HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-23 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Study Session Minutes—February 23, 2015
At approximately 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the Anacortes City Council study session of
February 23, 2015 to order. Roll call found present City Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters,
Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and Matt Miller. Mr. Walters participated in the
meeting via telephone.
Ms. Pickett announced that as part of its participation in the Georgetown University Energy Prize
competition the City would be hosting a free energy fair on Saturday, February 28, from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.
at the ESD#189 building, with a wide variety of workshops and presentations on funding and performing
residential improvements to conserve and even generate energy at home.
New Municipal Code to Address Public Defense(Ordinance 2944)
Public Defender Rob Jones presented draft Ordinance 2944 that would revise the Anacortes Municipal
Code to comport with requirements of state law that cities adopt standards for indigent defense services.
Mr. Jones related the history of Skagit County's adoption of public defense standards and his participation
in that effort. He discussed the case load standards established by the Washington Supreme Court. He
reviewed the provisions of the draft ordinance which would create a Public Defender's Office and adopt
standards that comply with the state law and likely prove to be a model for other cities.
Mr. Johnson suggested removing the explicit mention of the 400 caseload limit in the Caseload Limits
section of the ordinance so that the AMC would not have to be revised if the state caseload limit changed.
Mr. Miller concurred. Mr. Jones preferred stating the limit in the ordinance. Ms. Pickett also preferred
including the current caseload limit for reference. Mr. Johnson suggested rewording the Caseload Limits
section of the ordinance to read " ... standards for indigent defense adopted by the Washington Supreme
Court and made specifically applicable against municipalities on January 1, 2015, which establishes a
(as of
January 1, 2015 400 unweighted misdemeanor and gross misdemeanor cases per attorney per year)."
Mayor Gere advised that the ordinance would come back before Council for action at the March 2, 2015
regular City Council meeting.
Capital Facilities Planning Presentation by Dept. of Commerce
Planning Director Don Measamer advised that the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update includes a capital
facilities element. He introduced Anthony Boscolo, Senior Planner at the Washington State Department of
Commerce, Growth Management Services Division, who presented an overview of capital facilities
planning under the Growth Management Act. Mr. Measamer distributed copies of Mr. Boscolo's
PowerPoint presentation and added it to the evening's Council packet for the public.
Mr. Boscolo outlined the practical and statutory reasons for capital facilities planning and listed the
elements of a capital facilities plan that are required by the Growth Management Act. He provided
examples of the range of public assets that are or can be considered capital facilities including sewer,
storm, water and solid waste systems, schools, park and recreation facilities, police and fire protection
facilities, streets and roads, street lighting, buildings, rolling stock, and telecommunication systems, among
others. Mr. Boscolo laid out the steps involved in developing a CFP including assembling a team,
inventorying assets, establishing goals and future needs, determining financial needs, prioritizing projects,
developing a financing plan and then reviewing and revising the plan every few years. He discussed the
need to establish level of service standards for each capital facility and provided examples. Mr. Boscolo
also discussed establishing life cycles for assets, identifying funding resources, prioritizing projects, and
developing a financing plan for both the 6-year Capital Improvement Plan and the 20-year CFP. He
discussed the need for the CFP to be internally consistent as well as consistent and coordinated with the
GMA, regional and countywide policies, comprehensive plans, development regulations and adopted
capital budgets. Mr. Boscolo closed with some capital facilities planning tips for small cities, a list of
examples of CFP's from other jurisdictions, and an endorsement of the Dept. of Commerce's recently
released Capital Facilities Planning Guidebook. In response to a question from Mr. Adams about the Oak
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Harbor CFP example, Mr. Boscolo recommended an integrated CFP that includes an asset inventory and
level of service standards rather than referencing a series of detached documents.
At approximately 7:56 p.m. Mr. Walters disconnected from the meeting.
2016 Budget Kickoff and Discussion with Public Input
Finance Director Steve Hoglund advised that budget development for 2016 would begin earlier than in past
years to allow more community input and more discussion and goal setting among Mayor and Council. Mr.
Hoglund presented a spreadsheet that he had distributed to councilmembers earlier in the day and added
to the Council packet for the public which summarized 2014 revenues, expenditures and fund balance by
fund as well as the corresponding 2015 budget and a notation as to which funds are restricted. Mr.
Hoglund invited community input. He said the Council Finance Committee (CFC) had suggested that
during March the City schedule a community workshop to answer questions and collect budget input from
the public, then a Mayor-Council workshop to set goals and strategy for 2016 budget. In that regard he
referred to a CFC memorandum to Council which had been distributed earlier in the day and added to the
Council packet for the public. Councilmembers discussed possible dates but reached no decision. Ms.
Lovelett suggested announcing the dates at the February 26, 2015 Comprehensive Plan workshop. Mr.
Johnson recommended to his colleagues the AWC webinar by Mike Bailey and Larisa Benson on
Budgeting & Performance: Improving Your Community through Budgeting.
There being no further business, at approximately 8:05 p.m. the Anacortes City Council study session of
February 23, 2015 adjourned.
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