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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-11-18 City Council Minutes Approved o Y oft; OOR„ City Council Minutes—November 18, 2013 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of November 18, 2013 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. Brad Adams was absent. The assembly joined in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the minutes of November 4, 2013 and November 12, 2013 be approved as if read. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings No one present wished to speak. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Proclamation of Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month: Mayor Maxwell read a statement proclaiming November Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month in Anacortes. Mr. Geer thanked the community for a strong turnout at the most recent benefit improv performance. Mr. Walters said he, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Adams would hold an all wards councilmember meeting at the library at 6:30 p.m. on December 5, 2013. He invited the public to attend. Unfinished Business Urban Growth Areas Boundary Expansion with County Planning Director Ryan Larsen briefly summarized the history of the City's application to Skagit County to expand the City's Urban Growth Are (UGA)to include 11.15 acres owned by four property owners south of Stevenson Road and west of Reservation Road. Mr. Larsen explained that because the application was submitted naming a specific project for the site, the County was requiring an Environmental Impact Statement to proceed with processing the application. Mr. Larsen estimated the cost of the EIS between $80,000-$150,000. He requested Council direction to either terminate the expansion request or to proceed with processing the application and suggestions on how to fund the EIS. Mayor Maxwell and Mr. Larsen clarified that if the current application were withdrawn and later resubmitted without a specific named project the County would not require an EIS. Councilmembers discussed whether adding this 11.15 acres to the City's UGA might be better included as a package with any other UGA boundary adjustments determined to be desirable during the 2016 Comprehensive Plan update process. Councilmembers requested that staff contact the four property owners on whose behalf the expansion request was submitted and determine if they were still in favor of the UGA expansion and if they were willing to help fund an EIS, if required. Mr. Larsen agreed to contact the property owners and report back to Council for further consideration and decision at the December 2, 2013 regular City Council meeting. Additional Edits to Title 17 -Citizen Initiated (Council Planning Committee Direction Requested) Mr. Larsen recalled that at the July 8, 2013 study session Council had reviewed the recommendations of the Council Planning Committee regarding the 122 edits to AMC Title 17 suggested by former councilmember Terry Christenson as part of the 2012 docket cycle. Mr. Larsen requested direction from Council on how to proceed. He noted that the Committee's recommendations on each suggestion were summarized in a matrix included in the Council packet and that the Committee members had also emailed a recommendation to the entire Council the previous Friday. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 18, 2013 1 Mrs. Richardson, speaking on behalf of the Planning Committee which also includes Mr. Adams and Mr. Walters, said that the Committee felt strongly that after the extensive work done to review the suggested edits and prepare them for action, Council had an obligation to finish up during 2013 and send the package to the Planning Commission so the public would have an opportunity to comment on the proposed revisions. She clarified that the list of proposed code revisions prepared by the Committee omitted suggested changes that were being addressed through separate processes so there would not be duplication. She concluded that the Committee would like the full Council to vote to move the package forward to the Planning Commission to begin the formal public process for considering the changes no later than the end of the first quarter of 2014. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mrs. Richardson, to accept the Council Planning Committee's recommendation and direct staff to move the "Council Planning Committee Proposed Revisions to Title 17 of the Anacortes Municipal Code"forward to the Planning Commission, to begin the formal public process for considering these changes no later than the end of the first quarter of 2014. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Turner, Richardson, Geer, Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Consent Agenda Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes —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 November 7, 2013 and November 14, 2013 are approved for payment as of November 18, 2013. Claims: Check Numbers 70396 through 70544 in the total amount of$422,095.28 Payroll for November 5, 2013 in the total amount of$954,486.95 Check Numbers 38938 through 39047 in the total amount of$37,275.00 Direct Deposit Numbers from 51380 through 51584 in the total amount of$667,816.14 EFT Numbers from 1603 through 1607 in the total amount of$249,395.81 In the same motion Council approved five separate Interlocal Services Agreements for Reciprocal Library Borrowing with the City of Burlington, the City of Mount Vernon, the City of Sedro-Woolley, the La Conner Regional Library District, and the Upper Skagit Library District. Public Hearing: Titles 16, 17, 18, and Proposed New Title 19 Mr. Larsen presented the final edits prepared by Attorney Susan Drummond to AMC Titles 16, 17, 18 and proposed new Title 19. Mr. Larsen advised that these edits had been posted on the City website in September and sent to the Washington State Dept. of Commerce for the required 60-day review period. He asked if Council wished to adopt or table the document. Mr. Johnson observed that the assisted living definition in Section 17.06.010 did not reflect the alternative language proposed by staff. Mr. Larsen explained that the proposed changes before Council were intended to be strictly procedural changes. He updated Council on the timeline for receiving additional expert testimony on the assisted living definition. Councilmembers agreed that any future changes to the assisted living definition would update the proposed version of Title 17 if adopted. Mrs. Richardson asked that the definition sections be standardized throughout to either use quote marks to identify terms being defined, or not use them. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 18, 2013 2 Mr. Walters identified some editing changes still needed in Title 19. Mayor Maxwell asked councilmembers to direct feedback on that topic to Mr. Larsen who would incorporate any corrections and bring a final version of an ordinance adopting the changes to Council at the December 2, 2013 regular meeting. Mrs. Pickett asked to strike Section 19.50.090 regarding remands. Mr. Walters disagreed. City Attorney Brad Furlong agreed to review that section and advise. Mayor Maxwell announced that if there were any substantive changes proposed before December 2, the public hearing would be re-opened at that meeting. For the record, at approximately 7:46 p.m. Mayor Maxwell opened the public hearing on revised AMC Titles 16, 17, 18 and new Title 19 as presented in the evening's Council packet. No one wishing to speak, the mayor closed the public hearing. Ordinance 2914: Adopting the Budget for All Municipal Purposes and Uses for the Year 2014 Resolution 1877: Setting the City's Year 2014 Property Tax Regular Levy Increase Finance Director Steve Hoglund presented an ordinance to adopt the 2014 budget in the amount of $45,644,071. He noted that the final budget was unchanged from the budget presented at the public hearing on November 4, 2013. Mr. Hoglund also presented a resolution to adopt a 1% increase in the property tax levy for 2014, in the amount of$44,382.08. Mr. Hoglund recommended approval of both items. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve Ordinance 2914 adopting the budget for all municipal purposes and uses for 2014 and Resolution 1877 setting the City's 2014 property tax regular levy increase. Councilmembers discussed the level of cash reserves in the budget. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Turner. Motion carried. A•proval to Purchase Phase Ill Communications Equipment Fire Chief Richard Curtis requested approval to purchase radio equipment for the Guemes Island tower and two in-fill repeaters for Reservation Road and the Hope Island fire station. Chief Curtis explained that this is Phase III of the FEMA communications grant previously presented to Council and said the grant will cover 90% of the nearly$300,000 cost. He said when installation is complete by March 1 local public safety providers will achieve improved radio communications particularly on the south and west sides of the island. The Chief added that the equipment, like that for Phases I and II, would be purchased on a multi-state purchasing contract referred to as Western States Contracting Alliance (WiSCA)which had been reviewed by the City Attorney. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to accept the contract and spend the money. Mr. Walters clarified with Chief Curtis that there would be three different contracts with three different vendors, all quoted under WiSCA, and that staff was requesting approval to spend up to the grant amount of$300,000 total on these contracts. Mr. Walters moved to amend Mr. Turner's motion to authorize the mayor to sign any contracts or purchase orders for the equipment up to$300,000. Mr. Turner and Mr. Geer accepted the friendly amendment. Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Turner and Richardson. Motion carried. Executive Session— Fifteen (15) Minutes At approximately 8:02 p.m. Mayor Maxwell announced that per RCW 42.30.110(1b/1c) City Council and City Attorney Brad Furlong would convene in Executive Session for a real estate discussion for approximately fifteen minutes and would reconvene without taking any action. At approximately 8:22 p.m., without taking any further action, the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of November 18, 2103 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 18, 2013 3