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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-09-17 City Council Minutes Approved t9 w City Council Minutes—September 17, 2012 At 7:00 p.m. Mayor Dean Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of September 17, 2012 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Ryan Walters, Erica Pickett, Bill Turner, Cynthia Richardson and Brian Geer. Brad Adams was absent. Roll call was followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. Minutes of Previous Meeting Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, that the minutes of September 4, 2012 and September 10, 2012 be approved as if read. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. Citizen Hearings Ursula Mass, 15797 Snee-oosh Road, La Conner, spoke representing her children and grandchildren to ask the mayor and City Council to postpone the UGA application for the land in the neighborhood of Stevenson Road and Reservation Road until such time as the problems with Tethys have been solved. She said her family is in favor of job opportunities and clean industry that doesn't pollute, rob precious resources or change the way of life. Mrs. Mass said Reservation Road is a thoroughfare for her neighbors to Anacortes and said that waiting for trains would make them take the route through la Conner to Mt. Vernon and Burlington instead for shopping and medical appointments. She warned that emergency vehicles could also be slowed by the trains. Sonja Kazanjian, 16004 Snee-oosh Road, La Conner, spoke about the proposed Tethys bottling plant. She said she moved here for the natural beauty and lifestyle and that the community should enhance its lifestyle and environment, not destroy it. She echoed Mrs. Mass's comments about the potential for congestion to disrupt trips from La Conner into Anacortes. Ms. Kazanjian said it is not just an environmental but also an economic issue and that the detrimental aspects of the project clearly outweigh any benefits. Sandra Spargo, 1408 11th Street, said she was puzzled about the Tethys rail car numbers. Ms. Spargo quoted two different documents that mentioned 400 rail cars per day each way and 350 rail cars per day each way and then a recent Skagit Valley Herald interview with Tethys CEO Steve Winter in which he stated a maximum of two trains each day would enter and leave the plant. Mrs. Spargo asked why the reduction in the estimated number of trains, if the figures were one way or round trip, and if that meant Tethys planned to replace some of the rail cars with trucks. Judy Booth, 18304 Capet Zalsiluce Road, La Conner, said she appreciated the work Anacortes is doing to get jobs but that she no longer supported the Tethys project. She suggested that councilmembers vote to use the free services of the Washington State Dept. of Community, Trade and Economic Development (CTED) and its Economic Development Commission to recruit a different industry to locate in Anacortes. Ms. Booth said the profits Tethys will make rightfully belong to the citizens of Anacortes. Ms. Booth said Tethys's claim of 540 jobs is laughable and that 100 jobs is more appropriate. She asked Council to let the Tethys agreement expire on December 1 and not to let Tethys assign its contracted water rights to anyone else. Janet Casey, 11592 Pointe Place, Anacortes, said during her 32 years in Anacortes she owned a business that employed 14 full time employees and generated revenue for Anacortes without any negative environmental impact. She said she also traveled to La Conner twice daily on Reservation Road. She said the negative economic impact of the Tethys plant in this location on the merchants of both Anacortes and La Conner would be significant. Ms. Casey quoted Mr. Geer's comments in a September 14 Skagit Valley Herald article about Steve Winter's address to the Chamber of Commerce and asked if the UGA expansion application is for the Tethys proposal or not. She requested that Mr. Winter make the same presentation in a public forum and that Council refrain from voting on the UGA expansion until then. Anacortes City Council Minutes September 17, 2012 1 Chad of the Knutsen family, 12157 Havekost Lane, Anacortes, quoted RCW 36.70A.110(4) regarding expansion of city services into rural areas and said the Tethys plant is not necessary to protect public health, safety or the environment. He said obvious downsides of the Tethys project are the massive number of trains, terrible traffic, diesel fumes, and loss of wildlife refuges and land. He wondered why the city had performed no due diligence to find out what previous plants have been owned by Tethys and their success rates. He asked why Tethys would not promise a specific number of jobs. A citizen claiming to be Tom Bombadil from the Old Forest approached the microphone but was ruled out of order for his disrespectful outburst and left the Council Chambers. Mayor/Council Communication and Committee Reports Mrs. Pickett reported on a successful Fidalgo Bay Day the prior Saturday and thanked all the organizations that made it possible including Taylor Shellfish Farms. Mr. Geer announced a benefit Improv performance at Brodniak Hall at 8:00 p.m. on September 21, 2012 to raise funds for the Anacortes High School drama department and Haitian missions. Mayor Maxwell announced that he spoke to the AHS class of 1944 over the weekend. Consent Agenda Mayor Maxwell removed Items B and C from the Consent Agenda. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Turner, Richardson, Geer, 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 September 6, 2012 and September 13, 2012 are approved for payment as of September 17, 2012. Claims Check Numbers 65925 through 66071 in the total amount of$206,385.11 EFT Check Numbers 65915 through 65924 in the total amount of $3,045.47 Prewritten Claims Check Numbers 65911 through 65914 in the total amount of $31,838.13 Regarding Consent Agenda Item B, Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer introduced an ordinance that would establish 15-minute parking on 6th Street for the five parking spaces adjacent to the post office drop box. Mr. Johnson indicated that local businesses he spoke with gave the idea mixed reviews. He suggested asking the U.S. Post Office to extend the pickup time for the drive through mail box at the library. Mrs. Richardson said maybe two or three spaces on 6th Street would be sufficient rather than five. Mr. Geer and Mr. Turner agreed. Councilmembers discussed other parking options available in the immediate area and enforcement of the 15-minute parking limit. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve Ordinance No. 2889 amending Section 2 of Ordinance No. 2079 establishing limited parking time on streets and avenues within the City of Anacortes and monitoring the parking situation in that block for a year with subsequent review by City Council. Mr. Walters said reducing the time limit on those parking spaces could have a disproportionate impact on one business. Mr. Johnson said he would prefer that Public Works assesses the parking needs with local businesses. Vote: Ayes— Turner, Richardson, Geer and Pickett. Nays - Johnson and Walters. Motion carried. Anacortes City Council Minutes September 17, 2012 2 Regarding Consent Agenda Item C, the resolution regarding the Bike/Pedestrian Plan, Mr. Buckenmeyer recalled that when the plan was presented at the June 11, 2012 study session staff had advised it would come back to Council for formal adoption. Mr. Buckenmeyer distributed a draft resolution, revised from the version included in the evening's City Council packet, to adopt the plan as City policy and calling to consider the plan for inclusion into the City's Transportation Comprehensive Plan when that plan is updated in 2015. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Geer, to approve Resolution No. 1849 to adopt the Anacortes Bike/Ped Plan as policy. Mrs. Richardson requested that the title page of the plan be revised to reflect the actual City Council adoption date of September 2012. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett and Turner. Motion carried. Contract Award: City Hall Sewer Repair(12-032-SEW) Mr. Buckenmeyer provided background for the need to repair the City Hall sewer and outlined the work that would be part of this first phase of the project. He reported that staff solicited bids from five contractors on the Small Works Roster and received one response, from Welch Brothers. Mr. Buckenmeyer said he had reviewed that bid with the contractor and was satisfied that it was a good solid bid from a well known local business. He recommended awarding the contract to Welch Brothers Construction, Inc. for$46,036.21 including sales tax. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve. Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Turner and Richardson. Motion carried. Contract Award: Safe Routes to School , Phase 1 (11-035-TRN) Mr. Buckenmeyer explained that this is the first project to be bid under the Safe Routes to School grant awarded to the City of Anacortes last year. He said the contract includes pedestrian safety enhancements at three locations: the intersection of 32nd Street and M Avenue, continuing sidewalk on the south side of I Avenue from 32nd Street to J Avenue, and building sidewalk on the north side of 29th Street from M Avenue to J Avenue. Mr. Buckenmeyer reported that the city received six bids with the low bid from Larry Brown Construction. He reported the Engineer's Estimate was $240,524.30. Mr. Buckenmeyer reminded that this contract is 100% reimbursable from grant funds, including staff time, and recommended awarding the contract to Larry Brown Construction, Inc. for$230,663.55 including any applicable sales tax. Mr. Turner moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to award the contract to Larry Brown. Mrs. Pickett applauded the efforts of Assistant City Engineer Eric Shjarback to obtain the SRTS grant. Vote: Ayes— Johnson, Walters, Pickett, Turner, Richardson and Geer. Motion carried. Contract Award: I Avenue Reconstruction (12-033-TRN) Mr. Buckenmeyer described a companion project to the SRTS project that will pave I Avenue and restripe it to achieve a single northbound driving lane, a striped bike lane, and appropriate signage. He reported the Engineer's Estimate was $102,253. Mr. Buckenmeyer said the city received five bids with the low bid from Krieg Construction. He recommended awarding the contract to Krieg Construction, Inc. in the amount of$109,828 including any applicable sales tax. Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Turner, to approve. Councilmembers commented on the safety and traffic benefits of the project and reviewed the extensive public participation during design. Vote: Ayes—Walters, Pickett, Turner, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried. There being no further business, at approximately 8:00 p.m. the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of September 17, 2012 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes September 17, 2012 3