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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-08-18 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—August 18, 2014 At 7:30 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of August 18, 2014 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Liz Lovelett, John Archibald and Matt Miller. The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Citizen Hearings No one present wished to speak. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Proclamation of Constitution Week September 17-23, 2014: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming September 17-23, 2014 to be Constitution Week in the City of Anacortes and asked citizens to reaffirm the ideals the framers of the Constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms it guaranteed to citizens. Open Government Training Act Requirements Satisfied by City Council: Mayor Gere stated that effective July 1, 2014, all members of governing bodies must complete Open Public Meeting Act (OPMA)training per ESB 5964 and that the training must be completed within ninety days of taking the oath of office or assuming duties. She said refresher OPMA training is also required for members of governing bodies every four years. She advised that each City Council member and the mayor herself had attended training on the OPMA and were in compliance with the new requirement. She added that Anacortes Board and Commission members were all in the process of completing this training as well. Georgetown University Energy Prize (GUEP) Quarterfinalist Announcement: Mayor Gere proudly announced that the City of Anacortes had moved to the quarter finalist stage of the GUEP contest. She reminded that participating communities create a long range energy plan and that the winning community can win up to $5M. The mayor said that Anacortes is now competing with a group of only 52 quarterfinalists including four in Washington State. Ms. Lovelett observed that approximately 300 cities had initially participated and congratulated the City on this achievement. Mr. Walters invited the public to a celebration at the Rockfish Grill on August 19 at 5:00 p.m. of the fourth birthday of the Community Energy Challenge. He explained that the program conducts home energy audits and helps homeowners arrange improvements. Mr. Walters added that the CEC had expanded into Skagit County so those interested in a home energy assessment should check the Challenge website. Ms. Pickett reported from the Parks and Recreation Committee which met earlier in the evening and discussed the Harkness property, coliform contamination at the H Avenue dog park and how it might be addressed by fencing, potential improvement of the road to Little Cranberry Lake, Heart Lake algae and milfoil control efforts, and the Commercial Avenue roundabout sculpture which would be installed soon. Mr. Addams added that the committee had also discussed safety on the Tommy Thompson trail given user groups traveling at different speeds. Mr. Johnson reported that Ms. Lovelett needed to withdraw from the Port/City Liaison Committee due to scheduling conflicts and that Mr. Archibald had volunteered to serve on that committee. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to revise the agenda to appoint Mr. Archibald to the Port/City Liaison Committee. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to appoint Councilmember John Archibald to the Port/City Liaison Committee. Vote: Ayes—Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mr. Walters requested that Item D be removed from the Consent Agenda. Anacortes City Council Minutes August 18, 2014 1 Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes —Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Approval of Vouchers/Cancellation of Checks Council voted unanimously that the following vouchers/checks audited and certified by the City's Auditing Officer(Finance Director) and subsequently reviewed and approved by the Council Finance Committee on August 6, 2014 and August 13, 2014 are approved for payment as of August 18, 2014. Claims Check Numbers 73332 through 73503 in the total amount of$287,835.40 EFT Number 73331 in the total amount of$93.60 Prewritten Claims Check Numbers 73329 through 73330 in the total amount of$5,306.90 Payroll for August 5, 2014 in the total amount of$897,682.27 Check Numbers 39767 through 39826 in the total amount of$41,049.38 Direct Deposit Numbers from 54953 through 55166 in the total amount of$623,872.30 EFT Numbers from 1699 through 1703 in the total amount of$232,760.59 In the same motion Council: approved the minutes of August 4, 2014 and August 11, 2014 as if read; and accepted as complete the H Avenue Sewer Project-Special Sewer District 2014 contract(13-012- ADM)with Welch Brothers Construction, Inc. Regarding Item D, Resolution 1893: Interlocal Agreement to Establish a Home Consortium under the National Affordable Housing Act, Mr. Walters stated that Skagit County is a party to the subject agreement and disclosed that he is an employee of Skagit County with a fixed salary and therefore a remote interest in the contract and that he may not attempt to influence any other City elected official on the matter. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to approve Resolution 1893 authorizing the Mayor to enter into an Interlocal Cooperation Agreement with other municipalities in Skagit County, Whatcom County and Island County, agreeing to participate as a member of a regional consortium that will qualify the area for additional funding to address homelessness and the shortage of homes affordable to lower-wage workers and others. Vote: Ayes— Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Pickett and Adams. Abstain—Walters. Motion carried. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Ordinance 2934: H Avenue Sanitary Sewer Area Specific Surcharge Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer requested Council approval of Ordinance 2934 finalizing the area specific charges for the H Avenue Sanitary Sewer District established on March 3, 2014 by Ordinance 2920. He reported that the estimated cost was higher than the actual cost so the final connection surcharge decreased from $6,563.67 to $5,306.31. Mr. Buckenmeyer pointed out that no parcel is required to hook up to this sewer until such time as its septic service is no longer functioning per Skagit County Health Department regulations and that the surcharge applies only at the time of hook up. Furthermore, as specified in Ordinance 2920 the surcharge is waived for parcels that hook up within two years to encourage hook ups sooner. Mr. Walters noted that under the installment option the monthly payments total to more than the $5,306.31 surcharge. Finance Director Steve Hoglund responded that the monthly payments include interest. In response to a question from Ms. Lovelett, Mr. Buckenmeyer clarified that the H Avenue surcharge is in addition to regular sewer General Facilities Charges. Ms. Pickett asked that the last sentence of Section 2.B allowing payment in full after some number of installment payments explicitly state that in that case no interest would be charged past the date of final payment ("no penalty for prepayment"). Ms. Lovelett asked that the interest rate be stated in the ordinance. Mr. Buckenmeyer agreed to make the 6% interest rate explicit. Mr. Walters asked that the ordinance come back before Council with the requested changes for approval on the Consent Agenda. Mr. Miller and Mr. Archibald agreed. City Attorney Brad Furlong suggested including the final version and a redline showing the changes when the ordinance is brought back to Council. Anacortes City Council Minutes August 18, 2014 2 NEW BUSINESS Ordinance 2929: Imposing Penalties for Violations of Street Excavation Permits Mr. Buckenmeyer requested Council approval of Ordinance 2929 imposing penalties for those who work within City right of way without paying for the required ROW permit. Mr. Buckenmeyer said that this was not a frequent occurrence but that there was currently no penalty for this in City code and added that the penalty mirrors the Building Code which charges a double permit fee if a required permit is not obtained. Mr. Buckenmeyer said that the ordinance was drafted by the City Attorney. Councilmembers discussed the need for permits to ensure that work is inspected and City assets are protected. Mr. Walters wondered if the penalty was a large enough disincentive but observed that Council could take further action in the future if required. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to approve Ordinance 2929 making findings; adding a new section to AMC Chapter 12.08 "Street Excavations;" imposing penalties for violations; providing for severability; and establishing an effective date. Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. Ordinance 2931: Remove Outdated Sections of Municipal Code Ordinance 2932: Repeal Anacortes Development Authority Finance Director Steve Hoglund explained these two housekeeping ordinances removing outdated sections of City code. Mr. Walters advised that these changes had been recommended by the City Council Finance Committee. He thanked former Councilmember Terry Christiansen for pointing out a number of needed code updates so they can be addressed. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve Ordinance 2931 repealing outdated and unused sections of Anacortes Municipal Code and Ordinance 2932 repealing Ordinance No. 2021 adopted October 20, 1986, and Chapter 2.72, Downtown Development Authority, of the Anacortes Municipal Code. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 8:03 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of August 18, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes August 18, 2014 3