HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-04-28 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Study Session Minutes—April 28, 2014
At approximately 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council
study session of April 28, 2014 to order. Roll call found present City Councilmembers Eric Johnson, Ryan
Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett and Matt Miller. John Archibald was absent.
Mayor Gere invited the community to attend the second Community Visioning Workshop for the 2016
Comprehensive Plan update on Wednesday, April 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Port Transit Shed Event Center.
Chamber of Commerce Presentation on Tourism Promotion
Anacortes Chamber of Commerce staff Stephanie Hamilton, Executive Director, Tricia Sharp, Marketing
and Promotions Coordinator, and Mary Talosi, Visitor Center and Operations Director, reported to Council
on the contracts for services the City has with Chamber and the Chamber's many promotional activities.
Ms. Hamilton briefly reviewed the 2% lodging tax that is charged on all room stays, remitted by hoteliers
to the Department of Revenue, and then remitted by DOR back to the City of Anacortes where it is
managed by the Tourism Committee with the approval of City Council. She reported that$273,580 was
collected in 2013. Ms. Hamilton explained that part of that funding is distributed via annual contracts to
the Chamber of Commerce to promote Anacortes and bring overnight guests to town. Ms. Hamilton said
the Chamber has two contracts to use Tourism funds, the International Ferry and Anacortes Marketing
Program contract in the amount of$117,000 for 2013 and the Visitor Information Center, Tourism
Promotion and Public Restrooms contract in the amount of$72,680 for 2013. Regarding the first contract,
Ms. Hamilton and Ms. Sharp then reviewed the many different promotional programs and media that the
Chamber funds using the contract funding, leveraged by partnerships to achieve the most value possible
for those dollars, including print media, radio and television advertising, brochures, on line promotions,
billboards, and advertising on the Washington State Ferries.
Ms. Talosi then reported on the structure and operations of the Visitor Information Center which is staffed
seven days a week by a group of 40 volunteers to greet 20,000 guests per year, answer 2,500 phone
calls annually, distribute 2,000 visitor and relocation packets annually, meet and greet the weekly cruise
ships, and create the Shop, Play, Eat, Stay brochure that is distributed to approximately 5,000 guests per
year. Ms. Talosi expressed gratitude to the dedicated volunteers. Ms. Talosi said that as part of its
contract the VIC also maintains the public restrooms and 9th Street and Commercial Avenue which are
open 7 days a week.
Ms. Hamilton then recapped some of the Chamber's own programs, funded by member dues, vehicle
license tab fees and chamber fund raising events, that offer value to the entire community such as the
hanging flower baskets in summer, the tree decorations and horse drawn carriage at the holidays, the
uptown street banners, and bringing visitors to town for Chamber events. She said she has been asked if
the Visitor Center only promotes the businesses of Chamber members. She said the Chamber does
promote its members because they are the ones investing in the Chamber but also refers visitors to non-
member businesses if they are looking for a service not represented in the Chamber membership.
Mr. Walters said that the VIC contract is not specific about the public amenities it funds and asked that
the scope of work reflect more detail in the future to address questions from the public about this use of
public funds. Mr. Adams said he appreciated the Chamber's efforts to work with other chambers in Skagit
County to emphasize the identity of Anacortes as part of Skagit County.
Overview of Transition Fidalqo and Friends Vision 2030 Plan
Eric Shen, Board member from Transition Fidalgo & Friends (TF&F), reported on the TF&F Vision 2030
process and the Vision 2030 Plan that has resulted. Mr. Shen said participants were driven by the natural
beauty and assets of Fidalgo Island including views, recreation, wildlife, a vibrant waterfront, and a
historied Old Town to imagine a community that incorporates those assets and thrives in a future of
increasing challenges. He said the vision includes a thriving local economy where people live near where
they work, walkable mixed use neighborhoods, streets lined with trees, neighborhoods dotted with
community gardens, and a community powered by resilient and renewable energy.
Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes April 28, 2014 1
Mr. Shen said a thriving economy needs a long term focus in such sustainable industries as renewable
energy, energy efficiency, information technology, sustainable agriculture specialties, sustainable tourism,
and green marine. To achieve this he said the community needs to attract and support entrepreneurs,
start a local green business incubator, and partner with local higher education institutions.
Mr. Shen said affordable housing will be a keystone in the future and that people need to be able to live
where they work so accessory dwelling units, infill development in town, co-housing projects and mixed-
income developments will all play a role. He cited successful examples such as the Lopez Community
Land Trust and the Santa Cruz, California program for promoting Accessory Dwelling Units through
revamped building codes and regulations.
Mr. Shen said the TF&F vision includes diverse walkable neighborhoods that don't rely on cars. He
explained that mixed use developments are a key component of achieving that goal, allowing residents to
meet basic needs without driving and to feel safe doing so.
Mr. Shen said local food hubs will be more and more important to help counter rising food costs and listed
edible public landscaping, community gardens and orchards, local food processing businesses, an Island
seed bank, and vegetable tourism as steps toward achieving that goal.
Finally, Mr. Shen said the vision is of a community powered by reliable, renewable energy and noted that
grid tied/supported renewable electricity will be the main thrust of most communities in the future. He said
energy efficiency is the key to reasonable energy bills but that it will also be important to provide
emergency power for resiliency in the face of increasingly frequent power-disrupting weather events. Mr.
Shen cited Fort Collins, Colorado's FortZED project to transform its old town to a net Zero Energy District.
In closing, Mr. Shen said residents need to take action now to prepare for the future. He invited everyone
to explore the full plan at http://transitionfidalgo.org/sites/default/files/2014/Vision_2030.pdf.
Ms. Lovelett enthusiastically supported the idea of edible landscaping and reported that Seattle has
already created a food forest area where residents can glean food from fruit and nut trees. She also noted
that the City's participation in the Georgetown University Energy Prize will make weatherizing the homes
of low income families a priority. In response to a question from Ms. Lovelett, Mr. Shen said
implementation of the vision would be the topic at the next TF&F supper at 6:00 p.m. on April 29 at the
Senior Center. Mr. Walters said he appreciated the document and thanked TF&F for bringing up new
ideas that will be part of the conversations for the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update. Mr. Adams
suggested that Anacortes can take ideas from European communities where backyards are commonly
used for attractively and intensively growing food and residents are very resourceful.
At approximately 7:48 p.m. Mayor Gere called a five minute break. At approximately 7:53 p.m. the mayor
called the meeting back to order.
Transportation Benefit District Discussion
Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer resumed the discussion of the proposed Transportation Benefit
District that was last considered at the April 21, 2014 regular City Council meeting. He presented several
new options for Council to consider.
Mr. Buckenmeyer first responded to questions and comments raised by the public at the last meeting
including how Council can start a TBD without a vote of the public, whether the public might settle for a
PCI of 76, requests for considering non-motorized transportation options, the importance of looking at all
the options, the need to spread the burden to the heavy truck traffic that deteriorates the roads, and a
suggestion to be imaginative and consider multiple approaches. He then addressed questions that had
been raised by councilmembers including the idea of creating a new street category for"workhorse"
streets that are local but used by businesses, an expressed preference for the consultant's Scenario 8, a
question of how much it would cost to bring Q Avenue up to 100% baseline, what strategies other cities
have used to get to the State average PCI of 76, why not propose a bond for a longer term than 10
years, why not charge a fee for heavy trucks, why not add fees to the utility bills, and the need to consider
the utilities under the streets as part of street maintenance projects.
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Mr. Buckenmeyer briefly reviewed the structure and authority of a TBD under RCW 36.73. He then
reviewed the suggested annual budget allocations for street maintenance beginning 2015 from current
funding sources and reminded that those would be in addition to any funding raised specifically for the
TBD. This would amount to $600,000 in 2015 and would increase incrementally thereafter as displayed at
the April 21, 2014 meeting. Mr. Walters argued that rather than pigeonholing certain amounts from certain
funding sources each year, Council should define an annual amount needed for street maintenance each
year and then fund that amount, first from restricted sources including REET and sulfur hauling mitigation
payments, then from unrestricted sources such as sales and property taxes.
Mr. Buckenmeyer suggested adding to that list a new funding source: an increase in the City Solid Waste
Utility Tax from 3.4% to 12%. He noted that Ferndale has a 12% solid waste utility tax. Mr. Buckenmeyer
advised that a 12% tax would yield an additional $200,000 per year. He explained that the City solid
waste utility tax currently goes into the general fund and supports general City operations including police,
fire, library, etc. He said the increased tax would mitigate the impact on streets of homes and businesses
that generate a lot of solid waste, which requires both more heavy trash haulers and more heavy trucks to
deliver goods and raw materials. He noted the disproportionate impact of solid waste trucks compared to
cars on the condition of the streets. Mr. Buckenmeyer displayed the effect of the proposed tax on various
levels of trash service, including a 60 cent increase on a 20 gallon can or$1.12 on a 32 gallon can each
month. He said increasing the solid waste utility tax does not require a vote of the public.
Mr. Walters endorse the notion of taxing what we want less of, namely garbage, rather than what we want
more of, such as retail sales.
Mr. Buckenmeyer then reviewed the four street improvement options considered at the April 21, 2014
meeting and presented a fifth option: improving arterials and collectors to a PCI of 85 and improving the
residential streets to a PCI of 70, estimated to cost$40M. Mr. Buckenmeyer said this new option is the
cheapest option that touches all neighborhood streets. To fund this option, Mr. Buckenmeyer proposed
the following annual funding mix beginning in 2015 to raise $40M over ten years:
• Existing property tax of$100,000 with a 1% per year increase thereafter
• Existing sales tax of$100,000 with a 2% per year increase thereafter
• Existing REET of$250,000 and half of projected REET revenue each year thereafter
• Existing sulfur mitigation payments estimated at$150,000 per year
• Solid Waste Utility Tax of 12%
• A voted property tax increase of$1.00/1000 of assessed value for ten years
• $20 vehicle tabs
Mr. Buckenmeyer summarized the current property tax breakdown for Anacortes residents for all taxing
districts which totals $9.36/1000 and said the proposed TBD property tax would bring that to $10.36/1000,
an 11% increase in the overall property tax bill which would be an increase from $3,278.10 to$3,628.10
for a $350,000 home. Mr. Buckenmeyer said it was staff's recommendation that Council establish a
Transportation Benefit District, implement$20 vehicle tabs, adopt an ordinance increasing the solid waste
tax to 12%, and place a ballot measure on the November 2014 ballot to increase the annual property tax
levy rates by$1.00/1000 of assessed value. He noted that ballot measures for the November election
must be filed by August 1.
Mr. Adams asked why Council would not opt put the entire package to the voters. Mr. Buckenmeyer said
the only element that requires voter approval is the property tax increase and that even if the property tax
were not approved by the voters the remaining funding would still provide much more funding for streets
than is currently available.
Mrs. Pickett remarked that councilmembers are the trustees of the public's assets and said maintaining
the roads saves a lot of money on repairing them later so acting sooner is better. She anticipated there
would be few people who object to$20 car tabs.
Mr. Miller observed that street maintenance has been deferred for some time so fencing part of the
general fund into roads makes sense. He said even with no property tax increase, $20 tabs and the other
recommended funding would raise $1.2M/year for ten years. He said he was comfortable with that,
Anacortes City Council Study Session Minutes April 28, 2014 3
maybe not with raising the entire $40M yet, and suggested putting some money towards streets for a few
years and then re-evaluating.
Mr. Johnson observed that non-residents get a free ride on Anacortes streets. He asked what the
average PCI is for Mount Vernon and Burlington and how they were proposing to raise funds for streets.
Mr. Buckenmeyer said he wasn't aware of a current PCI evaluation for those cities but said they are in the
same position as Anacortes. Mr. Johnson asked if a county-wide TBD had been considered since most
drivers in the county drive in more than one city. Mrs. Pickett said that was a good argument for including
some sales tax in the mix of TBD funding, so visitors help pay for the roads, but said she would not want
to slow down putting the TBD in place. Mr. Buckenmeyer said the notion of a county-wide TBD was
raised at a recent RTPO/MPO meeting but received almost no support. He observed that the complexity
of allocating the revenue from a county-wide TBD would be intense. Mr. Walters said Anacortes should
capture revenue from drivers who are only visiting but said it was important to equalize sales tax rates
around the county so as not to discourage large ticket retail sales in town so Anacortes should not
unilaterally raise its sales tax for the TBD.
Ms. Lovelett asked if there would be additional opportunity for public participation in the TBD discussion.
Mr. Buckenmeyer and Mayor Gere said yes.
Mr. Walters said Council need a package to present to the voters that would include a list of what would
be fixed when even though that plan would not be binding. He said the resolution adopted by Council
should include a list of projects, including collectors and arterials but also some residential streets. He
listed a number of other specific suggestions for prioritizing and configuring street maintenance projects.
He said it was important to specify that the TBD was for street maintenance only, not improvements. Mr.
Buckenmeyer indicated that specific projects would be part of developing the Capital Facilities Plan and
that project-level planning is better done in 2-3 year increments rather than a decade at a time. Mr.
Buckenmeyer reminded that the TBD would only maintain City streets, not SR20 through town.
Mr. Miller asked for clarification on what is included in maintenance. Mr. Buckenmeyer explained that
maintenance includes everything from crack sealing through cape seal, chip seal, fog seal, thin lift
overlays, all the way up through removing and rebuilding a street. Mr. Johnson asked where the streets
would stand at the end of 10 years and how the City would fund streets going forward after that. He
suggested also developing an alternative plan that could be funded entirely with councilmanic funding
mechanisms.
Mayor Gere thanked Mr. Buckenmeyer and councilmembers for the productive evening and said the
discussion would continue until Council and the community arrived at an optimum proposal to get the best
bang for the buck to get the roads back where they need to be.
There being no further business, at approximately 8:37 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City
Council study session of April 28, 2014 adjourned.
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