HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-12-21 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—December 21, 2015
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the regular Anacortes City Council meeting of December 21, 2015 at
6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and
Matt Miller were present. Councilmember Erica Pickett was absent. The assembly joined in the Pledge of
Allegiance.
Citizen Hearings
No one present wished to address the Council.
Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports
Confirmation of Darcy Swetnam as City Attorney: Mayor Gere requested Council confirmation of her
appointment of Darcy Swetnam as City Attorney effective January 1, 2016. Mr. Walters moved, seconded
by Mr. Johnson and a chorus of other councilmembers, to approve the confirmation. Vote: Ayes—
Walters, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried to general applause. Ms.
Swetnam thanked Council for the opportunity to serve the city.
Mr. Adams reported from the Public Safety Committee which met earlier in the evening. He said that three
concerned citizens attended the meeting to discuss potential code revisions regarding tethering of dogs.
The committee also discussed recent successes of the Fire Department volunteer recruitment effort, the
fire comprehensive plan, the School Resource Officer, and the Police Department's 2016 goals.
Ms. Lovelett reported from the Storvik Spray Park Committee which met the prior Wednesday. She
advised that the engineer for the project was already under contract and that a designer would be
selected early in 2016, that fundraising for the last$90K was ongoing, and that the project was targeted
for completion in September 2016.
Mr. Walters reported from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee which met the prior week to work on its
strategic plan. He advised that a report on that plan would come back to Council in the near future.
Consent Agenda
Mr. Walters removed Item D, Revised Amendment No. 3 to Ambulance Service Interlocal Agreement with
Skagit County, from the Consent Agenda.
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote:
Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried.
a. Minutes of December 7, 2015 and December 14, 2015
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $1,185,258.82
c. Contract Award: Build Three VFDs for WWTP Effluent Pumps
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
Voucher(check) numbers: 78548 through 78743, total $1,067,225.29
Payroll for December 18, 2015 in the total amount of$768,713.85
Check Numbers 41037 through 41054 in the total amount of$16,948.99
Direct Deposit Numbers from 61712 through 61920 in the total amount of$512,387.55
EFT Numbers from 1897 through 1902 in the total amount of$256,326.30
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d. Revised Amendment No. 3 to Ambulance Service Interlocal Agreement with Skagit County
Mr. Walters disclosed that as a fixed salary employee of Skagit County, one of the contracting parties,
under RCW 42.23.040 he had a remote interest in the agreement and for the city to enter into the
agreement his vote could not be counted. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve
revised Amendment No. 3 to the Ambulance Service Interlocal Agreement with Skagit County. Vote: Ayes
—Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Adams. Abstain: Walters. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Closed Record Public Hearing: James Stevens Conditional Use Permit, CUP-2015-0005
Mr. Archibald disclosed that he had assisted Mr. Stevens with this application so he would recuse himself
from participation in the hearing and the vote on the agenda item. Mr. Archibald left the Chambers.
Mr. Johnson disclosed that he was acquainted with Mr. Stevens but that they had never discussed the
subject application.
Associate Planner Kevin Cricchio opened a closed record public hearing for Conditional Use Permit
CUP-2015-0005 requested by James Stevens to permit a doctor's office within an existing medical
marijuana collective business located at 7656 SR 20 (Sharpe's Corner) in the LM1 zone. Mr. Cricchio
explained the surrounding land uses and zoning, summarized relevant code sections, listed the noticing
performed for the project, and reported that following the open record public hearing on the application
before the Planning Commission on December 9, 2015 the Commission had voted to recommend
approval of the CUP. Mr. Cricchio added that staff recommended approval and no appeals of the
Planning Commission recommendation had been received. Mr. Cricchio and Planning Director Don
Measamer responded to councilmember questions regarding permitted and conditional uses in the LM1
zone.
Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve Conditional Use Permit CUP-2015-0005. Vote:
Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Walters, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried.
Mr. Archibald rejoined the proceedings.
Resolution 1939: Naming Official City Newspaper
Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented Resolution 1939 which would designate the Anacortes
American as the city's official newspaper. He reviewed the RCW requiring cities to identify an official
paper by resolution and recommended doing so for an indefinite period rather than a defined one-or two-
year period as Anacortes had done in the past.
Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to
address the Council.
Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to adopt Resolution 1939 naming the Anacortes
American as the city's official newspaper. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and
Miller. Motion carried.
Ordinance 2966: 2015 Budget Amendment
Mr. Hoglund presented Ordinance 2966 to amend the 2015 budget through year end. He advised that the
ordinance distributed to Council earlier in the evening included additional items from the draft originally
published in the Council packet. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed the line items enumerated in the ordinance
and responded to councilmember questions regarding same. He confirmed that the amendment would
involve only an additional $40K of General Fund cash reserves and that no further 2015 amendments
were anticipated.
Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to
address the Council.
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Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to adopt Ordinance 2966 amending the 2015 budget.
Vote: Ayes—Walters, Adams, Lovelett Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried.
Contract Award: Asset Management Program—Cartegraph
Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer requested Council authorization to enter into a 3-year contract
with Cartegraph for asset management software and implementation services. He shared a slide show
demonstrating the many features of the GIS-based system and its benefits for both public and staff. Mr.
Buckenmeyer advised that Public Works department staff had participated in an extensive evaluation of
three different systems, selected Cartegraph as the clear preference, and had negotiated a three-year
contract at current pricing if the contract were to be signed by year end. He added that purchase and
implementation of the software would occur in 2016. Mr. Buckenmeyer recommended approval of the
contract.
Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment on this agenda item.
Wilhelmus Houppermans, 3412 K Avenue, wondered about security features of the software and user
access. Mr. Buckenmeyer assured that all access would be password protected according to tiered
permission levels.
Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to award the contract to Cartegraph for an asset
management program in the amount of$85,247.10. Mr. Adams noted that the 3-year contract amount
included the approximately$20K annual subscription fee as well as a one-time$30,600 implementation
fee. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried.
Interlocal Agreement with Fire District#13 for Ambulance Billing
Fire Chief Richard Curtis presented an interlocal agreement with Skagit County Fire District 13 to provide
pre-billing quality management services for Basic Life Support(BLS) ambulance transports performed by
the District. Chief Curtis explained Skagit County's ongoing effort to establish BLS transport services with
providers including Sedro-Woolley, Burlington, Mount Vernon and neighboring Fire District 13 and the
city's role in assisting the District with that transition. Mr. Walters confirmed that the City Attorney had
reviewed the Business Associate Agreement included as part of the interlocal.
Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to
address the Council.
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to authorize the mayor to execute the interlocal agreement
with Fire District 13 for quality control of billing services. Vote: Ayes—Lovelett Archibald, Miller, Johnson,
Walters and Adams. Motion carried.
Resolution 1938: Authorizing Execution of Tourism Promotion Fund Contracts
Planning, Community and Economic Development Director Don Measamer presented Resolution 1938
authorizing eighteen Tourism Promotion Fund contracts for 2016. He reported that at its October 15, 2015
meeting the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) reviewed 28 applications for funding and at its
subsequent November 5, 2015 meeting recommended funding 18 of those applications. Mr. Measamer
highlighted some of the larger projects. He explained that the LTAC recommended a larger amount than
requested by the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center to ensure that the Center represents
Fidalgo Island businesses regardless of whether or not they are Chamber members. Mr. Measamer said
the total recommended by the committee was $310,920 and that projected lodging tax revenues for 2016
were approximately$370K, leaving some funds available for additional projects including possibly capital
projects during the course of the year. Several councilmembers commented favorably on the more active
role of the LTAC over the past several years. In response to a question from Mr. Miller, LTAC member Mr.
Walters said that the committee's recommendations were generally arrived at by unanimous consent and
that applicants for whom funding was not recommended had generally agreed with the committee's
rationale.
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Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to
address the Council.
Mr. Walters asked staff to correct several of the recommended contracts before circulating them for
signature to ensure that each contract referenced the correct approving department and that the
Anacortes Baseball Club contract addressed ownership of the bleachers funded by the Tourism
Promotion Funds as well as the club's ongoing obligation to use those assets for tourism promotion.
Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve Resolution 1938 authorizing execution of
Tourism Promotion Fund contracts. Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Adams and
Lovelett. Motion carried.
In closing, Mayor Gere thanked and commended Council, the public and staff for another successful year
of serving Anacortes and wished the citizens happy holidays.
There being no further business, at approximately 7:26 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
December 21, 2015 was adjourned.
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