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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-07-07 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—July 7, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of July 7, 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 Connie Munsey, 2411 Skyline Way, referenced a recent Anacortes American article about the Samish and the Fidalgo Bay. She asked when the Samish had taken over DNR's responsibilities and if the City was accountable to the tribe's findings. Ms. Munsey said there are too many layers of government already. Mayor Gere advised that staff would respond to Ms. Munsey's question the next day. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Proclamation of General Aviation Month: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming June 2014 to be General Aviation Appreciation Month in Anacortes. Mr. Johnson reported from the Public Works Committee. Regarding the proposed Transportation Benefit District (TBD)to be discussed later in the evening, Mr. Johnson said it would take $1.96M/year just to maintain the city's pavement in its current condition and it would take$2.8M/year for 10 years to increase the average PCI by five points from 64 to 69. Mr. Johnson presented the mix of funding proposed by staff to raise $1.1 M/year and discussed a range of potential property tax increases ranging from $.257/1000 to $.419/1000 that could increase the total to$2.8M/year depending on the mix of other funding sources. Mr. Walters reported from the Planning Committee which met earlier in the evening. He said the committee would be taking up assisted living, the medical marijuana moratorium work plan,joining a consortium to apply for matching grants for low income housing, design standards for some corridors, miscellaneous code amendment proposals, and oversize parking regulations. Mr. Walters shared a revised draft of the proposed rail oil safety resolution. He said it would be scheduled for discussion at the July 21, 2014 regular City Council meeting. Mr. Adams suggested moving agenda Item 7a, Center for Happiness Presentation, up to immediately following the Consent Agenda. Councilmembers and the mayor concurred. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. 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 June 18, 2014, June 25, 2014 and July 2, 2014 are approved for payment as of July 7, 2014. Claims Check Numbers 72794 through 72998 in the total amount of$1,442,465.41 EFT Numbers 72788 through 72793 in the total amount of$63,195.40 Payroll for June 20, 2014 in the total amount of$615,856.49 Check Numbers 39624 through 39653 in the total amount of$25,592.31 Direct Deposit Numbers from 54339 through 54538 in the total amount of$365,366.14 EFT Numbers from 1682 through 1686 in the total amount of$224,898.04 Payroll for July 3, 2014 in the total amount of$937,569.40 Check Numbers 39654 through 39715 in the total amount of$38,471.60 Direct Deposit Numbers from 54539 through 54748 in the total amount of$607,478.48 EFT Numbers from 1687 through 1691 in the total amount of$291,619.32 Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 1 In the same motion Council: approved the minutes of June 16, 2014 and June 23, 2014 as if read; approved the Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law and Decision for BananaBelt Boats, LLC Shoreline Substantial Development Permit(SDP-2013-0003); and accepted as complete the 2014 Utility& Street Improvement Project contract with C. Johnson Construction (14-006-WTR-001). Center for Happiness Presentation Laura Lavigne 1314 15th Street, reported on the activities of the Center for Happiness which opened in 2011 and recently became one of the first social purpose corporations in Washington State with the mission to"provide joy, growth, connection and kindness to its patrons and anyone associated with it, as well as to the local, state, national and world community." Ms. Lavigne shared a slide show depicting the many activities of the Center to build community, raise funds to help community members, and share positive news. She said that in May 2012 the group began standing at the corner of 12th and Commercial waving signs printed by How it Works bearing positive messages. She said this Happiness Sprinkling Project caught on and has spread to other towns across the nation and now around the world and has brought international media attention to Anacortes. Ms. Lavigne said Anacortes is increasingly known as The Happy City. She invited the City to help grow the idea that Anacortes is the Happiness City and build on the momentum. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Public Hearing: Ordinance 2926, Transportation Benefit District Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer reported that legal notice of the evening's public hearing had been published in the paper. For the benefit of the audience he recapped the material presented at the prior City Council meetings on this topic and the public comments received to date. He described the funding constraints that led to the City's current pavement condition and explained why staff's priority is the arterial street system (excluding State Route 20). He recapped the 2013 Pavement Management report prepared for the City by consultant Capitol Asset Management which showed an average pavement condition index (PCI) of 64 compared to the Anacortes PCI of 76 in 1998 and the current state average of 76 for similarly sized cities. He shared the pavement deterioration curve prepared by the consultant and noted the point at which maintenance becomes drastically more expensive. He emphasized that money is most effectively spent in maintaining streets that are already in good condition. Mr. Buckenmeyer shared a graph showing expected pavement condition changes at various levels of spending and summarized staff's proposed funding scenarios for different desired PCI levels. He then reviewed and responded to some of the public comments received thus far. Next Mr. Buckenmeyer reviewed the latest funding package proposed by staff to raise $1.1 M/year for street maintenance over the next 10 years: 1. Allocate $100K of existing property tax revenue to streets and increase by 1% per year 2. Allocate $100K of existing sales tax revenue to streets and increase by 2% per year 3. Allocate half of projected REET, estimated to yield $250K per year 4. Allocate all sulfur mitigation payments from the Port of Anacortes, estimated at$150K per year 5. Increase the solid waste utility tax from 3.4% to 12% and allocate the increase to streets, estimated at$200K per year 6. Increase vehicle license tabs by$20, estimated to net$300K per year Mr. Buckenmeyer then listed the Top Ten Street Reconstruction Projects (as opposed to maintenance projects). Following up on Mr. Johnson's comments, Mr. Buckenmeyer presented a slide showing estimated funding that would be raised by property tax increases of varying levels. He recommended considering a modest property tax increase in the future. Mr. Buckenmeyer closed by summarizing staff's recommendation: establish a TBD, implement$20 car tabs, and per ordinance raise the solid waste tax to 12% in 2014, then consider a voter approved property tax increase in 2015. Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 2 At approximately 8:05 Mayor Gere opened the public hearing. Jack Arrington, 5009 Croatian Way, noted that the City received $4.8M in grants for special projects that could not be used for paving streets. He said none of his representatives had contacted the granting agencies to complain about spending on trails instead of streets. He said citizens should push back and spend money on what it needs to be spent on. Mr. Arrington reported that 82 people had signed a petition urging Council to resolve to spend no more money on trails until the roads are repaired and all related taxes are repealed, accept no new grants unless they can be used for streets, and refrain from establishing a TBD until the voters approve it. Mr. Arrington worried that some citizens supported the petition but were intimidated from signing because they didn't want the government to retaliate against them. He said he would provide the petition to Council but asked for assurance that the government would not retaliate. Mayor Gere said there would be no retaliation but any document provided to Council would become part of the public record. Mr. Arrington declined to share his petition. Gary Hagland, 2211 37th Court, asked where the matching funds come from for grants. Mayor Gere confirmed that matching funds are City funds. Jim Ramaglia, 4204 Clyde Way, said he grew up in Kodiak, AK which had failing roads so decided to create assessment districts to make residents pay their share of the roads. He said he didn't enjoy paying for it but it was really nice to have the roads repaired. Mr. Ramaglia said hard decisions are part of the job of councilmember and that this is the time for bold action. He said we can never afford what needs to be done but that if councilmembers were forward thinking and creative they would be proud of what they had accomplished and residents would be happy to drive on nice roads. He offered his support for repairing the streets. Virginia "Bunny" Heiner, 804 K Avenue, said she was in favor of establishing the TBD and the $20 vehicle tabs and the increased tax on garbage. She urged Council to do it. Wiley Clark, 5304 Doon Way, said under the staff proposal only property owners would be paying taxes for street repairs, not renters. Mr. Clark said $100 vehicle tabs instead of a property tax increase might sell better to voters. He said it needs to go to a vote of the people. Mr. Clark said he'd vote for$100 car tabs but didn't want new taxing districts that would one day be abused by bureaucrats and politicians. Gene Huff, 2319 23rd Street, asked the likelihood of getting grants for paving streets. Mr. Buckenmeyer regretfully reported that such grants don't exist for cities the size of Anacortes. Chuck Bush, 2308 Forest View Lane, agreed with Mr. Arrington. He said the Guemes Channel Trail would be nice to have but if grants require matching funds, the City should stop taking those grants for trails. He said Anacortes money should be used to benefit the local citizenry and that means providing decent streets and roads. No one else wishing to speak, at approximately 8:23 p.m. Mayor Gere closed the public hearing. She invited each councilmember to share his or her views. Mr. Miller said he is not a fan of the TBD mechanism because Olympia has used it to push transportation funding off on the cities. He called staff's current funding proposal fairly balanced. He said he was willing to look at the FTE in the city budget as part of the overall equation. He said he supported this balanced proposal but he wanted public comment on the vehicle tabs and the other components. Mr. Miller said this is not the$65M first proposed which he was not comfortable with. He cautioned that the PCI may not be the best way to measure the condition of streets. Mr. Archibald said the staff proposal was a good balance and that he was okay with $20 vehicle tabs because the expense occurs only once a year and is predictable. He said he didn't need any more public comment on it. Mr. Archibald urged following staff's recommended funding plan for a few years before raising more taxes. He called the plan a good start. Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 3 Ms. Lovelett said forming the TBD guarantees that the funds will go for streets and allows people to vote on the level of service they want. She said personnel cuts won't be enough, it will require a large leverage of funds to fix the streets. She cautioned against gutting other city services to fix streets and said roads are only part of the quality of life. Ms. Lovelett said she did not support$20 vehicle tabs and would rather use cash reserves than nickel and dime the citizens. She opposed a ballot measure in November. Ms. Lovelett urged showing the public how far$1.5M/year can go and then evaluating if bond or levy initiatives are necessary. She concluded that pavement management strategies need to get into the Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Adams supported putting the TBD in place and said the $1.1M funding package looked pretty good. He said reserve funds should be made available for specific projects where appropriate. He expressed concern about using excess public safety tax for streets. He urged seeing how far$1.1 M/year will go and said that amount can be stretched to make some good progress. Ms. Pickett said she liked the TBD because it gives a dedicated location for money, including the car tabs, to be spent on streets so it can't be redirected as it was in the past. She noted that car tab fees have fallen over the past few years so this is actually replacing revenues that are missing. She said staff's recommendation is not another layer of government and gives the community a guarantee it hasn't had in the past, which is why she likes it. Mr. Walters posed questions asked in a letter from citizen Vernon Lauridsen. 1) Have City staff ground truthed the PCI report and generally agree with its assessments? Mr. Buckenmeyer said yes, and that the trends are consistent with past ratings. 2) If the analysis protocol comes from the Bay Area, do we believe the deterioration will be as fast here? Mr. Buckenmeyer said yes, it's a standard way of evaluating streets in Washington and Oregon and has been proven. 3)Are there other infrastructure needs for sewer, water, etc, that are unfunded that might take precedence over roads? Mr. Buckenmeyer said the 3MG water tank was the only one and it would be coming back to Council soon with a funding mechanism. Mr. Walters observed that the TBD would involve some overhead and that if the City didn't dedicate new car tab fees to streets it wouldn't need to form the TBD. He questioned the characterization of the property tax and sales tax that would be allocated to streets and cautioned against using any of the money dedicated for street maintenance to match grant funds for street improvements. He asked why staff didn't propose dedicating all REET to streets. Mr. Buckenmeyer explain that REET I can be used for other purposes that also need funding. Mr. Walters argued for spending all of both REET I and REET II on streets. Mr. Walters said that in addition to the proposed motion, he would like a resolution laying out the entire proposed street spending plan and would also like staff or the City Attorney to investigate an interlocal agreement between the City and the TBD to bind Council to spending on streets. Mr. Johnson observed that the TBD is the City Council and if people don't like what TBD does, they can vote councilmembers out of office. He said the PCI is fairly well accepted by the industry and that its real purpose was to indicate how much it will cost to fix different streets at different points in time. He advocated spending less money now rather than a huge amount later. He said he didn't think cutting City staff was a viable option to fund street maintenance. He said ultimately the TBD is the tool Council has to force itself to spend money on roads. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to authorize the mayor to prepare an ordinance forming a citywide Transportation Benefit District implementing a 20 dollar vehicle license fee pursuant to the RCW and authorize the preparation of a resolution increasing the solid waste utility tax to 12%. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to amend the motion to add a request for a separate resolution laying out the complete package including the other funding sources that will be dedicated to street maintenance and the top ten list of projects. Mr. Walters explained that he wanted the latter resolution to provide accountability. Vote on amendment: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Nays— Pickett. Motion to amend carried. Vote on amended motion: Vote: Ayes—Adams, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Nays—Lovelett. Amended motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 4 At approximately 8:55 p.m. Mayor Gere called a brief recess. At 9:00 the mayor called the meeting back to order. Due to the late hour Mayor Gere moved agenda Items 7c and 7d forward for consideration. Noise Variance Request: Guemes Island Ferry Transfer Span Work Mr. Measamer presented a noise variance request from Culbertson Marine to conduct maintenance and repair work on the Guemes Island ferry terminal transfer span between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. on July 7, 2014 through July 11, 2014. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the noise variance and to find that special circumstances exist because of tidal conditions. Vote: Ayes— Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Noise Variance Request: Guemes Island Ferry Dolphin Replacement Mr. Measamer presented a noise variance request from Skagit County to replace five creosote piling dolphins with five new steel piling dolphins and a new mooring system at the Guemes Island ferry terminal including work between the hours of 10:00 p.m. and 7:00 a.m. between July 15, 2014 and August 14, 2014. He said the work has to take place at low tides which sometimes occur at night. Jennifer Swanson, Skagit County Public Works Project Manager, explained the work to be performed and said the work will typically be scheduled for daytime hours but may sometimes need to occur at night. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to find that special circumstances exist due to low tides and to approve the noise variance for periods of low tides but not for pile driving. Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. Ordinance 2925: Recreational Marijuana Businesses Interim Planning Director Don Measamer referred to the June 16, 2014 City Council meeting at which councilmembers discussed the proposed regulations for siting recreational marijuana businesses and requested additional information from staff. Mr. Measamer reviewed that information which was included in the Council packet. He also reported on a June 19, 2014 conversation with the WSLCB regarding educational materials and public safety campaigns. Mr. Measamer presented draft Ordinance 2925 for Council consideration and pointed out that it specifies retail operations only in the Commercial and LM1 zones and producers and processors only in the LM1 zone. Ms. Lovelett confirmed the limited area that would be available in the Commercial zone for retail 1-502 businesses. Mr. Miller confirmed that the Planning Commission had voted to approve retail 1-502 businesses in the Commercial zone. Ms. Pickett explained why she favored excluding retail operations from the Commercial zone and allowing them only in the LM1 zone. Mr. Johnson observed that the vote on 1-502 in Anacortes was 55% for, 45% against which was not a supermajority. He suggested examining not just logistics but social impacts of the initiative and recommended a 12-month moratorium and an I- 502 Implementation Task Force to address unanswered questions. He outlined a series of questions to be answered. At approximately 9:23 p.m. Mayor Gere observed that the public hearing remained open from the June 16, 2014 meeting and invited members of the public to speak. Chuck Bush, 2308 Forest View Lane, said Mr. Johnson had enumerated the questions very well. Mr. Bush referenced his letter in the Council packet which expressed similar sentiments. He said he was concerned primarily about kids. He said marijuana is high potency and a stepping stone to the next drug up. He thanked Mr. Johnson. Dr. Jason Kitzman, 20654 Prairie Road, Sedro Woolley, referenced his letter in the Council packet which he hoped answered some questions from the last meeting about him personally and about him running a recreational marijuana retail business. He said his business is legitimate and is ready to do this by the law. Dr. Kitzman said his priorities are following state rules and observing the safety of his patrons and employees. He said they will hand out any health and safety materials required by the State. He mentioned that they will hire 20 plus employees and will generate tax revenue. He reported that Colorado just finished its first undercover test of retail stores and issued zero violations for minors in stores or purchasing. He said Washington State has set up good regulations prohibiting driving under the influence of marijuana. He said the Washington system for lab testing is much stricter than in Colorado. He said his Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 5 business will locate wherever Council allows 1-502 retail and that the LM1 zone offers plenty of opportunities. Will Reigel, 14137 Crater Lake Road, said he appreciated Mr. Johnson's concerns but that 1-502 had been approved by a majority of Washington voters, and Skagit voters, over a year before. He referenced layers of restraint and double check and said it is much easier to get a liquor license than a license to grow marijuana. He said those concerned about kids should have the conversation with their children and that it is not government's job to parent children. He said those concerned about potency should not use marijuana. Mr. Reigel said the Federal government has cleared it so long as it fits the eight points that the Justice Department has put out, the WSLCB is regulating it, so let's stop talking and let's start doing. Scott Redmond, 2970 Cameron Ridge Lane, Ferndale, said he has a Tier 2 license at 9019 Molly Lane. He said he has 7500 SF that has to be more secure than the Casino that he has been renting and improving since January with no ability do business. He said the longer the moratorium is in effect the more money he loses and the less revenue the State gets. He said it makes more sense, since it's been voted on, to let them do it. He said Colorado has had a 10.1% drop in crime, 5.2% of it violent crime and people are moving to Colorado for the industry. He said he will employ 8-25 people and pay around $300K per year to employees and said Colorado is creating 2000 jobs a month with this. He said they just want to get to work and start doing this so the quicker the moratorium is lifted the better off everyone is. Gene Huff, 2319 23rd Street, thanked Mr. Johnson for suggesting a 12-month moratorium and told Council if it can't answer Mr. Johnson's questions, it should agree with Mr. Johnson. Mr. Huff said this does not exist for monetary purposes for those wanting to open a store or grow pot, they should have done their due diligence before investing. He pled with Council to pass a moratorium for 12 months in order to answer the critical questions raised by Mr. Johnson. Steve Roestel, 11912 Fidalgo Bay Road, said he has an application for growing and processing marijuana that has been on hold at the City, that he was one of the first to go through the process with the WSLCB, and that he was just waiting for the moratorium to lift to start his business. Mr. Roestel shared his personal history of injury and illness, pain medication, and addiction. He described how medical marijuana got him off opiates and said cannabis is much safer and better. Mr. Roestel reported some medical applications of cannabinoids and historical uses of hemp. He said the average age of applicants to the WSLCB for recreational marijuana businesses is his age, not a bunch of kids and hippies. Mr. Roestel explained why he had applied for recreational rather than a medical marijuana growing license. Connie Munsey, 2411 Skyline Way, said that in the 1960's Anacortes marijuana was the best on the UW campus because of the ideal growing conditions. She encouraged councilmembers to read Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. She said she appreciated the very thoughtful process Council needs to go through on this because a lot of Washington voters have buyer's remorse about the initiative. No one else wishing to speak, at approximately 9:52 p.m. Mayor Gere closed the public hearing. Mr. Miller agreed with Mr. Johnson about the moratorium. He said he believes in personal freedom and States' rights and the voters approved it but that Council has a duty to adopt and enforce regulations that are best for the community. Mr. Miller noted that councilmembers are sworn to obey the laws of the United States and the State of Washington which are in conflict. Regarding the moratorium, he said he'd rather have Anacortes lead the planet in other things than recreational marijuana and that Anacortes doesn't need to be leading the charge. He said it takes a while to come out of 100 years of prohibition of something. He called 1-502 an unfunded mandate. Mr. Miller listed a number of details that need to be worked out. He said the WSLCB is not ready and Anacortes isn't ready. Mr. Archibald said that he is more familiar with marijuana, he understands it, but he also understands his colleagues' concerns. He said education is huge. Mr. Archibald said he didn't think it was a good idea to have it in the Commercial zone where it would be in front of kids. He said it was time to start educating about the issue. Mr. Archibald said the rest of the regulations in the ordinance are pretty good. He added that it's a lot easier to get a liquor license than a marijuana retail license. Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 6 Ms. Lovelett said it is not Council's responsibility to legislate morality and that drugs are already in the community. She called for straightforward and sensible regulation to provide a mechanism to keep an eye on things. She spoke against putting businesses in limbo for another year. She said drug education conversations need to start at home and also happen at school. She argued that more young lives have been ruined by incarceration for drugs than by occasional marijuana use. She predicted that 1-502 will have very little impact on daily life. She said Council is deciding based on fear of the unknown rather than facts. Ms. Lovelett said the voters approved it, the State is regulating it and Council's job is to zone it. She said she was fine with moving retail out of the Commercial zone if that was the community preference. Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to approve Ordinance 2925 relating to the production, processing and retailing of state licensed recreational marijuana uses. Mr. Adams reported that at a recent AWC conference he learned that all cities in Washington are struggling with this. He said the WSLCB estimates that licensed retail businesses will only capture 14- 25% of actual consumption in the state and explained why. He said the state is regulating edible products because they are already widely available. Mr. Adams said that Washington State is a case study for the world. He argued that Anacortes should not feel pressure to pass something right away but that Council is responsible to zone responsibly. He said he was in favor of putting retail 1-502 businesses in the LM1, not the Commercial zone. Ms. Pickett said this is not a new problem. She said that the most important thing to tell kids about drugs is that on the street you don't know what you are getting. She argued that legalization gives some protection so buyers know what is in what they are buying. She said the voters have spoken, and that state regulations give some control over potency and purity. Mr. Walters appreciated people's concerns but he was not in favor of re-litigating the initiative. He said I- 502 passed by 10 points in Anacortes. He said the Implementation Task Force is a good idea but he wouldn't limit it to marijuana. He said marijuana is already in Anacortes and that's why Council should not hold off on adopting an ordinance. He said he would vote for the ordinance because the best possible outcome from the experiment the state is running would be to make the regulated market work. He indicated he was comfortable moving forward with the commonsense ordinance that addresses zoning, which is Council's domain. Mr. Measamer addressed questions from councilmembers about the canopy area for producers regulated by the WSLCB. He advised that the ordinance addresses the impact of producers and processors on the wastewater system and that in that regard they will be addressed like any other industrial facility. Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to amend the proposed Ordinance 2925 to strike"17.24.020, COMMERCIAL USE ZONE PERMITTED USES;AMENDING AMC SECTION"from the title, remove Section 2, and renumber the remaining sections accordingly, so as to allow recreational marijuana businesses only in the LM1 zone and not in the Commercial zone. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Nays-Walters. Amendment carried. Vote on amended motion: Ayes— Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Nays— Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. NEW BUSINESS Skagit County Skagit River General Investigation Study County Commissioner Ron Wesen thanked Council for the funding it provided the prior year for the GI study. He introduced Kara Symonds, Skagit County Public Works Watershed Planner. Ms. Symonds explained that the General Investigation is a single purpose flood risk reduction study led by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She advised that the Corps Project Delivery Team had issued a draft feasibility report and environmental impact statement including a preferred alternative and that the 45-day public comment period ends July 21. Ms. Symonds said the preferred alternative involves about 9 miles of raised and widened levies through the urban corridor and three miles of new levy as well as additional storage at the Baker project. She said it will increase season that upper Baker storage is available and also add storage at lower Baker. Mr. Walters asked how this would affect the Anacortes Water Treatment Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 7 Plant. Ms. Simons explained that no raising of levies was proposed for rural Riverbend and that the plant will remain in the 100 year flood plain but the recent plant improvements incorporated some flood protection measures. Ordinance 2924: Repealing Ordinance 1952, Road Improvement Fund Mr. Buckenmeyer briefly explained that Ordinance 1952, adopted passed in 1984, assumed a west end development project that never happened so there was never any revenue, the ordinance no longer served a purpose, and staff recommended repealing it. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve Ordinance 2924 repealing Ordinance No. 1952, Chapter 3.62, Road Improvement Fund, of the Anacortes Municipal Code. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Contract Award: Q& R Avenue Paving Project - Phase 2 City Engineer Matt Reynolds requested Council approval of a contract for Phase 2 of the Q/R Avenue paving project. He explained the extent of the project, between 4th and 11th Streets on Q Avenue and between 23rd and 34th Streets on R Avenue. He said the work would occur between August 4 and September 19. Mr. Reynolds reported the Engineer's Estimate was $460,000 and that the City received one bid, from Lakeside Industries, Inc., in the amount of$462,336. He recommended awarding the contract to Lakeside. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to award the contract to Lakeside Industries in the amount of$462,336. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Contract Award: NPDES Permit Compliance/Stormwater Plan Update Consultant Services Mr. Reynolds explained that the City has always passed muster with its Phase II NPDES permit but that staff recommended an outside look to ensure that the City is truly compliant and that the program is as efficient as it can be. He added that the City's 2007 Stormwater Management Plan also needs updating. Mr. Reynolds reported that staff used the MRSC consultant roster to solicit consultants, interviewed three of them, and selected Tetra Tech, Inc. and negotiated a contract with them. He recommended awarding the contract to Tetra Tech in the amount of$81,536. Ms. Lovelett asked if the expected $50,000 grant from Dept. of Ecology would offset that cost. Mr. Reynolds said that most of it would. Ms. Lovelett remarked on the number of consultant contracts awarded recently and asked how this compares to prior years and if some of the work could be done in house. Mayor Gere said the contracting level was pretty typical. Mr. Reynolds and Mr. Furlong addressed the risk management benefits of hiring an outside consultant for this task. Mr. Miller asked why the contract did not include stormwater quality monitoring. Mr. Walters asked to focus in on the education component of the permit, currently outsourced to the Skagit Conservation District, and suggested that money might be better spent. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to approve the contract with Tetra Tech, Inc. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Contract Award: WWTP Controls - Pump Station 14 Softstarter/Belt Press Variable Frequency Drive W3 (Recycled Water) Control Panel Mr. Reynolds requested approval to award a contract to Quality Controls Corporation (QCC)to provide instrumentation and controls work for three separate projects at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Noting that Council had already approved Resolution 1876 designating QCC as the sole source contractor for this work, he described the work to be performed. Mr. Reynolds recommended awarding the contract to QCC in the amount of$41,477.89. Ms. Pickett moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve the contract with QCC. Vote: Ayes— Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 10:35 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of July 7, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes July 7, 2014 8