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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-02-28 Committee of the Whole MinutesCALL TO ORDER/PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: COMMITTEE OF WHOLE MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL ATTENDANCE: TUKWILA CITY COUNCIL February 28, 2005 7:00 p.m. Tukwila City Hall Council Chambers Calling the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. was Pamela Linder, Council President, who also led the Pledge of Allegiance. Present were Council President Pamela Linder; and Councilmembers Joe Duffie, Joan Hernandez, Pam Carter, Jim Haggerton, Dennis Robertson and David Fenton. OFFICIALS: Steven M. Mullet, Mayor; Rhonda Berry, City Administrator; Lucy Lauterbach, Legislative Analyst; Bob Baker, Deputy City Clerk; David Haynes, Acting Chief of Police; Kimberly Walden, Municipal Court Judge; Darlene Heskett, Municipal Court Administrator; Kevin Fuhrer, Finance Director; and Derek Speck, Economic Development Administrator. SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS: a. Special recognition Mike Tavaq. Ron Sandelius and Sid Faulkner, Parks and Recreation Mayor Mullet proudly presented plaques and letters of commendation to each of the above -named recipients for their life- saving efforts on February 8, 2005. A male patron sitting outside a racquetball court at the Tukwila Community Center collapsed after experiencing pain. Another patron notified City staff. Mr. Tayag and Mr. Sandelius immediately began performing CPR, while Mr. Faulkner monitored the patrons vital signs. Other TCC staff contacted 911. Fire personnel arrived and used the automated external defibrillation device to return the man's heart rate to a regular rhythm. Each man assisted in saving the man's life. With that in mind, the Mayor commended and thanked them for their personal dedication of the community and the professionalism exuded as a member of the City of Tukwila Parks and Recreation staff. Dave Johnson, Parks and Recreation Superintendent, spoke with the wife of the patient (today). Within the past week, the man successfully underwent triple- bypass heart surgery, returned home 9today) and is recovering well. It was stated to Mr. Johnson that on the day of the event, the man was at the family vacation home alone, so it was considered "a blessing" that the life- changing event took place while her husband was at the Community Center. Additionally, the wife of the patient asked Mr. Johnson to pass along how deeply thankful she and her husband are for the efforts of the gentlemen named. b. Update Southwest Kina County Chamber of Commerce Nancy Damon, Executive Director of the SWKCCC, presented Council with a review of milestones and achievements from 2004. Additionally, she presented a copy of the Chamber's profile, map, and most recent newsletter. Ms. Damon noted the Chamber continues with the same programs and meetings as in the past and appreciates the support of the Council throughout the year. Milestones and achievements include application to become an accredited Chamber of Commerce (application pending), adoption of new mission, vision and values statements, adoption of a new logo, production of a new community map and a physical move to a new location on Interurban Avenue. In addition to completing the (U. S. Chamber's) "Institute" program in January 2005, Ms. Damon's team also partnered with the Southwest King County Economic Development Initiative in presenting the 2004 City of Tukwila Page 2 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 Export Symposium. The Chamber website was also reworked and redone and achieves 70,000 hits per year. The Chamber serves (partners with) three local cities, the Port of Seattle and Renton Technical College and Renton Chamber in presenting breakfast briefings and Operational Effectiveness workshops. And, finally, she noted the Chamber continues to be involved in the community, the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meetings, Equity and Diversity Commission meetings, and the Domestic Violence Task Force. Chamber staff anticipates carrying out the same programs and involvement in 2005. All members of the Council praised the efforts of Ms. Damon (also a Tukwila resident) and thanked her for her dedication, representation and knowledge. Councilmembers are thankful that we have a successful, hard working Chamber staff. c. Update Ikawa trip Kathy Znack, Sister Cities Committee President, noted a trip to lkawa from April 6 18, 2005. The dates chosen allow for all to save on airfare prices. At just over $1,800.00 per participant, all will stay in four to five -star hotels for several nights as well as home stay arrangements. The delegation will fly from Seattle to Los Angeles, followed by a direct flight from Los Angeles to Osaka, Japan. From Osaka, a bullet train will be taken to visit the Hiroshima Museum. Cranes have been made and will be hung by the Tukwila delegation. Taking a bullet train twice, two trolley car rides and a ferry trip, the delegation will experience many different modes of transportation while in Japan. Unable to take the trip this year, Ms. Znack and her husband are not among the 48 included in the delegation. Twenty five are students. The Znack's daughter, a graduate of a school in lkawa, will take the trip with her family and enjoy a mini reunion with former friends and families. Ikawa representatives have volunteered to provide transportation to all from Kioto to Ikawa. This will save much money. Earning just over $1,000.00 from the recent spaghetti feed, the total amount earned by the delegation to defray costs is approximately $3,000.00. Kate Hedstrom, member of the Sister Cities Committee, also expressed appreciation for City staff, Council and the School district. She was proud to announce that of the students taking the trip, just two are not on the School's Honor Roll. Additionally, showing support for the students' trip, teachers are allowing them the opportunity to take the WASL test upon their return from Japan. Ms. Hedstrom brought copies of the essays written by the students, stating their reasons for wanting to take the trip as well as what they plan to do upon their return. Reading excerpts from the essays, Ms. Hedstrom noted her pride with being able to attend this trip with an outstanding group of kids who participated in weekly culture and language lessons to ensure a positive, productive trip. Finally, Ms. Hedstrom presented a Deruma Doll and legend to Councilmember Linder. Noting tradition, the Deruma doll is purchased when looking for good fortune. When purchased, the dolls have no pupils in their eyes. The buyer makes a wish and darkens one pupil with a provided pen. When the wish comes true, the other pupil is darkened. And, when New Years Day arrives, the doll is destroyed. All were wished a successful trip. d. Update Macadam Winter Garden Bruce Fletcher, Director of Parks and Recreation, provided Council with an overview of the history of the project. The planned four season garden has been a project in the works for some time and includes a design team of City staff, Johnson Braund Design Group and Council President Pam Linder. Bid opening could occur in spring, 2005, with construction to begin in summer /fall 2005. City of Tukwila Page 3 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 Michael Brown, Johnson Braund Design team member, gave Council an overview of the project itself and described items included with a winter garden. Using a PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Brown showed an aerial photograph of the area where the garden will be created and reviewed the values and visions in connection with the garden. Mr. Fletcher noted the project noted the project would be a unique feature for Tukwila and the neighborhood in which it will be situated. Additionally, he noted budgetary issues would be discussed later. The Parks and Recreation Department staff members are slated to maintain the garden. They will also take a list of volunteers (for a huge planting day and keeping a "seeing eye" on the garden). CITIZEN COMMENT /CORRESPONDENCE: Joanne McManus. 5610 South 133` Street. Tukwila. spoke favorably of the newly installed and operational cameras on Tukwila International Boulevard. She praised the work of City crews who installed them for the volunteers who utilize them at the Neighborhood Resource Center. SPECIAL ISSUES: a. Macadam Winter Garden budget request Bruce Fletcher, Director of Parks and Recreation, reported realization of increased costs in connection with the proposed design of the winter garden project. After budget cuts and current expenditures, City staff has approximately $160,000.00 budgeted for the proposed project. That amount is insufficient. Approximately $275,000.00 is required. Staff has applied for one grant, received some donations and calls for volunteer efforts, yet must seek $80,000.00 from the Cascade View Community Park Phase II project funds. That would bring staff closer to its goal, allow the item to go out to bid and get construction started. Another $35,000.00 will be required. The Secret Gardens of Tukwila will donate "entry structures" and will solicit other donations on behalf of the City. Hearing from each Councilmember, consensus existed to forward this item to the next Regular meeting for action /consideration. b. Ordinance amending provisions of Ordinance No. 2053. regarding high -rise buildings Councilmember Robertson noted the "fairly straight forward" amendment represents an actual omission to the previous ordinance, allowing the possibility for exceptions to be granted. Nick Olivas, Fire Chief, noted anytime an exception is requested, Fire staff documents rationale behind the request as well as the decision. Also documented is whether or not the decision is approved or denied. No arbitrary decisions are made. All are well documented. Responding to Council inquiry, Chief Olivas noted exceptions are normally made due to the requested use of a building or the particular architecture of a building where a particular requirement may not be necessary. Giving an example, the Chief noted one of the provisions in the "high- rise" ordinance is for fire pumps. In one of the safety buildings, a request for a waiver was received due to the adequacy of the available water supply. The redundancy of the fire pump would (then) not be necessary. Therefore, a waiver would be granted. Hearing from Council, consensus existed to forward this item to the next Regular meeting for action /consideration. c. Interlocal agreement with Tukwila School District reaardinq human services Councilmember Duffie reported review of this item at the February 15, 2005 Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting. The proposed interlocal agreement clarifies communications around the needs and use of space and provisions for human services in the Tukwila School District. City of Tukwila Page 4 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 Evelyn Boykan, Human Services Manager, noted a good working relationship between her office and the Tukwila School District. This pleases Ms. Boykan as approximately one -third of the human services budget dollars actually support co- locations of human services within the school district. It also makes for a strong integration between City and school partnerships. Speaking in support of formalizing some of the issues surrounding co- location of services within the district, Ms. Boykan favors the proposed interlocal agreement. An objective to meet (by City staff) is to clarify what communication should take place between the Tukwila School District and a non profit agency offering the human services prior to delivery of services as well as how the communication should work after the City signs a contract with that provider /agency. A second objective (in order to show support/buy -in from the School District) the City believes it helpful to have a letter of support from the school district even before proposals for funding are reviewed. Finally, Ms. Boykan noted a third objective to clarify the City's expectations from the District with regard space needs and issues. In response to Council inquiry, Ms. Boykan noted the proposed agreement will involve a greater awareness from the non profit agencies; especially as it relates to the steps necessary before submitting proposals to the City (for consideration of funding). It will also require a bit more (communication) time on the part of the non profit agency to the school district. As far as the City's relationship with the school district, Ms. Boykan foresees no real additional time needs. The City has enjoyed a good working relationship with them and has been able to trouble -shoot issues when non profit agencies have difficulties with space issues or other requirements. The proposed agreement is seen as the tool to formalize practices between the parties. Hearing from various Councilmembers, consensus existed to forward this item to the next Regular meeting for action /consideration. d. Zoning Code amendment adding hiqh densitv residential, mixed -use, transit oriented development in the vicinity of Sounder /Amtrak station. Council President Pamela Linder provided Council with a brief history of the issue that began at a Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting in 2004. From there, the item was forwarded to a Committee of Whole (COW) meeting. There, consensus existed to forward the item to the Planning Commission for review. The Planning Commission held a public hearing (in January, 2005) where no public comments were received. That Commission agreed to forward the item to this meeting for setting of a public hearing in March 2005. Jack Pace, Deputy Director of Community Development, referenced previously distributed materials and highlighted proposed changes to the Zoning Code. Two suggested changes include 1) allowing mixed use (multi family) housing in the Tukwila Urban Center (TUC). The proposed amendment would allow said housing to be located "on property adjacent to and not greater than 1,500 feet from the Sounder Commuter Rail /Amtrak Station property." The second proposed amendment would revise parking standards within the TOD to allow one parking space per one bedroom unit, and two parking spaces for two- bedroom units. Providing an example for the proposed revision, Mr. Pace noted 617 parking spaces would be required, post construction of the project. This number should cause no future issues and represents a reduction to the City's current requirement. The Deputy Director then shared parking requirement findings from nearby municipalities. Mr. Pace addressed questions posed by Council including the location of the McLeod property and staff's recommendation. Mr. Pace noted the proposed (March 28) public hearing allows staff the time necessary to prepare and review a draft development agreement as well as to receive appropriate appraisals. Staff anticipates future, proposed changes (perhaps summer 2005) and is thus keeping the currently proposed amendments to a minimum. This "temporary provision" will keep the project moving forward. After hearing from Council, Consensus existed to forward this item to March 28, 2005 for a public hearing. City of Tukwila Page 5 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 e. Public /private partnership to exchange real property with Pacific Commercial Properties to facilitate future extension of Strander Boulevard and missed -use transit oriented development near Sounder /Amtrak station Previously reviewed at the February 15, 2005 Community Affairs and Parks Committee meeting, this public /private partnership represents the ability to exchange real property with Pacific Commercial Properties to facilitate the future extension of Strander Boulevard and mixed -use Transit Oriented Development (TOD) near the Sounder /Amtrak Station. Jack Pace, Deputy Director of Community Development, noted the conceptual agreement would facilitate the needed exchange of real property with Pacific Commercial Properties for the proposed work noted above. The property in question is located north of Longacres Way. Tentatively named "Tukwila Station," the project includes the building of 250 to 300 residential units and about 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Stuart McLeod currently owns the land where the buildings are to be built. And, the City of Tukwila owns approximately 1.63 acres of and north of the Tukwila Station site. Pacific Commercial Properties (PCP) is willing to work with the City of Tukwila for purposes of the proposed land exchange. In order to carry out the agreement, PCP would transfer the eastern -most 100 foot strip of their property to the City. This land is needed for relocation of the UPR right -of -way to Tukwila. The City would then transfer a portion of its property to PCP, to be used as a portion of its Tukwila Station development. When Strander Boulevard is ready to be constructed and the UP right -of -way is ready for relocation, PCP would relinquish its easement and the City would transfer 43 feet of the old UP right -of -way to PCD. PCP would relocate its displaced parking area from the easement on the east of its property to the 43 -foot strip on the west. At the end of the process, PCP will have transferred approximately 103,525 square feet of property to the City. The City will have transferred approximately 95,770 square feet of land to PCP. The entire transaction would be summarily described in a developer's agreement. Kevin Fuhrer, Finance Director, provided information relative to impacts on the Financial Planning Model. He noted that in 1999, the City's Hotel /Motel Tax Fund purchased the land via an interfund loan from the General and Arterial Street Funds. The loan balance as of December 31, 2004 was $1,250,000.00. The 2005 Budget provides for loan repayment in the amount of $200,000.00, leaving an unpaid balance of $1,050,000.00. The Lodging Tax Committee may accept a transfer of land ownership (to the General Fund) in exchange for debt forgiveness. They may not, however, approve the transaction if the appraised value is determined to be below $1 million. City staff is currently seeking the work of an appraiser; and, the land transfer proposal will be discussed at a Lodging Tax Advisory Committee in March 2005. On the flipside of things, Mr. Pace noted that if the City does not partner with PCP, it is likely we will be faced with a proposal to develop the McLeod site in a manner that will preclude current plans for extending Strander Boulevard (with the inclusion of an overpass). Mr. Pace spoke favorably of Council (conceptually) approving the public /private partnership with PCP. He spoke in favor of forwarding the agreement to a Regular (City Council) meeting in March 2005. He also spoke in favor of authorize staff to prepare the necessary agreement with PCP. After much discussion and consideration of Council, consensus existed to forward the item to March 28 for a public hearing. City of Tukwila Page 6 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 f. Discussion West Hill Annexation Councilmember Duffie noted review of this item at the February 15 Community Affairs and Committee meeting. With "very good discussion," Mr. Duffie noted the Committee made no recommendation. They listened to a presentation and noted pride with having people wanting to annex into the City of Tukwila. The West Hill annexation Committee wants to know if the City of Tukwila has any interest in annexing their areas (Skyway, Bryn Mawr, Burlington, Campbell Hill and Lake Ridge). Members of the Governance Task Force are hoping to hear from the Council on whether or not they are interested in moving forward with proposed annexation efforts. Paul Berry. 6819 South 124 Street, (a member of the West Hill Governance Task Force), reviewed previously distributed materials with Council and made clarifications where necessary. In response to Council inquiry regarding staff time associated with annexation efforts, Rhonda Berry, City Administrator, noted that although minimal, time is needed to provide information relative to an annexation study (such as tax rates, financial obligations). Work that follows the initial study will be greater. No estimate of time is available at this time. Mayor Mullet agreed that a great deal of work is not required at this time. At some point in time, however, if the City wanted to seriously consider the proposition, it may take much work. King County may take action on this issue before the City of Tukwila considers it. With that in mind, he is not prepared to burden staff with related efforts. Ms. Hernandez spoke of the February 15 Community Affairs and Committee meeting and noted infrastructure costs are astronomical when annexing new areas into the City. That, she noted, is of great concern. The additional revenues from businesses in the area to be annexed do not equal those costs. Another concern is the fact that the City is still working on infrastructure issues from the last time the City annexed property into its fold. Mr. Robertson was impressed with the information provided by the annexation committee. Additionally, he drove around the area, trying to understand the materials. He looked at it (not through "financial eyes as an opportunity for Tukwila to "pick up a lot of citizens." To annex the proposed area, would be to include another 14,000 residents to Tukwila's current 17,000 Noting it would be like mixing two cities, he saw there were four major arterials (Rainier Avenue, Renton Avenue, Beacon Avenue and Martin Luther King, Jr. Way). There is just one small arterial connecting to the City of Tukwila. Calling the prospects of additional work to annex the proposed area "mind boggling" and taxing to staffs current workload, he is not currently in favor of the proposed annexation. In the end, Council consensus existed to not pursue the potential annexation at this time. Mr. Berry acknowledged the response and called it no surprise. He stated his appreciation for the Council addressing the issue and providing a specific answer to the inquiry. He also (personally -not the task force) suggested a potential problem with Ryan Hill. He noted issues related to Skyway are similar and true to the Ryan Hill area. He also suggested leaving that area isolated "a major problem" for Tukwila citizens and for the City itself. Finally, he asked the Council to provide their decision in writing. REPORTS: a. Mayor Mayor Mullet was away during the last week. b. City Council Councilmember Duffie reported a problem with coyotes at Tukwila Elementary School. Recently, two were run over and killed. He also attended a recent tour of the federal detention facility in SeaTac. There, they house prisoners for not more than 24 months. City of Tukwila Page 7 of 7 City Council Committee of Whole Minutes February 28, 2005 Councilmember Hernandez attended a Sister Cities spaghetti dinner last Friday. She then reported on future events /meetings. Council President Linder will attend her first Lodging Tax Advisory Board meeting this week. She also reported on future events /meetings. Councilmember Carter went on a recent tour of the federal detention facilities in SeaTac as well as a Suburban Cities Association dinner the same evening (February 23). On February 25, she attended Cascadia's Transportation Leadership Forum. On February 26, she testified before the House Finance Committee. Councilmember Haggerton participated in this evening's Transportation Committee meeting. Councilmember Robertson had no report. Councilmember Fenton had to leave before reports. Council President Linder noted Mr. Fenton had no report to offer. c. Staff Rhonda Berry had no report. d. City Attorney Neither the City Attorney nor her representative were present. e. Legislative Analyst Lucy Lauterbach noted the Legislature would reach its half -way point within the next week. By that time, all bills must be out of their respective committees. ADJOURN: 10:32 p.m. Council President Linder adjourned the Committee of Whole meeting. Pamela Linder, Council President MLIWATLEI Date Minutes Signed: April 18, 2005 l lc, Robert H. Baker, CMC, Deputy City Clerk