HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-05-29 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—May 29, 2018
From 6:00 to 6:1 S p.m. Mayor Gere, City Council and Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh convened
in closed session per RCW 42.30.140(4) to discuss collective bargaining strategy.
At 6:15 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the regular Anacortes City Council meeting of May 29,2018.
Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters,Brad Adams,Liz Lovelett and Matt Miller were
present. Councilmember Bruce McDougall was absent.
The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements and Committee Reports
Proclamation:National Gun Violence Awareness Day: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming the first Friday
in June, 2018 to be National Gun Violence Awareness Day in Anacortes and encouraging all citizens to support
their local communities' efforts to prevent the tragic effects of gun violence and to honor and value human lives.
Mayor Gere presented the signed proclamation to the large group of supporting audience members. Ms. Lovelett
congratulated the young people present for standing up for what they believe in. Mr. Young thanked the
audience for bringing gun violence to the forefront of public awareness.
Mr. Johnson reported on the Anacortes Regeneration Project to turn guns into art in order to encourage the
public to think about guns and about art in a different and profound way. He invited the public to bring unused
guns to Seafarers Memorial Park on September 15,2018 where a forge would be available to melt firing
mechanisms and make the disabled guns available for artwork. Mr. Johnson said more information was
available at http://www.anacortesregenerationproject.com.
Planning Committee: Mr. Walters reported that the committee meeting regularly scheduled for earlier in the
evening had been cancelled
Mr. Walters reported that he had met with PSE to express concern about recent power outages. He said that PSE
was scheduling a future date to present to City Council on PSE's efforts to improve its infrastructure,prevent
outages and reduce the impact of outages on critical City infrastructure. He said he would advise when the date
was set so councilmembers could prepare questions in advance.
Public Comment
No one present wished to address Council on any topic not already on the agenda.
Consent Agenda
Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett,to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
a. Minutes of May 21,2018
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $452,586.76
c. Street Fair Application: Fueling Education Fun Run
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
EFT numbers: 89297 through 89331,total$122,863.05
Check numbers: 89332 through 89371,total$326,461.51
Wire transfer numbers: 232295 through 233200,total $24,412.47
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 29, 2018 1
OTHER BUSINESS
Pavement Management Program Update
City Engineer Eric Shjarback presented an update on the Pavement Management Program established by
Council in 2014 by Resolution 1895. His slides were added to the packet materials for the meeting. Mr.
Shjarback reminded that in 2014 Council had requested revisiting the PMP after several years of investing the
targeted$1.1M/year in pavement maintenance to re-evaluate the spending level and its impact on overall
pavement condition in the city. Mr. Shjarback introduced Paul Wigowsky from Capitol Asset and Pavement
Services to report on the current pavement condition and present scenarios for continuing the program at various
funding levels.
Mr. Wigowsky said the Pavement Condition Index(PCI)had been re-evaluated twice since the original
inventory,inspection and rating performed in 2013. He described the tools used to perform the inspections and
analysis. Mr. Wigowsky summarized the philosophy of Pavement Management,which is to maintain good roads
in good condition rather than waiting to repair seriously failed roadways,resulting in lower overall costs system
wide. He elaborated on how the relatively inexpensive slurry seal process extends the pavement life of arterial
and collector streets and is three times more cost effective than asphalt overlay.He responded to councilmember
questions about the condition of streets suitable for slurry seal or crack seal plus slurry seal, and explained the
difference between slurry seal and the chip seal process used elsewhere in Skagit County for more rural
roadways.
Mr. Wigowsky then shared a chart showing the current PCI of 66 overall for the 73.5 miles of paved streets in
Anacortes,broken down by condition. Ms. Lovelett requested a comparison chart showing the values of the
same categories in 2013. Mr.Wigowsky then presented a series of graphs projecting the overall PCI and the
total value of deferred street maintenance over the next 10 years at different potential funding levels.
Councilmembers observed that Scenario 1 with the highest up front cost was considerably less expensive than
the same scenario as presented in 2013. Mr. Wigowsky advised that the cost estimates had been refined since
that time and that additional data points from subsequent condition ratings allowed for better modeling. He
confirmed that all the scenarios included a 3%annual inflation rate,and that SR20 and SR20 spur(maintained
by WSDOT)were not included in any of the ratings or scenarios.
Councilmembers expressed considerable interest in the amount of deferred maintenance resulting in each
scenario and in the extent to which each scenario addressed the smaller streets deemed in very poor condition.
Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer then presented staff recommendations for adjustments to the PMP.
Observing that at the current spending level the PCI was projected to drop back to 2013 levels by 2027, Mr.
Buckenmeyer advised that additional investment in pavement maintenance would be prudent. He suggested
generating additional funding through either an additional 0.2%TBD sales tax,raising the TBD car tab fee from
$20 to $40, or some combination thereof. He presented a summary of the effect of each of those options on the
total cash available for pavement maintenance,then reviewed the pros and cons of each option. Mr.
Buckenmeyer noted that Mount Vernon had recently implemented the additional 0.2%sales tax option. He
recommended eliminating the existing$20 TBD car tab fee,implementing a 0.2%TBD sales tax, and budgeting
$1.7M/year for pavement maintenance using REET, solid waste tax, and TBD sales tax. Mr. Buckenmeyer
noted that the 0.2% sales tax would cost residents only$100/year on$50,000 of taxable purchases and would
also be paid by non-residents shopping in Anacortes. He outlined the timeline and steps necessary to hold a
required public hearing, adopt a resolution defining the sales tax procedures and uses, and submit the resolution
to Skagit County by August 7 to get the measure on the November 6 general election ballot. He added that if
Council declined to present the TBD sales tax to the voters, or if the tax were rejected by the voters in
November, staff would recommend raising the TBD car tab fee from$20 to$40 instead. He emphasized that
this level of funding would support Mr.Wigowsky's Scenario 5 with a projected PCI of 71 city-wide by 2027
and a deferred maintenance total of just$15M.
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 29,2018 2
Councilmembers discussed the funding mix presented by staff,noting that the amount of REET would be
double that anticipated by Resolution 1895 and that prilled sulfur payments from the Port of Anacortes and
property tax were no longer included as funding sources. Finance Director Steve Hoglund confirmed that
understanding. Councilmembers discussed the fact that REET and solid waste utility tax could both be spent on
other city needs, and noted that all tax revenue projections were subject to change based on the strength of the
economy. Ms. Lovelett suggested dedicating a percentage of REET rather than a fixed amount to pavement
management. Mr. Walters favored the fixed$500K of REET each year. Mayor Gere noted that if economic
conditions significantly changed the revenue picture,the plan could be revised. Councilmembers and Mr.
Buckenmeyer agreed on the need for an effective public outreach effort to support the staff recommendation,
including setting realistic expectations for the number of very poor low volume streets that would be addressed.
Ms. Lovelett asked about the option of spending$20M up front to upgrade street conditions to a level that could
be affordably maintained. Mr. Buckenmeyer noted the challenges of administering$20M of contracts in a single
construction season and recommended adopting the$1.7M annual spending target,then evaluating its impact
after five years. Councilmembers were generally supportive of sharing the tax burden to with non-residents who
use city streets and of giving the voters a direct voice to choose the funding mechanism. Mr. Miller cautioned
that the plan needed to ensure removal of the TBD car tab fee if the sales tax were adopted instead. Mr. Walters
suggested that staff and the Public Works Committee begin drafting the resolution and developing a one-page
summary addressing what the$1.1M/year investment has achieved, specifically how$1.7M/year would be
spent, and that new tax revenue would increase total street funding,not supplant current funding sources. Mr.
Johnson added that the public needed to know what$1.7M/year would achieve in terms of miles of good vs.
poor vs. very poor roads and total deferred maintenance. He asked staff to also report on what Mount Vernon
had collected from its TBD sales tax and whether that tax had deflected shopping to neighboring towns. Mr.
Young urged keeping the TBD sales tax in context of net cash impact on each household. Ms. Lovelett asked
staff to confirm that$1.7M/year of street contracts could be administered with current public works staff.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address
the Council.
Mr. Buckenmeyer indicated that staff would bring the proposal back before Council the following week with the
additional requested information. Mr. Walters emphasized his request for a one-page summary of the funding
plan to communicate with the voters and urged not scheduling a public hearing until a public outreach plan was
in place.
Resolution 2015: Collective Bargaining Agreement by and between the City of Anacortes and the
Anacortes Commissioned Police Officers 6/1/2018-12/31/2021
Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh presented a collective bargaining agreement with the
commissioned Police Services Guild. She said the agreement was the product of negotiations and mediation that
had begun in the summer of 2017 and replaced an agreement that had expired December 31, 2017. Ms. Lovelett
inquired about Article 22.6 which extended the time from twelve to 48 hours for an employee to make a written
or recorded statement following uses of force. Ms. Schuh explained that 48 hours was the current standard in the
industry,intended to provide employees an opportunity to regain composure before making any statements that
may be used in an investigation.
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Miller,to approve Resolution 2015 and the collective bargaining
agreement between the City of Anacortes and Anacortes Police Services Guild Commissioned Employees
effective 6/l/18-12/31/2021. Vote: Ayes—Young,Walters,Adams,Lovelett,Miller and Johnson. Motion
carried.
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 29, 2018 3
Resolution 2013: Municipal Broadband Network
Ms. Schuh reported that following consideration of draft Resolution 2013 at the April 23,2018 regular City
Council meeting,the community and the City Council fiber subcommittee had been invited to revise the
resolution to reflect Council's feedback. She summarized the three sections of the resolution as presented in the
packet materials for the meeting. Mr. Walters emphasized that the Directives were strictly to prepare a business
plan,not to build or operate the network,because Council wanted to evaluate the business case for the concept
before moving forward. Mr. Johnson asked about Directive 5 regarding a balance sheet for the project. Ms.
Schuh said staff anticipated that the balance sheet would begin when the city began providing end user internet
service,beyond the utility telemetry system. Mayor Gere read a statement from Mr. McDougall,who was out of
the country, expressing his enthusiastic support of passage of Resolution 2013.
Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr.Walters,to approve Resolution 2013.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address
the Council.
Vote: Ayes—Walters,Adams,Lovelett,Miller,Johnson and Young. Motion carried.
IL263: Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with NoaNet
City Attorney Darcy Swetnam presented an interlocal cooperative purchasing agreement with Northwest Open
Access Network(NoaNet)to allow Anacortes to piggy-back onto a contract between NoaNet and Robinson
Brothers Construction(RBC)for the construction portion of Phase 3 of the fiber build project. She advised that
separate agreements to modify the current interlocal agreement with NoaNet for services and to contract directly
with RBC for construction would come before Council the following week. Ms. Swetnam explained that piggy-
backing on NoaNet's prior bid and rate agreement with RBC would allow Anacortes to avoid the time and
expense of conducting its own bid and to use the advantageous rates and terms already included in NoaNet's
agreement with RBC. In response to an earlier question from Mr. Johnson,Ms. Swetnam said that Council had
typically entered into cooperative purchasing agreements for purchase of goods but that piggy-backing was now
allowed for public works contracts. Councilmembers expressed some reluctance to adopt the cooperative
purchasing agreement without first reviewing the related agreements, seeking a better understanding of the roles
of each party. Mr.Adams suggested postponing action on the interlocal agreement until the follow on contracts
were available for consideration at the same time. Ms. Swetnam agreed.
Executive Session (30 Minutes)per RCW 42.30.110(i)
At approximately 7:55 p.m. Mayor Gere announced that City Council and the City Attorney would convene in
Executive Session for approximately 30 minutes to discuss potential litigation and that following the executive
session the meeting would adjourn with no action being taken.
There being no further business,at approximately 8:25 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
May 29, 2018 was adjourned.
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 29, 2018 4