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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-11-17 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—November 17, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of November 17, 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. Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Proclamation and Presentation Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming November 2014 to be Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in Anacortes. Joan Mabbutt, a volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, shared informational sheets and described to councilmembers the Wage Hope campaign and other recent and upcoming events to raise awareness and increase funding for research into the disease. Executive Session At approximately 7:09 p.m. Mayor Gere announced that City Council and City Attorney Brad Furlong would convene in Executive Session for approximately 45 minutes to discuss two matters, collective bargaining per RCW 42.30.140(4) and potential litigation per RCW 42.30.110(i)and that no action would be taken. At approximately 7:53 p.m. City Council reconvened in regular session. Citizen Hearings No one present wished to speak. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Mr. Adams spoke about the Movember campaign to increase awareness about men's health and referred the audience to the Movember website for more information regarding early detection and prevention of prostate and testicular cancer and general men's health tips. Mr. Adams reported from the Parks and Recreation Committee which met earlier in the evening and discussed construction beginning on the next phase of the Guemes Channel Trail, the Storvik Park spray park and restroom, and installation of the roundabout sculpture. Ms. Pickett added that Washington Park would turn 100 years old in 2015 and that the occasion would be celebrated in September. Mr. Johnson encouraged development of a long range plan for the park. Ms. Lovelett shared an email from island resident Paul Sherman reporting that his neighborhood had undertaken the Map Your Neighborhood exercise sponsored by the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT). She urged the City to embrace the Map Your Neighborhood program and asked about the possibility of a CERT training for councilmembers. Mr. Johnson expressed support for that idea. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, 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 November 5, 2014 and November 12, 2014 are approved for payment as of November 17, 2014. Claims Check Numbers 74347 through 74486 in the total amount of$300,490.18 EFT Numbers 74345 through 74346 in the total amount of$1,949.60 Pre-Written Claims Check Numbers 74343 through 74344 in the total amount of$5,045.19 Payroll for November 5, 2014 in the total amount of$992,323.50 Check Numbers 40030 through 40082 in the total amount of$32,723.63 Direct Deposit Numbers from 56192 through 56400 in the total amount of$692,142.19 EFT Numbers from 1731 through 1735 in the total amount of$267,457.68 Anacortes City Council Minutes November 17, 2014 1 Cancelled Checks Check Number 74105 in the amount of$75.00 Check Number 74189 in the amount of$2818.91 In the same motion Council: approved the minutes of November 3, 2014 and November 10, 2014 as if read; approved the Street Fair Application for the annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 5, 2014 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:15 p.m.; and accepted as complete the Pump Station 14 Improvements Project contract(13-018-SEW-001)with Scimitar Construction. NEW BUSINESS 2015 Prosecutor Contract for Services Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh requested Council approval of a contract with Craig Cammock for Prosecutor services for 2015. Ms. Schuh summarized Mr. Cammock's service in this position since 2010 and recommended approval of the contract for 2015 services in the amount of $5,834.95 per month, an increase of 3% over the contracted amount for 2014. Mr. Johnson inquired about changes to the insurance provisions of the contract. Ms. Schuh explained those had been requested by Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA). At approximately 8:02 p.m. Mayor Gere invited public comment on the proposed contract. No one present wished to speak. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to enter into the successor contract with Mr. Cammock for prosecutor services for 2015. Mr. Adams invited Mr. Cammock to speak about the diversion program. Mr. Cammock reported that the Court no longer allowed defendants to be sent to work crews unless they had been sentenced by the Court but said staff had been exploring alternatives and continued to look for ways to screen out cases that could be diverted to a different type of resolution to achieve an alternate and expedient resolution of cases for low level and first time offenders where appropriate. He also described the conversion from paper to electronic files to save time and cost. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Resolution 1904: Setting the City's Year 2015 Property Tax Regular Levy Increase Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented a resolution setting the property tax levy rate for 2015, an increase of 1% over 2014. He noted that the revenue projections in the proposed 2015 budget were based on that 1% increase. Mr. Adams observed that the small amount of the increase for each taxpayer adds up to over$45,000 which enables the City to maintain its level of service. Mr. Hoglund agreed that it is healthy to take the 1% increase allowed by statute. Mr. Walters commented that the 1% increase does not even keep up with inflation and provided historical comparisons. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve Resolution 1904 as presented. Mr. Miller thanked his colleagues for putting the increase in historical and statutory perspective for the ratepayers. At approximately 9:11 p.m. Mayor Gere invited public comment on the proposed resolution. No one present wished to speak. Councilmembers briefly discussed but did not endorse banking the 1% property tax increase allowed by statute. Mr. Hoglund confirmed that Anacortes had no banked capacity to increase property taxes by more than 1%. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 17, 2014 2 Ordinance 2940: Adopting the Budget for All Municipal Purposes and Uses for the Year 2015 Mr. Miller asked when the Financial Message and Economic Conditions and Outlook would be incorporated into the 2015 budget. Mr. Hoglund explained that the complete budget book is typically prepared after first of the year once labor contracts have been finalized. Mr. Miller requested receiving that information earlier in the budget process to help councilmembers make better decisions about spending public funds. Mr. Walters observed that Anacortes often adopts its budget earlier than other cities in the county and suggested that the Finance Committee look at the budget calendar for the following year in relation to the Capital Facilities Plan. He said while there were changes he would make to the budget he was satisfied and supported the budget as presented. He praised the increase in spending on infrastructure. Mr. Johnson thanked the mayor for allowing Council a more active role in policy discussions regarding the budget. Mayor Gere said she was pleased that the budget only used $200K of general reserves. Mr. Miller thanked the mayor and staff for addressing his questions about the budget. He said he still did not support the public defender funding included in the proposed budget and discussed other possible approaches. Mr. Miller stressed Council's fiduciary duty to look closely at expenditures of public funds. Mr. Adams praised the public process to arrive at consensus on the budget and said he looked forward to working with his colleagues to begin establishing budget objectives earlier in the next budget season. Mr. Walters urged spending more time looking at salaries earlier in the next budget season. Mr. Johnson suggested that the Personnel Committee take the lead on that topic. Ms. Pickett moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to adopt Ordinance 2940 adopting the budget for all municipal purposes and uses for the year 2015. Mr. Miller said the public defender expense would probably cause him not to support the budget and reminded that a new FTE is an ongoing expense. Councilmembers discussed their options to restructure public defense funding in the future. Mr. Walters argued that the State should take over funding public defense and urged the City to make that one of its legislative priorities. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters and Pickett. Motion carried. Ordinance 2939: Clarifying Certain Speed Limits Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer presented an ordinance amending AMC 10.08 and Ordinance 2508. He summarized the recommendations for a 20 mph speed limit for Skyline Division 6, a 25 mph speed limit on H Avenue south of 41st Street, and correcting the name of Heart Lake Road to H Avenue from 41st Street to 1400 LF south of 41st Street. Mr. Johnson, who represents Skyline and the rest of Ward 3, spoke in support the first change. Mayor Gere asked that any speed limit changes be clearly advertised on the affected streets. Mr. Buckenmeyer advised that the MUTC governs the required signage in such cases. Ms. Lovelett supported lowering the speed limit on H Avenue to 25 mph. Mr. Walters detailed lack of clarity in the referenced AMC and urged not adopting Ordinance 2939 immediately, cleaning up the code, and codifying Ordinance 2508 regarding street names. Mr. Johnson spoke in support of adopting Ordinance 2939 as presented. Mr. Walters disagreed. Planning Director Don Measamer offered that staff could likely update the code as requested by Mr. Walters within a month. Mr. Furlong added that codifying all the street names in Ordinance 2508 would be a significantly larger project but agreed it would be good to have it done, probably in the form of a new code section. He was unable to estimate the cost for such a project. In response to a question from Mr. Walters, Mr. Furlong advised that clarifying the speed limits only in AMC 10.08 would not be too involved. At approximately 8:55 p.m. Mayor Gere invited public comment on the proposed ordinance. No one present wished to speak. Mr. Walters moved that staff prepare an ordinance consistent with the evening's discussion to implement the objectives proposed. The motion died for lack of a second. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 17, 2014 3 Mr. Johnson supported adopting the speed limit changes in the proposed ordinance but not the street name change. Mr. Adams said the speed limit on H Avenue was a matter of public safety. He said if the lower speed limit revisions could happen within the year, fine, but if revisions would take longer than that Council should proceed with Ordinance 2939. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to ask staff to bring the proposal back to Council in no more than a month to implement the present discussion, with or without street names being codified depending on the level of effort required. Ms. Pickett agreed with Mr. Adams that the H Avenue speed limit was a public safety question. She asked if Ordinance 2939 could be amended to accomplish that at the present meeting. Ms. Lovelett moved, seconded by Ms. Pickett, to amend the motion to adopt Section 2 and Section 3 of proposed Ordinance 2939, excluding Section 1. Mr. Walters pointed out that Section 2 as proposed would change the speed limit on a street whose name was in question. Ms. Pickett suggested that Section 2 refer to "H Avenue aka Heart Lake Road". Vote on amendment by Ms. Lovelett: Ayes— Lovelett, Archibald, Pickett and Adams. Nays - Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Mr. Walters argued that under existing law H Avenue goes from 41st Street to the city limits and that the speed limit on H Avenue is already 25 mph so the speed limit signs simply needed to be changed from 35 mph to 25 mph. Mr. Buckenmeyer disagreed and said the road is actually named Heart Lake Road south of 41st Street. Mr. Walters said the ordinances are in conflict. He observed that the amended motion is to pass almost all of Ordinance 2939 so Council should pass the entire ordinance and adopt another ordinance later to correct all of it. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to amend the underlying motion to adopt Ordinance 2939 as proposed and also request staff to bring Council a cleanup ordinance no later than four weeks from November 17, 2014.Vote on amendment by Mr. Walters: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. Vote on amended motion: Ayes— Miller, Johnson,Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Motion carried. Ms. Lovelett suggested that a training on parliamentary procedure be scheduled, perhaps at the next Mayor-Council retreat. There being no further business, at approximately 9:10 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of November 17, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 17, 2014 4