilling multi - department public records requests coordinated by the City Clerk. This does not include department- specific requests handled separately by Police, Fire, Community Development or Public Works. • Tukwila receives the majority of public records requests from commercial agencies that profit from the work provided by City staff at no charge. MULTI - DEPARTMENT PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS FULFILLED — 1/1/12 - 12/31/12 Coordinated by the City Clerk's Office Requestor Category Number of Requests Responsive Records Tukwila Residents 12 requests from 6 residents 1,089 pages, 3 CDs, 9 links to Digital Records Center (DRC) Non - Tukwila Residents 20 679 pages, 8 links to DRC to 345 different documents Attorneys 12 2,033 pages, 15 CDs Commercial Entities 22 879 pages, 8 CDs ADJOURNMENT 9:37 p.m. COUNCIL PRESIDENT HOUGARDY DECLARED THE COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE MEETING ADJOURNED. Melissa Hart, Deputy City Clerk APPROVED AND SIGNED BY THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT ON 02/25/2013 AVAILABLE ON THE CITY'S WEBSITE 02/26/2013