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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-03 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—March 3, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of March 3, 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 Mayor Gere welcomed members of Scout Troop 4081 who were working on their Civics badge. Mayor Gere read a press release announcing the resignation of Planning, Community and Economic Development Director Ryan Larsen effective March 21, 2014 to accept a position with another municipality. She thanked Mr. Larsen for his service since joining the City in 2008. The mayor said she was developing a succession plan and would take time to assess how to best serve the City's long term community and economic development needs including input from staff and the community. Public Works Committee: Mr. Walters reported that this committee met the prior week and talked exclusively about the H Avenue Sewer project which would be discussed later on the agenda. Finance Committee: Mr. Johnson reported that at last Wednesday's weekly meeting this committee discussed the Skagit County Jail interlocal agreement and the mechanism for transferring the .3°/0 public safety sales tax to the County. He said this would come back before full Council for action at the next regular meeting. He said the committee was also working on policy issues such as fund balances and rainy day funds. Planning Committee: Mr. Adams reported that this committee met earlier in the evening with the participation of City Attorney Brad Furlong to discuss options and best uses for the Willette Business Park in preparation for the study session on this topic on March 10. Unfinished Business Resolution 1885: Public Participation Plan for 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Planning Director Ryan Larsen reminded that the draft Public Participation Plan had been reviewed on previous occasions by both Planning Commission and City Council and that Council had asked staff to solicit input on the plan from consultant MAKERS. Mr. Larsen presented a revised draft that included edits from MAKERS and additions to several sections including the proposed schedule to incorporate a proposed Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee. Mr. Larsen requested that Council approve Resolution 1885 to solidify the Public Participation Plan. Mrs. Pickett said she still had misgivings about an Ad-Hoc Committee and observed that the Plan did not specify how many people would be on the Ad-Hoc Committee, who they represent, whether its meetings would be noticed and open to public, etc. Mr. Larsen said there would be a separate document chartering the Ad-Hoc Committee and outlining its roles and responsibilities but that it would not replace the Planning Commission, that it would have no authority, and that it was envisioned as an investigative body to recommend and gather facts for the Planning Commission. He gave examples of such research tasks. He said the charter document would be discussed at the City Council's March 10 study session. Mrs. Pickett asked to ensure there were no conflicts of interest. Mr. Larsen said Council could wait to develop the Ad-Hoc Committee charter before taking action on the proposed Public Participation Plan. Councilmembers discussed but came to no conclusions on how the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update should affect the 2014 and 2015 annual plan amendment cycles. Mr. Larsen said he would bring the Public Participation Plan back to Council after the March 10 study session. Mrs. Pickett asked that Anacortes City Council Minutes March 3, 2014 1 paragraph regarding the Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee Meetings on page 3 refer to "Anacortes residents" rather than "community members". Mr. Adams noted that some phases of the Public Participation Plan were already underway and asked when the results of the MAKERS interviews would be available for review. Mr. Larsen said MAKERS was finalizing the comments from the last few interviews conducted the prior week and then they would be made available. Mr. Walters said he appreciated that the project would have a Facebook page and suggested that the City also establish an email listsery for the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Update. Mayor Gere reminded that the first public visioning meeting would be held March 27, 2014 in the City Council chambers. Resolution 1886: Confirming Denial of The MJB Properties, LLC Proposed Comprehensive Plan Map Amendment and Rezone and Considering the Request in the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update Mr. Larsen reminded that at its February 18, 2014 meeting Council voted 5-2 to recommend denial of the subject request. He presented draft Resolution 1886 confirming that decision and said it had been reviewed by Mr. Furlong. Mr. Larsen requested Council approval of Resolution 1886. Councilmembers made several grammatical corrections to the final paragraph so it would read: The Planning Commission recommendation to deny the change to the comprehensive plan designation from Industrial (I)to Commercial 2 District(C2) concurrently with a rezone from Industrial (I)to Commercial 2 District(C2), add the text additions to the Comprehensive Plan, and create a new Section 17.25 Commercial 2 District and recommendation to process the proposed request with the 2016 Comprehensive Plan Periodic Update is hereby accepted. Mrs. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to accept Resolution 1886 confirming denial of the MJB Properties, LLC proposed comprehensive plan map amendment and rezone and considering the request in the 2016 comprehensive plan periodic update. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, and Johnson. Nays-Walters. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Regarding Item C, the Street Fair Request for the Anacortes Antique Machinery Show, Ms. Lovelett observed that Council had previously approved a separate street fair request for a separate event the same weekend. Mr. Archibald requested that Item D, the Street Fair Application for the Oyster Run, be removed from the Consent Agenda. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. 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 February 19, 2014 and February 26, 2014 are approved for payment as of March 3, 2014. Claims Check Numbers 71507 through 71640 in the total amount of$381,385.45 EFT Numbers 71505 through 71506 in the total amount of$1,965.46 Prewritten Claims Check Number 71504 in the total amount of$5000.00 Payroll for February 20, 2014 in the total amount of$581,638.55 Check Numbers 39279 through 39300 in the total amount of$21,959.13 Direct Deposit Numbers from 52755 through 52944 in the total amount of$349,432.61 EFT Numbers from 1640 through 1644 in the total amount of 210,246.81 Anacortes City Council Minutes March 3, 2014 2 In the same motion Council: Approved the minutes of February 18, 2014, February 21, 2014 and February 24, 2014 as if read; Approved a Street Fair Application for the Anacortes Antique Machinery Show on Saturday, September 13, 2014 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and Accepted as complete the 22nd Street and R Avenue Intersection Improvements contract (11- 043-TRN-004)with Taylor's Excavators, Inc. Regarding the Oyster Run Street Fair Application, Mr. Archibald asked if street fair requests made any attempt to avoid placing event vendors in competition with existing downtown merchants. Mr. Larsen explained that Street Fair Applications only address which streets will be closed, not whether or where event vendors are located. Mr. Archibald urged discussing competing interests in the same area. Mrs. Pickett suggested that be taken up with the event organizers. Mr. Archibald argued that the City should protect local businesses. Mr. Walters said it was a valid point for discussion and suggested this be taken up as a policy discussion at a future meeting or referred to committee. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve the Street Fair Application for the Oyster Run on Sunday, September 28, 2014 from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Labor Market Conditions in Skagit County Dr. Anneliese Vance-Sherman from the Washington State Employment Security Department provided a labor market update on the recent recession and recovery periods in Skagit County. She reported the Skagit County unemployment rate was 8.1% in December 2013 and had been decreasing since 2011 with a civilian labor force estimated at 54,300 and 4,380 persons unemployed. Dr. Vance-Sherman said unemployment in Skagit County had been tracking similarly to the state overall and shared a map showing comparative unemployment rates by county. She reported that labor force growth had stalled statewide and in Skagit County, partly due to the aging work force and increasing retirements. Dr. Vance- Sherman said Skagit County had been adding about 50 jobs each month, a slow but steady 1.4% rate, similar to the state overall. She illustrated comparative trends among neighboring counties. She said construction was the hardest hit industry during the recession and hasn't really recovered yet but other sectors are recovering and that manufacturing and leisure and hospitality have grown the most in Skagit County during the recovery. She shared projections for recovery in various employment sectors for Northwest Washington. Dr. Vance-Sherman noted that businesses are making do with fewer workers by not backfilling positions after retirements and said the youth unemployment rate is very high. Ordinance 2920: H Avenue Sanitary Sewer Area Specific Surcharge Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer presented an ordinance establishing a special sewer rate district. He reported that the proposal had been discussed at length by the Public Works Committee. Mr. Buckenmeyer displayed a map of the area in question along and east of H Avenue south of 41st Street. He reported that several years ago several residents in the area approached the City about connecting to the City sanitary sewer system. He said currently some homes in the area are on septic, some parcels are undeveloped, and some parcels are connected via private side sewers. Given limited development potential due to limited parcel size no large development is likely to drive the sewer expansion. Mr. Buckenmeyer said staff explored establishing an LID or a latecomers agreement but neither were optimal for this situation. Instead, he proposed a funding mechanism similar to the Skyline dredging project, whereby the City funds the public improvements and the special rate district pays off the cost. He said the sewer extension would be constructed with sewer reserve funds and the residents in the area would pay the GFC and a sewer surcharge when their parcels connect to the sewer line, which can be any time in the future. He said the surcharge amount of$6,463.67 was calculated by dividing the Engineer's Estimate of the project cost by the estimated number of expected hook ups based on existing zoning. Mr. Buckenmeyer said houses in the area currently on septic will not be required to connect to the sewer until their septic systems fail as determined by the Skagit County Health Department. Likewise, parcels connected through private side sewers may use that system until it fails. Mr. Buckenmeyer distributed a revised version of the ordinance from that distributed in the Council packet; the new version reflected recommendations by Public Works Committee members Johnson, Walters and Lovelett. One such change was the waiver of the surcharge for anyone who connects within two years to encourage current residents of the district to connect. Mr. Buckenmeyer pointed out Section C of the ordinance that provides Anacortes City Council Minutes March 3, 2014 3 for revision of the surcharge once the sewer construction is complete and actual construction costs are known. Mr. Walters said it was important to include Exhibit 1 in the codified ordinance to determine the boundaries of the district. Mr. Johnson suggested linking the surcharge to an inflator. Mr. Buckenmeyer said that could be included in the second ordinance finalizing the surcharge. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve Ordinance 2920 relating to wastewater management; adding area- specific rates and charges; and, adding a new section 13.08.027 to the Anacortes Municipal Code. Vote: Ayes—Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried. Resolution 1887: Sole Source Sewer Truck Video Upgrade Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented a resolution authorizing a sole source purchase of P.O.S.M. software for the sewer jet truck camera. Noting that Windows XP will not be supported after April 2014 and that the City's current version of P.O.S.M. won't run on Windows 7, Mr. Hoglund requested authorization to purchase upgraded software from the same vendor without going out for bids. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Archibald, to adopt Resolution 1887 authorizing a sole source purchase of software for the waste water truck from Western System. Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. Licensing Agreement: Microsoft Windows 7 and Office 2013 Mr. Hoglund explained that, as noted above, Windows XP which is the operating system used on most City personal computers will cease to be supported in April 2014. Mr. Hoglund requested Council approval for the mayor to enter into a contract with CompuCom, a volume licensing agent for Microsoft, to purchase Microsoft Windows 7 Professional and Office 2013 on the state contract. He explained that purchasing on the state contract meets the bid requirements but the CompuCom contract exceeds the mayor's $30,000 signature authority. He added that under the contract City employees will be able to purchase Office 2013 for personal use for$9.99 to encourage proficiency with the new software. Mr. Walters emphasized the importance of upgrading to new versions of the operating system and software as they are released to take advantage of performance enhancements and get full value from the CompuCom contract; he noted it would be cheaper for the City to purchase the software off the shelf as a one time cost if it doesn't continually upgrade. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to authorize the mayor to execute a contract with CompuCom to purchase software licenses for Windows 7 and Office 2013 in the amount of$45,067.52. In response to a question from Mr. Adams, Mr. Hoglund confirmed that the cost includes licensed versions of the current software as well as upgraded versions as they become available. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Motion carried. Agreement Amendment: West Side Radio Infrastructure Fire Chief Richard Curtis announced that the West Side Radio Infrastructure Project was nearing completion. He presented an amendment to the agreement with the Skagit Emergency Management Council to pay Anacortes' share of the $450,000 cost that is not covered by the federal grant, which cost is being fronted by the EMC and repaid by the participating agencies over six years. Chief Curtis said the amendment had been reviewed by WCIA. He requested that Council authorize the mayor to sign the amendment for an annual amount of$31,854.74 for the next six years. Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the amendment to the communications contract. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and Miller. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 8:18 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of March 3, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes March 3, 2014 4