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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-10-20 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—October 20, 2014 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Laurie Gere called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of October 20, 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 Ms. Pickett reported from the Port/City Liaison Committee on the Port's recently awarded Department of Ecology Integrated Planning Grant for the Quiet Cove boatyard at 2nd Street and 0 Avenue, its proposed event center at 9th Street and Q Avenue, the north basin improvements, the Pier 2 noise monitoring results, and Commissioner Short's suggestion for a volunteer-staffed doggy daycare during special events in town to minimize the number of dogs in the crowd. Mayor Gere reported that the Chamber of Commerce Beautification Committee met with City staff earlier in the day to discuss how the City, the Port and the Chamber could cooperate to sustain and possibly expand features historically maintained by the Chamber such as the downtown planters, banners, and seasonal tree lighting. Mayor Gere said the discussions would continue and commended the Chamber for its service to the community. Consent Agenda Ms. Pickett removed the minutes of October 6, 2014 from the Consent Agenda. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, 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 October 8, 2014 and October 15, 2014 are approved for payment as of October 20, 2014. Claims Check Numbers 74028 through 74173 in the total amount of$338,295.48 EFT Number 74027 in the total amount of$93.60 Pre-Written Claims Check Numbers 74023 through 74026 in the total amount of$105,553.41 Payroll for October 20, 2014 in the total amount of$731,602.29 Check Numbers 40004 through 40028 in the total amount of$20,471.37 Direct Deposit Numbers from 55992 through 56191 in the total amount of$355,401.53 EFT Numbers from 1724 through 1730 in the total amount of$355,729.39 Cancelled Checks Check Number 68158 in the amount of$18.00 Check Number 70331 in the amount of$9.00 In the same motion Council: • approved the minutes of October 13, 2014 as if read; • accepted as complete the City Hall Exterior Painting contract with H.S. Wold; and • accepted as complete the Operations Vehicle Wash Station contract with Chad Fisher. Ms. Pickett corrected page 3 of the October 6, 2014 minutes to reflect that prior to the discussion of the Community Solar Project Lease Agreement she left the room, not just the dais. Ms. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the minutes of October 6, 2014 as corrected. Vote: Ayes—Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 1 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Willette Business Park Consultant Update Planning Director Don Measamer summarized the improvements installed at the City's Willette Business Park property at SR20, Old Brook Lane and South Fidalgo Bay Road. He advised that the utilities had been designed to also serve the City's 30-acre site directly west of the 9-lot Willette site. Mr. Measamer referred to the Highest and Best Use Analysis for the site prepared by the City's consultant, Walt Meagher, which was included in the Council packet. Mr. Meagher's report recommended that multi-family residential may be the best use for the site. Mr. Measamer summarized challenges of the site including access routes and steep grades requiring tall retaining walls to create level building pads. He reported that the City has done no analysis or master planning for the City's 30 acres to the west of the Willette site. Mr. Measamer advised that Mr. Meagher was present to answer questions from Council and requested Council discussion and direction as to whether to expand study to the adjacent 30-acre site. Mr. Meagher said his analysis was based on his 37 years of experience in the land development field. He summarized the findings in his report that the site would not be ideal for industrial uses, office uses or retail. He recommended fitting a project to the topography of the site rather than altering the topography to fit a project. He referenced the Maddox Creek residential development in Mt. Vernon that was built on similar land with very high densities. Mr. Meagher said there is not much market for leased industrial land and that only flat land is really desirable for industrial purposes. He noted that it is nice land with a nice view but will be expensive to develop. Mr. Johnson asked if setting aside some of the land for Habitat for Humanity or Home Trust of Skagit would run afoul of gifting of public funds. City Attorney Brad Furlong advised that the City could work with an agency to facilitate that type of development. Mr. Archibald asked how many residences could be built on the site. Mr. Measamer said that would depend on the density Council sets through zoning. He added that the City's interlocal agreement with the Skagit Home Consortium could provide for cooperatively establishing some affordable housing. Mayor Gere noted that though residential development was not the initial vision for the site the City may well need more residential land to accommodate the projected 5-6K increase in population in the next 20 years. Mr. Walters encouraged his colleagues to look at the Maddox Creek development in Mount Vernon. He discouraged single family residential on the site which could look like sprawl. Mr. Meagher noted that there are waiting lists for assisted living and Alzheimer's care facilities and that may be a growing demand. He discussed with councilmembers the possibility of leasing land to private social housing developers and incentives that might attract them. Mr. Walters encouraged maintaining a mix of housing types and styles to avoid creating "the projects on the edge of town." Mr. Meagher suggested measuring the market demand and also undertaking land use planning for the entire hillside including the adjacent 30 acres to ensure compatible uses in the area. Mr. Archibald suggested taking the idea back to the CAC for examination of what types of residential uses might best suit the site. Mr. Furlong suggested that the City could also specify a development plan for the land and then sell the land to a private purchaser with the plan imposed on it and use the proceeds to purchase or augment other properties more centrally located in Anacortes to promote economic development. Ms. Lovelett observed that the land would need a lot of additional infrastructure regardless of its eventual use, particularly access. She threw out the idea of building a disc golf course, a zip line and/or high ropes course to get some short term use out of the property without huge additional investment and without permanently reconfiguring the property. Mr. Walters added that the land could be held in reserve for future development and that the No Action alternative should always be one of those considered. He suggested opening a public comment period to solicit ideas. Mr. Walters encouraged undertaking the critical areas survey and flagging, not fencing, such areas and also taking ambient noise readings to provide additional data for the CAC to consider. Ms. Pickett asked if there was any way to construct additional access to the northwest not on SR20. Mr. Measamer said there was no right of way there. Mr. Measamer summarized that Council would like a critical areas survey of the nine lots and the adjacent 30 acres, that it would like noise level readings, and that it would like to have CAC brainstorm options for the entire area. Mr. Adams requested an estimate of the selling cost of the land. Mr. Meagher said that would depend on the results of the critical areas survey and how much buildable land was there. Mr. Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 2 Miller noted that the zoning of the property would also affect its value. Mr. Meagher said it would also be helpful to clear the brush to determine the grade and views on the site. Mayor Gere invited the public to comment on the topic. No one present wished to speak. Mr. Measamer confirmed that he would pursue a critical areas report for the entire site and would come back to Council for funding approval for that effort. He estimated the cost would be $4-6K. NEW BUSINESS Resolution 1901: Tourism Promotion Fund Contracts Mr. Measamer presented the Tourism Committee's recommendation for Tourism Fund contracts for 2015 and draft Resolution 1901 authorizing those contracts. He reported that the Committee planned to meet at least quarterly in the future to review progress on the contracts and brainstorm ideas for the year ahead. Mr. Archibald, who chairs the Tourism Committee, reported that the Committee would like to have further discussion with the Chamber of Commerce about its applications for Tourism funding for the International Ferry Marketing Program and the Visitor Information Center. He suggested that those two contracts could be removed from Resolution 1901 pending further discussion and refinement of the contract terms, then brought back to Council for action at a future meeting. In response to a question from Ms. Lovelett, Finance Director Steve Hoglund explained that the City's Tourism Fund application requires a 20% match from each applicant but that some applicants supply a much greater percentage of funding from other sources. In response to a question from Mr. Miller, Mr. Hoglund advised that the Tourism Fund has cash reserves built up from prior years to cover any unexpected shortfall in the hotel/motel tax revenue that funds the program. Mayor Gere began reviewing the list of recommended Tourism Promotion Fund contracts. Regarding the Chamber of Commerce International Ferry Marketing Program, which the Committee recommended funding at$120,000, Mr. Archibald advised that the Committee wanted to develop a more detailed scope of work for that contract. Ms. Lovelett asked the Chamber to advise what the funds were being used for and how they were measuring the effectiveness of the funds. Mr. Johnson added that the contract should state what its deliverables are and asked about overlap between the International Ferry Marketing Program and the Visitor Information Center. Mr. Walters, a member of the Tourism Committee, requested scopes of work for all the recommended Tourism Fund contracts and reiterated his objections to the form of the contracts. Mayor Gere clarified that the Tourism Committee was provided full information from each applicant including a scope of work. She observed that historically Council had approved the Tourism Committee recommendations without the same detailed review performed by the Committee and said Council was certainly welcome to alter that practice moving forward. Mayor Gere invited Stephanie Hamilton, Executive Director of the Anacortes Chamber of Commerce, to elaborate on the Chamber's International Ferry Marketing Program. Ms. Hamilton explained that the program promotes both the Sydney ferry run and Anacortes as a destination. She recapped highlights from her recent presentations to Council and to the Tourism Committee laying out how the Chamber's Marketing and Promotions Division stewards the Tourism Funds. She reported how the Division attempts to measure the effectiveness of its promotions. Mr. Walters asked why the Tourism Committee recommendation was for a lower amount than what the Chamber requested for the International Ferry Marketing Program. Mr. Archibald said the Committee recommended funding the entire application except$5,000 for technology, $12,000 for the website, and $7,500 for the electric vehicle charging station. He reported discussion in the Committee about possibly developing a website separate from the Chamber website to represent all Anacortes businesses. He reiterated that the Committee wanted to continue discussions with the Chamber and asked what questions councilmembers might have for the Committee to address with the Chamber. Mayor Gere reported that the Committee also recognized that the Chamber has been carrying the load of advertising the community and that it was important to maintain historical levels of funding in the current funding cycle. Ms. Hamilton said the Chamber Board would be focusing on tourism and destination marketing in Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 3 the year ahead and that she looked forward to continued discussions. Mr. Adams, Tourism Committee member, added that the Committee wanted to get more engaged to work in a team environment with the Chamber, meet more often, and work more closely with the entities that are funded. Mr. Walters repeated that the contract amount proposed for the International Ferry Marketing Program was not supported by the packet materials and said he could not vote for contracts that did not have clear amounts and scopes of work. Mayor Gere advised that the requested information would be provided. Mr. Miller disagreed with Mr. Walters, said the program had worked successfully for quite some time and said the contracts were reasonable. Mr. Archibald reiterated that the Tourism Committee wanted more discussion with the Chamber to arrive at a mutually agreeable scope of work but that the level of funding was not in question. Ms. Pickett said the City gets a lot for the money it awards to the Chamber and noted that it provides full time help all week to greet visitors and promote Anacortes. She indicated she was satisfied with the Tourism Committee's recommendation and with the Chamber's historical performance. Ms. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to approve Resolution 1901 and all the tourism contracts listed therein as recommended by the Tourism Committee. Mayor Gere invited members of the public to comment. Pat Barrett, 11987 Marine Drive, of Barrett Financial said he had long questioned using public money for a private organization's marketing, specifically for the Chamber of Commerce Visitor Information Center (VIC). Mr. Barrett said he is an active member of the Chamber of Commerce and supports its work but that the Chamber's VIC does not allow non-members to use its services without paying a fee and that most of the City of Anacortes Tourism Funding used by the VIC pretty much exclusively serves Chamber of Commerce members. He said if public funds are going to be used to fund a tourism information facility, all business owners in the community should be able to use that facility without having to pay an additional fee. Frank Spargo, 1408 11th Street, supported spending the money and said it was needed. He said he was concerned that information had not been provided to the public in advance of the meeting, specifically the Attachment A for each proposed contract. He said he was also concerned about the lack of discussion of likely outcomes of the tourism activities funded by the program. He observed that lots of organizations do research and market surveys to measure the effectiveness of their advertising dollars but the Chamber of Commerce does not. He asked to know more about how effective the $200,000 awarded to the Chamber of Commerce is. Mayor Gere suggested that the Tourism Committee could address Mr. Spargo's suggestion. Ms. Hamilton responded to Mr. Barrett's and Mr. Archibald's concerns by observing that the Chamber is not member exclusive, it is member preferred, and that Chamber of Commerce members provide about $68,000 of in kind and matching funds for the VIC. She explained that Chamber members provide a great deal of information to the VIC staff and funding for the organization but welcomed continued discussions with the Committee about alternative sources of information. Ms. Lovelett observed that most of the matching funds for the VIC application are unpaid volunteer hours, not hard costs. Ms. Hamilton observed that the Chamber owns its building and doesn't charge any rent to the VIC, which is not counted as part of the match. Ms. Lovelett agreed with Mr. Barrett that if public funds were being used for the VIC there should be a broader representation of all businesses in the community rather than just Chamber members. She said she was exploring development of a comprehensive app to serve potential visitors, a centralized database representing all community businesses with GPS and mobile push to publicize events. Mr. Adams said the Tourism Committee was wanting to pull the Chamber contracts off the table to allow further discussion with the Chamber and then bring those back after the contract terms had been clarified. Mr. Adams moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to amend the motion to pull the International Ferry Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 4 Marketing Program and the Visitor Information Center off and have those brought back to Council after the Tourism Committee had further discussions with the Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Walters supported the amendment, asked to have the amount of the International Ferry Marketing Program corrected, and asked to have the Visitor Information Center contract revised to address comments made earlier in the evening. Mr. Miller said he did not support the amendment and suggested having any questions about the Chamber of Commerce contracts answered by Chamber staff who were present for the meeting. Mr. Archibald said again that the Tourism Committee wanted time for further discussion with the Chamber about potential changes to its contracts and agreed that Resolution 1901 should be amended to allow for those discussions. Mr. Johnson supported allowing time for continued discussion between the Committee and the Chamber. Ms. Hamilton invited councilmembers to the November 3, 2014 planning meeting of the Chamber's Marketing and Promotions Division. Vote on amendment: Ayes—Adams, Archibald, Walters and Pickett. Nays— Lovelett, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Vote on amended motion: Ayes—Lovelett, Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Pickett and Adams. Nays - Walters. Motion carried. Contract Award: Completion of the WWTP Controls System Upgrade Project Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer requested Council approval of a contract with Quality Controls Corporation (QCC)for the final phase of the Wastewater Treatment Plant controls system upgrade. He reviewed the multi-year phased project and advised that sufficient funding remained available in the 2014 budget to cover the cost. He recommended awarding the contract to QCC in the amount of$250,585.24. Ms. Lovelett asked what the entire cost of the multi-year project had been. Mr. Buckenmeyer said he would provide that. Ms. Lovelett asked how that investment was going to result in labor savings. Mr. Buckenmeyer explained that the controls system is what allows the plant to operate 24/7 without full time staffing and allows the 23 distributed pump stations to operate without being monitored in person, all at significant savings. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Walters, to approve the contract with QCC for the completion of the WWTP control system in the amount of$250,585.24. Vote: Ayes—Archibald, Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams and Lovelett. Motion carried. At approximately 8:44 p.m. Mayor Gere called a brief recess. At approximately 8:48 p.m. the mayor called the meeting back to order. Resolution 1903: Petty Cash & Change Funds Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented a resolution to increase the petty cash fund at the police station from $1,100 to $1,200. Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Ms. Lovelett, to approve Resolution 1903 updating petty cash and change funds. Mayor Gere invited the public to comment on the proposed resolution. No one present wished to speak. Vote: Ayes— Miller, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett and Archibald. Motion carried. Ordinance 2937: Investment Policy Update Mr. Hoglund presented an ordinance to amend the City's investment policy. He reviewed the three proposed changes to the policy which were outlined in his memo to Council dated October 16, 2014. Mr. Walters inquired how the revised policy ensured that the City laddered its investments. Mr. Hoglund acknowledged that the revised policy would not require laddering but said that laddering was prudent cash management and was certainly current and longstanding practice. Mr. Walters requested that the policy be reworded to ensure laddering. Mr. Hoglund agreed and said he would pursue the matter with the Council Finance Committee. Mr. Johnson remarked that Section 3.20.050 of the proposed policy requiring sufficient liquidity would appear to achieve laddering. Mr. Walters observed that Section 3.20.050 stated an objective of the policy, not a requirement. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve Ordinance 2937 amending Section 3.20 of the Anacortes Municipal Code to update the investment policy. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald and Miller. Motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 5 Third Quarter Finance Update Mr. Hoglund presented an update on City finances year to date through September. He reviewed the material included in the Council packet beginning with General Fund revenues which totaled 76.7% of budget at 75%through the year. Mr. Hoglund then reviewed General Fund expenditures, noting items that would be proposed for a budget amendment later in the evening including election costs, write offs for public defender fees, credit card fees, audit fees, computer server upgrades and a computer for the sewer jet. Mr. Hoglund displayed graphics summarizing sales tax revenue compared to historical and to budget which showed positive trends, Real Estate Excise Tax (REET)which already totaled 104% of budget, and impact fees which already totaled 164% of budget. He then reviewed revenues and expenditures in the other funds, noting that second half property tax had not yet been received and that budgeted operating transfers would not be performed until the end of the year. Mr. Hoglund noted that the ambulance service fund might require a budget amendment at year end to accommodate the new billing process and new rates as well as more overtime worked than anticipated. Mr. Johnson complimented Mr. Hoglund on the accuracy of the budget. Mr. Walters inquired about the apparent surplus in Water Fund 401. Mr. Hoglund explained that capital contributions were being pre-collected and banked as restricted cash reserves for the first ten years of the Water Treatment Plant bonds until those bonds could be paid down. Mr. Walters inquired when the revenue would hit ACFL Fund 113 to offset the property purchase under way in that fund. Mr. Hoglund advised that would come from cash reserves. Mr. Hoglund then presented an investment report showing a diversification summary and portfolio overview of the City's entire $45M portfolio as of September 30, 2014. He advised that a similar report would be provided to Council quarterly and would also be posted on the Finance page of the City website. Ms. Lovelett asked how the much of the portfolio represents the City's cash reserves. Mr. Hoglund explained that most of the portfolio is restricted funds and that the City has about$7.5M of unrestricted General Fund balance. Mr. Walters cautioned that the usable cash reserves are smaller even than the $7.5M because the General Fund subsidizes other funds. Mr. Hoglund agreed and said that the best picture of available cash and investments is in the City's annual report which is posted on the City website. He suggested that the Council Finance Committee would be working on a fund balance policy later in the year. At approximately 9:25 p.m. Mayor Gere noted that the Washington State Rating Bureau presentation listed as the last agenda item for the evening would last 20-30 minutes and asked if Council preferred to complete the agenda as advertised or defer that presentation to November 3. Fire Chief Richard Curtis advised there was no urgency or action item requiring the presentation to take place at the current meeting. Mr. Archibald said it would be acceptable to defer the presentation. No other councilmembers disagreed. Ordinance 2938: Budget Amendment Mr. Hoglund presented an ordinance amending the 2014 budget. He reviewed and explained each line item as outlined in the text of the ordinance. Mr. Johnson inquired if the City had a building maintenance reserve fund. Mr. Hoglund said the City did not have a separate sinking fund for that purpose. Mr. Johnson suggested looking into that further. Mr. Miller questioned spending funds in 2014 to configure work space for new staff that the Council had not yet approved budgeting for 2015. Mr. Walters said that normally he would agree but that hiring a public defender was not optional and the space needed to be ready as of January 1. Mr. Hoglund said that at a minimum the design needed to begin but that the item could be pushed to a 4th quarter budget amendment if Council so desired. Mr. Miller agreed to the need for the public defender and space for same. Ms. Pickett moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to adopt Ordinance 2938 amending the 2014 budget. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Lovelett, Archibald, Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 9:33 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of October 20, 2014 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes October 20, 2014 6