Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-01-07 City Council Minutes Approved 9 c ,, City Council Minutes—January 7, 2013 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of January 7, 2013 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. Roll call was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, that the minutes of December 17, 2012 be approved as if read. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings Sharene Elander, 1406 8th Street, requested an update on the status of the Anacortes Futures Project. Mayor Maxwell advised that a report was expected out shortly. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Mayor Maxwell announced that he would like to reappoint Diane Munce to the Library Board. Library Director Cynthia Harrison introduced Library Board members David Duff, Jim English, Nick Alphin and Diane Munce and reported on the many qualifications of Mrs. Munce. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to confirm the reappointment of Diane Munce to the Library Board. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Mayor Maxwell announced that the next regular Port/City Liaison meeting would be held at the Port office at 8:30 a.m. on January 8, 2013. Mayor Maxwell announced an opening on the Planning Commission and invited those interested in serving to send a letter to mayor's office. Mr. Geer announced that the January 19, 2013 Improv performance would benefit a local charity rather than groups in Connecticut as previously announced. Mr. Turner announced that he recently bought an all electric vehicle and said he was very pleased with it. He encouraged the public to consider electric cars. Mr. Johnson announced that at its meeting earlier in the evening the Public Works Committee discussed holiday solid waste routes and had recommended the complicated topic be addressed at an upcoming study session. Unfinished Business: Parliamentary Procedure Discussion The City Council was joined by Planning Commissioners Laurie Gere, Marty Laumbattus and Sherri Muntean for a continuation of the parliamentary procedure discussion begun at the December 3, 2012 special City Council meeting. City Attorney Brad Furlong facilitated the discussion. Mr. Furlong shared revised draft Suggested Parliamentary Procedures that incorporated some comments from the prior session but asked that the assembly begin by discussing the rules that had not been addressed previously. 9.10/9.7: Mr. Furlong suggested deleting Rule 9.10 in favor of Rule 9.7. No objections were raised. 9.11/9.8: Mrs. Richardson suggested that the rules that reference City Clerk should say"or his or her designee". In that regard, Mr. Furlong pointed out a slightly differently worded set of rules would be needed for the Planning Commission. Mr. Johnson remarked that Rule 9.11 duplicates Rule 9.8. Mr. Furlong suggested deleting Rule 9.11 in favor of Rule 9.8. Mr. Walters suggested that the meeting chair or clerk should restate the motion, but not the motion maker. Mr. Furlong agreed. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 7, 2013 1 9.12/9.9: Mr. Furlong suggested that Rule 9.12 duplicated Rule 9.9 and could be deleted. Mrs. Richardson shared her suggested rewording of the entire Rule 9.9. Councilmembers and commissioners discussed at length abstentions from voting, when those were appropriate, and how abstentions should be counted. The consensus after discussion was to leave Rule 9.9 as drafted by Mr. Furlong. Mr. Johnson asked if a request for a roll call vote required a second. Mr. Furlong said no but offered to make that explicit in the rule. Mayor Maxwell remarked that if a vote is not unanimous, a roll call vote is appropriate. 9.13: There were no objections to this rule as drafted. 9.14: Mrs. Richardson suggested that reconsideration of a motion should only occur at the immediately subsequent meeting. Mr. Furlong agreed. Mr. Walters questioned what types of motions should be eligible for reconsideration. Mr. Furlong suggested anything other that quasi-judicial decisions and said he would revise the rule accordingly. 9.15: Mr. Walters suggested that the commentary on this rule be included as part of the rule. Other councilmembers agreed. 9.16: Councilmembers and commissioners discussed the proposed rule at length. Participants generally agreed that the rules should allow for the possibility of voting in absentia but should severely limit how often and the conditions under which that could happen and should explicitly require that the requirements of the Open Public Meetings Act be met. Mrs. Richardson reminded that staff would need advance notice to set up a meeting room to accommodate electronic voting so that all voting members could hear and be heard. Ms. Muntean suggested updating the language to reflect current technology which includes options other than telephones. Councilmembers and commissioners then turned to the revised draft rules prepared by Mr. Furlong following the December 3, 2012 meeting. 9.05: Mr. Johnson noted that Roberts rules for small boards allow the chair to participate in the debate and make motions and asked if the mayor could do the same. Mr. Furlong replied that state law requires the mayor to chair the meeting but prohibits him or her from making motions. He noted that the Planning Commission chair is not subject to the same restrictions. Councilmembers discussed at length the mayor's participation in deliberations. Mr. Furlong summarized that Rule 9.05 would be revised to clarify that the chair can debate and make motions, subject to RCW 35A.12.100 which prohibits the mayor (but not the Planning Commission chair) from making motions. Mrs. Richardson asked for a more complete description of the kinds of motions. Mr. Furlong indicated that would be a separate task from the current rules. 9.1: Mrs. Pickett suggested deleting last sentence in favor of Rule 9.4. Mrs. Richardson agreed. 9.2: No objections were raised. 9.3: No objections were raised. 9.4: Mrs. Richardson suggested that the second half of this rule should be moved to Rule 9.9 regarding roll call votes. 9.5: Mrs. Richardson said separating this rule into an (a) and (b) section was unnecessary. Mr. Furlong said he would combine them. 9.6: No objections were raised. 9.7: Mr. Johnson noted that according to Robert's Rules, the maker of the motion gets to address the motion first. Mr. Furlong said that was standard practice among this body and probably did not need to be codified. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 7, 2013 2 9.8: No objections were raised. 9.9: No objections were raised. Mr. Furlong advised he would bring another round of revisions back before City Council in February. Mayor Maxwell thanked the three Planning Commissioners for attending. Consent Agenda Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Turner, Richardson, Geer, 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 December 20, 2012, December 27, 2012 and January 3, 2013 are approved for payment as of January 7, 2013. Claims Check Numbers 67145 through 67311 in the total amount of$1,205,012.03 EFT Check Numbers 67141 through 67144 in the total amount of $36,373.72 Prewritten Checks Check Number 67135 and 67137 through 67140 in the amount of$9,365.40 Payroll for December 20, 2012 in the total amount of$561,262.21 Check Numbers 37880 through 37919 in the total amount of$26,482.35 Direct Deposit Numbers from 47210 through 47393 in the total amount of$344,712.24 EFT Numbers from 1490 through 1494 in the total amount of$190,067.62 In the same motion Council accepted as complete the 2012 City Hall Sewer Repair contract with Welch Brother Construction, Inc. (contract 12-032-SEW-001). Protect Presentation: 22nd Street and R Avenue Roundabout Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer introduced a proposal to reconfigure the intersection of 22nd Street and R Avenue which was identified as a critical intersection in the 2007 Transportation Comprehensive Plan. He said the City has received $625K of federal grant money for the project and is seeking additional funding. He added that a design contract for the proposal would come before Council in the near future. Assistant City Engineer Eric Shjarback played a short video of an operational roundabout in Granite Falls, Washington to demonstrate how super long loads can travel through a properly designed roundabout, especially one with a flatter profile. He added that this conceptual project is still at 0%design. Mr. Shjarback noted that the intersection is the meeting point of four separate use zones and many different types of traffic. He described separate planning documents that have identified the need to improve the level of service and safety of the intersection. He reported that public acceptance of roundabouts has increased substantially since the Commercial Avenue roundabout was built. Mr. Shjarback presented visual aids showing that roundabouts are safer than traditional controlled intersections. He then displayed a conceptual drawing for the proposed roundabout at 22nd and R. Mr. Shjarback said 30%design drawings should be done in the next few months and would come back before Council and the public for comment then. Mr. Shjarback then reviewed potential funding sources for the project including federal STP-R funds, WSDOT City Safety grants, and potentially 2013 Quick Response Safety Program funding Anacortes City Council Minutes January 7, 2013 3 and said the total project cost is estimated at roughly$1.2M. Mr. Turner reminded that a traffic light would be expensive to build as well. Mr. Shjarback listed a number of other benefits of roundabout such as less idling, lower wait times, less pollution, lower accident rates, less serious accidents, speed control, improved sight distance, and the gateway aspect of an attractive intersection entering the downtown core. Mayor Maxwell invited the public to comment on the proposal. Arlene French, 1411 8th Street, expressed support for the concept and asked how the existing two lanes of traffic on R Avenue would merge into a single lane roundabout. Mr. Shjarback said such a merge would not be problematic and might be able to incorporate a bus stop. Mr. Walters suggested posting the presentation on the City website. Mr. Shjarback agreed. Executive Session— Fifteen (15) Minutes At approximately 8:45 p.m. Mayor Maxwell announced that City Council and City Attorney Brad Furlong would convene in Executive Session for approximately fifteen minutes to discuss a possible real estate acquisition about which open session discussion could affect the price and also to update Council about pending litigation and would reconvene without taking any action. At approximately 9:00 p.m., without taking any further action, the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of January 7, 2013 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes January 7, 2013 4