HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-11-02 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes— November 2, 2015
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the regular Anacortes City Council meeting of November 2, 2015 at
6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett and John
Archibald were present. Councilmember Matt Miller 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
Appointment of Bob Ross and Gunnar Christiansen to the Historic Preservation Board: Mayor Gere
requested Council approval of her appointment of Bob Ross and Gunnar Christiansen to fill positions on
the Historic Preservation Board. Mr. Ross was proposed to complete the remainder of a term vacated by
Richard Broderick that expires December 2017. Mr. Christiansen was proposed to complete the
remainder of a term vacated by Janet Moore that expires December 2015, and then to serve a new three-
year term expiring December 2018. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to appoint Bob Ross
and Gunnar Christiansen to the Anacortes Historic Preservation Board. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett,
Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and Johnson. Motion carried.
Proclamation of Hospice Palliative Care Month: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming November
2015 to be National Hospice Palliative Care Month in Anacortes and encouraging citizens to increase
their understanding and awareness of care at the end of life. Wendy Rohrbacher, Executive Director of
Hospice of the Northwest Foundation, thanked Mayor Gere and Council for the proclamation.
Mayor Gere announced the implementation of the Granicus Government Transparency Suite which would
provide enhanced access to agendas, minutes, packet materials and videos of City Council and Planning
Commission meetings as well as live streaming of those meetings.
Committee Reports: Public Works, Finance
Mr. Johnson reported from the Public Works Committee which met earlier in the evening and discussed
recent legislative changes affecting the Transportation Benefit District structure and the allowable vehicle
tab rate, grant opportunities for funding and staffing to manage a fiber optic network, and the Street Tree
Committee ordinance.
Mr. Walters reported from the Finance Committee which met the prior week and discussed continued
work on a contracts ordinance, the policy governing utility bill inserts, and an alternative schedule for
Finance Committee meetings in November due to conflicts with the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
meetings. He added that the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee would meet Thursday, November 5, from
4-6 p.m. at the Majestic Hotel ballroom.
Consent Agenda
Ms. Pickett corrected the draft minutes of October 19, 2015 to reflect that she had not attended the site
visit that evening.
Regarding Item C, Amendment to Interlocal Agreement with Port of Anacortes regarding Process Water
from Pier 2, Assistant City Attorney Darcy Swetnam advised that subsequent to the publication of the
evening's Council packet the Port of Anacortes had requested minor adjustments to the last two recitals
in the amendment to indicate that the Port would be paying off the full balance of the GFC by
December 1, 2015 rather than just an annual installment. Ms. Swetnam said that after discussion with
Finance Director Steve Hoglund she recommended approval of the amendment with those revisions.
Ms. Lovelett removed Item C, Amendment to Interlocal Agreement with Port of Anacortes regarding
Process Water from Pier 2, from the Consent Agenda.
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Mr. Walters removed Item E, Contract Award: 2016 Contract for Prosecutor Services, from the Consent
Agenda.
Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote:
Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried.
a. Minutes of October 19, 2015 [as corrected] and October 26, 2015
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $1,031,926.89
d. Contract Award: Exhaust System at Operations Maintenance Facility
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
Voucher(check) numbers: 78048 through 78213, total $849,962.19
Payroll for October 20, 2015 in the total amount of$781,368.35
Check Numbers 40897 through 40921 in the total amount of$18,936.04
Direct Deposit Numbers from 60898 through 61107 in the total amount of$508,753.59
EFT Numbers from 1871 through 1878 in the total amount of$253,678.72
c. Amendment to Interlocal Agreement with Port of Anacortes regarding Process Water from Pier 2
Ms. Lovelett requested some background on the agreement and the proposed amendment. Mr. Hoglund
explained the interlocal agreement governing the Port's payment of the General Facilities Charge to hook
up the Pier 2 stormwater drain to the sanitary sewer system. He advised that the amendment was
required to provide terms under which the Port could pay off the GFC earlier than the scheduled 10-year
time frame.
e. Contract Award: 2016 Contract for Prosecutor Services
Mr. Walters requested a summary of the changes between the current and proposed new contract. Ms.
Swetnam advised that the scope of work was unchanged and that the only changes were the fees, which
would increase by approximately$165/month to an annual total of$72,000, and the management of the
contract, which would now be by the Assistant City Attorney rather than the Administrative Services
Director. Following suggestions from Ms. Pickett and Mr. Walters, Ms. Swetnam proposed to change the
designated supervisor to the "City Attorney's Office." Mr. Walters suggested that an RFP should be issued
for the prosecutor services contract every few years.
Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve Consent Agenda Items 5c and 5e. Vote: Ayes—
Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS
Emergency Preparedness Expo Update
Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh announced that the City would be sponsoring its first
Emergency Preparedness Expo on Wednesday, November 18, 2015 from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. in the City
Council Chambers. She said vendors and community organizations would provide information and make
supplies available for purchase to help families in the community prepare themselves for an emergency.
Public Hearing on 2016 Budget
Mayor Gere summarized the 2016 budget process to date and how she and staff had worked to develop
a proposed budget to address the community's priorities. She reminded that the proposed budget was
presented to Council on October 5, 2015 and was subsequently reviewed with department heads at City
Council study sessions on October 12, 2015 and October 26, 2015. Mayor Gere invited members of the
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public to share their thoughts on the budget. At approximately 6:25 p.m. the mayor opened the public
hearing on the 2016 budget. She advised that written comments could be submitted through the end of
the week.
Andrea Doll, 1319 8th Street, asked the amount of the contract with Makers and where that was included
in the budget. Finance Director Steve Hoglund advised that the Makers contract was included in the
professional services line item in the Planning Department budget and that$109,235 was the Makers
portion of that line item for 2016. Planning Director Don Measamer added that the transportation portion
of the comprehensive plan update was by TSI, not Makers.
Marilyn Derig, 1302 K Avenue, asked if the proposed communication specialist position had a job
description. Mayor Gere said yes but that the position was still being studied and that it might or might not
be brought back to Council for approval. Ms. Lovelett and Mr. Archibald spoke in support of the position.
No one else wishing to address the Council, at approximately 6:30 p.m. the mayor closed the public
hearing on the proposed 2016 budget. She reminded that written comments could be submitted until
5:00 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2015.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Proposal for Municipal Fiber Design
Bruce McDougall, 4404 Orchard Avenue, presented a slide show updating Council on the feasibility
investigation into construction and operation of a municipal fiber optic network and providing a recap of
the staff site visit to Sandy, Oregon in October. Mayor Gere reported that the she had been joined on the
Sandy site visit by the Finance director, the Public Works director, the Information Systems manager,
Councilmember Matt Miller and Mr. McDougall and that the group had been energized to see what a
small town can do. Mr. McDougall summarized his prior presentations on this topic and emphasized that
fiber optic technology is the most future-proof choice for high speed network infrastructure, why current
providers are unlikely to invest in new fiber infrastructure, why a full residential model would be the
preferred option, and the estimated subscription rate and cost. He then reported the demographics, cost,
funding and staffing of the Sandy, Oregon municipal fiber network begun in 2011. Mayor Gere reported
that officials in Sandy called their fiber network their#1 economic development tool and their#1 quality of
life tool. Mr. McDougall contrasted the Sandy fiber-to-the-home model with the commercial core model
built in Mount Vernon, Washington.
Mr. Adams commented on the value of being able to offer local customer service which is not the case for
the current service providers. Ms. Pickett inquired about UTC regulation of municipal fiber networks.
Mr. McDougall shared Mr. Miller's list of next steps: staff should research all local government/public
agreements with any fiber provider in Anacortes, should meet with Wave Broadband to investigate its
interest, if any, in partnering on a citywide fiber-optic network, should draft building code language
requiring new construction to include fiber conduit, and hire a firm to prepare a fiber optic network design.
Mr. Johnson added that the Skagit County Network Consortium agreement should be considered.
Regarding the fiber optic network design, Mr. McDougall introduced Geoff Thumma, Business
Development Manager at OFS Fitel, LLC, the firm that designed the network in Sandy. Mr. McDougall
described the design process to create a detailed network diagram that could be put out to bid to
installers.
Mr. Thumma, 10732 Willow Road, Lake Stevens, summarized his firm's background and qualifications
and described the design process which uses satellite imagery to lay out a passive optical network
(PON). He answered questions from councilmembers about the extent of existing fiber in Anacortes, the
very low likelihood that Verizon would expand its fiber installation in a community of this size, and
installation practices to protect fiber from predation by squirrels. Mr. Thumma displayed samples of the
design deliverables and said his firm's cost for a citywide design would be $5 per premise. He added that
there would be no additional cost to design a fiber path to I-5.
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Councilmembers questioned Mr. McDougall as to how many residents and businesses would need to
subscribe to the service. Mr. McDougall advised that Sandy, Oregon had a 30% subscriber base to the
wireless ISP that preceded its fiber optic network and that the subscription percentage had doubled since
the fiber was installed. Mayor Gere questioned Mr. Thumma about Lake Oswego's current investigation
into building its own fiber network. Mr. Thumma reported that Lake Oswego, population approximately
40,000, was starting from scratch and had determined that if it could not get subscription commitments
from 35% of its households, it would not build a network. He called that a prudent move to minimize risk
but emphasized that there was nothing more vital in a city than having a modern internet infrastructure.
Mr. Thumma added that Sandy also wholesales access to its fiber to video providers and a phone
provider as well as providing retail service to residences. Councilmembers discussed the potential for
multiple pricing tiers for various speeds of service and offering reduced rates to low income households.
Mr. Archibald confirmed with Mr. Thumma that the electronics controlling the network would need to be
updated over time but that the installed fiber itself had plenty of bandwidth for the foreseeable future.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to
address Council.
Mayor Gere suggested that a design contract come back to Council for consideration and possible action
at the next regular City Council meeting. Councilmembers discussed the appropriate sequence for
proceeding including obtaining a design and cost estimates, performing market analysis, and analyzing
staffing and administrative requirements. Councilmembers generally expressed support for proceeding as
quickly as possible. Mayor Gere asked Mr. Thumma to prepare a design contract document for Council's
review at the November 16, 2015 meeting. She thanked Mr. McDougall for his extensive work on behalf
of the community.
There being no further business, at approximately 7:30 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
November 2, 2015 was adjourned.
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