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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-06-19 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—June 19,2017 Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the regular Anacortes City Council meeting of June 19,2017 at 6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Ryan Walters,Erica Pickett,Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett and Matt Miller were present. Councilmember Bruce McDougall was absent. The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to excuse the absence of Mr. McDougall who was out of town. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. Announcements and Committee Reports Public Safety Committee: Mr.Adams reported from the committee meeting the prior week at which Fire Chief Richard Curtis presented information about alternative proposals for the 2018 EMS levy ballot. Mr. Adams said the group also briefly discussed the bike corral parking presentation from the June 12,2017 meeting and that both the fire and police chiefs were in favor of testing the concept on Commercial Avenue. Mr. Miller reported from the Law and Justice Committee meeting the prior Wednesday. He announced the jail open house for invited guests on July 11 and reported on a presentation about public supportive housing in Mt. Vernon. Finance Committee: Mr. Johnson reported from the committee meeting the prior Wednesday. He indicated that Finance Department staff were preparing a summary of the total tax burden for Anacortes residents from all taxing districts,had presented May month end figures to the committee, and also reported on the crime insurance policy which would be discussed later on the agenda. Mr. Johnson added that Dan O'Donnell from La Conner had attended the meeting to discuss agricultural irrigation water, a topic about which policy discussions would continue. Public Works Committee: Mr. Johnson reported from the committee meeting earlier in the evening at which the members discussed the Keystone latecomer agreement presented at the June 5, 2017 regular City Council meeting,progress on the fiber optic project,and scheduled work to investigate seismic bracing options for City Hall as well as a possible revised space configuration for the third floor. Councilmembers discussed the seismic investigation at some length. Ms. Pickett expressed her disappointment that after decades of study no constructive action had been taken. Ms. Lovelett advised that the current contract would produce an engineering spec to continue the work and asked to quantify the safety factor that could be achieved with the amount budgeted for the current biennium. Mr. Johnson reported that the committee also discussed the deteriorating Commercial Avenue banner and was considering possible alternatives. Mayor Gere announced a number of upcoming community events including Anacortes High School graduation Wednesday night,the Storvik Park Spray Pad ribbon cutting at 4:00 Wednesday afternoon, a visit from the Seattle Seahawks to Rice Field on Friday at 12:30 and Relay for Life at Rice Field all weekend. Public Comment No one present wished to address Council on any topic not already on the agenda. Anacortes City Council Minutes June 19,2017 1 Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett,to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The motion passed unanimously by voice vote. a. Minutes of June 5, 2017 and June 12,2017 b. Approval of Claims in the amount of. $1,079,638.92 c. Street Fair Application: Anacortes Arts Festival d. Contract Modification: 2017 Asphalt Overlay Project 17-003-TRN-001,Mod 02 e. Contract Modification: 2017 Sanitary Sewer Improvements 16-074-SEW-001,Mod 01 f. Contract Award: Install Manhole for Wastewater Outfall Repair Project 13-020-SEW-007 g. Street Fair Application: Art Walk Summer Pedestrian Plaza The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment: EFT numbers: 85334 through 85386,total$105,820.27 Check numbers: 85387 through 85420,total$900,669.79 Wire transfer numbers: 217106 through 217657,total $117,643.36 OTHER BUSINESS Mayor Gere advanced Agenda Item 7b to precede Agenda Item 7a. Ordinance 3007: Repealing AMC 2.08,City Officer Bonds Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented draft Ordinance 3007 which would repeal Anacortes Municipal Code Chapter 2.08, City Officer Bonds. Mr. Hoglund reviewed RCW 35A.12.080 requiring bonds"conditioned on the honest and faithful performance of their official duties"for the treasurer and police chief,then pointed out that AMC 2.08 duplicated that statutory bonding requirement as well as specifying relatively low bond amounts for city employees. He then summarized the city's current bond and crime insurance coverage through WCIA which provided much higher coverage at currently recommended levels. Mr.Hoglund's slides were added to the packet materials for the evening. He recommended rescinding AMC Chapter 2.08 to avoid redundancy with the RCW and remove outdated policy limits. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to approve Ordinance 3007. Vote: Ayes— Walters,Pickett,Adams,Lovelett,Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Heart Lake MUNI and Algae Treatments Forestlands Manager Jonn Lunsford responded to councilmember questions from the most recent consideration of this topic at the June 5,2017 regular City Council meeting. He reported on the various state agencies involved with management of the lake including Department of Fish and Wildlife, Department of Ecology and State Parks. Regarding usage restrictions following fluridone treatments,Mr. Lunsford advised that the half-life of the chemical was approximately 21 days. He said the product provided no recommended restrictions for swimming, fishing, or drinking after treatment but said that staff would have to post the lake at the time of treatment. Mr. Lunsford added that irrigating using fluridone treated water was restricted but that no irrigation water was pulled directly from the lake and that staff recommended not treating the lake until outflow had stopped for the season so there would be no downstream flow. Regarding funding options,Mr. Lunsford reported that there were currently approximately$315K in the quarry fund and$162K of Forest Endowment Fund interest that could be directed towards the project. Mr. Johnson asked about the effectiveness of the boat/trailer inspections and signage used to help prevent spread of milfoil between lakes. Mr. Lunsford reported limited success of those measures. Mr. Johnson suggested closing Heart Lake to boating following the opening day fishing event in order to prevent Anacortes City Council Minutes June 19,2017 2 milfoil reinfestation. Mr. Adams disagreed and urged reaching out to fishing user groups before taking such a step. Mr. Miller agreed. He expressed support for proceeding with the milfoil and algae treatments recommended by staff but did not support use of general funds for that purpose. Mr. Miller inquired about the timeline for treatment. Mr. Lunsford explained the permitting, contracting and application steps involved and said the recommended treatment window would be July and August. Mr. Miller encouraged public education about that timeline. Mr. Walters noted that the suggested funding sources were all ultimately general fund dollars that were in demand for other projects including pavement management. He strongly urged adopting a multi-year aquatic vegetation management plan before approving funding, noting that Council had previously agreed on that strategy at its May 15 meeting. Ms. Lovelett expressed concern about the substantial unbudgeted expenditure in light of other important park projects. Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item. Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street,addressed boating's impact on the spread of milfoil,noting that aquatic birds also spread milfoil between lakes. Mr. Wetcher said staff s proposal, endorsed by the Forest Advisory Board,was the least invasive and toxic methodology available. He said that without treatment, Heart Lake would continue to experience toxic algae blooms each year which was a liability for the city. He urged Council to go forward with a plan to acquire permits and treat the lake. Mr. Wetcher commended staff for managing the ACFL in a thrifty manner for many years and urged general fund financing for the lake treatments. He called the quarry fund a long term resource for land acquisition and warned that spending it to fund vegetation management would make it unavailable for future acquisition of inholdings. Mr. Wetcher suggested general fund borrowing from the quarry fund instead. No one else present wished to address the Council on this issue. Councilmembers continued discussion of funding mechanisms for treating the lake, generally favoring use of the quarry fund. Mr. Miller asked staff to prepare a five-year vegetation management plan that would address the treatment schedule,the permit timeline, and financing sources. Mr. Johnson asked that the plan also address steps to prevent reinfestation and spread of milfoil between lakes. Ms. Lovelett noted that the quarry fund and the Forest Endowment fund both replenish themselves,through ongoing rock sales and interest revenues, so would be appropriate funding sources along with the $49K DOE grant for alum treatments. Mr. Lunsford advised that if the city wanted to accept the $49K DOE grant, it needed to do so no later than July 1,preferably sooner. Ms. Pickett said it was important to proceed with the milfoil treatments in light of the management plan for the lake as a recreational resource and moved to accept the DOE grant. The motion was not immediately seconded. Mr. Adams and Mr. Lunsford clarified that if the city accepted the DOE grant for algae treatment in 2018, it was effectively committing to pursuing milfoil treatment using city funds in 2017. Councilmembers discussed whether to vote on the grant agreement or wait and vote on an entire management plan at the June 26 or July 10 meeting. Mr. Johnson seconded Ms. Pickett's motion to accept the DOE grant with an amendment to direct staff to prepare a vegetation management plan including funding from the quarry fund and bring the plan back to Council for approval at its June 26, 2017 meeting. Mayor Gere restated the motion to approve Grant Agreement WQALG-2018-Anacor-00002. Ms. Pickett acknowledged Mr. Johnson's amendment to the motion to include using the quarry fund for the grant match. Vote: Ayes—Pickett,Adams, Lovelett,Miller and Johnson.Nays—Walters. Motion carried. There being no further business,at approximately 7:00 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of June 19, 2017 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes June 19,2017 3