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City Council Minutes—May 2, 2011
At 7:30 p.m. Mayor Maxwell called the regularly scheduled Anacortes City Council meeting of
May 2, 2011 to order. Roll call found present: Eric Johnson, Erica Pickett, Brad Adams, Cynthia
Richardson and Brian Geer. Nick Petrish and Bill Turner were absent. Roll call was followed by the
Pledge of Allegiance.
Minutes of Previous Meeting
Mr. Geer moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, that the minutes of April 18, 2011 be approved as if read.
Vote: Ayes— Pickett, Adams, Richardson, Geer and Johnson. Motion carried.
Citizen Hearings
No one present wished to speak on any item not already on the agenda.
Mayor/Council Communication
Mayor's Award of Merit: Mayor Maxwell presented the Mayor's Award of Merit to Water Treatment Plant
Lead Operator Jeff Marrs for his outstanding performance at the water treatment plant and his efforts to
enhance employee safety throughout the City of Anacortes. The mayor said safety is a very high priority
for him and praised Mr. Marrs for making it a priority for every City of Anacortes employee. Mr. Marrs
received a standing ovation from the audience. His name will be added to the plaque recognizing Award
of Merit recipients and he received a gift certificate to a local restaurant.
Well City Award: Mayor Maxwell announced that for the eighth consecutive year Anacortes has been
awarded a Well City award from the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) based on meeting stringent
best practices in employee health promotion. The mayor said the City will receive a 2%discount on
Regence BlueShield health insurance premiums in 2012 which for 180 employees will result in significant
cost savings. He thanked Human Resources Generalist Lynn Barber and all City employees for
promoting and participating in wellness programs.
Proclamation of Historic Preservation Month: Mayor Maxwell read a statement proclaiming May, 2011 to
be Historic Preservation Month in Anacortes. He called on residents of Anacortes to join citizens
nationwide in recognizing and participating in this observance. Museum Director Steve Oakley introduced
Historic Preservation Board members Kay O'Connell, Rob Harrison and Susan Rooks and thanked them
for their dedication and hard work on behalf of the community.
Proclamation of Elks Youth Week: Mayor Maxwell read a statement proclaiming May 1 through May 7,
2011 to be Elks Youth Week. He said Anacortes Elks Lodge No. 1204 will sponsor an observance during
the week in tribute to the Junior Citizens of the community and he called on all citizens to participate
whole heartedly.
Mayor Maxwell announced that Anacortes received the 2010 Outstanding Reduction of Facility-Related
CO2 Emissions by a Jurisdiction award from the Skagit Council of Governments Resource Conservation
Management Program. The mayor thanked the Wastewater Treatment Plant employees and all City
employees for working hard to save energy costs and reduce carbon emissions.
Mayor Maxwell thanked the many volunteers who participated in a work party on Mt. Erie on April 23 in
memory of Dallas Kloke. He said those working to pick up litter, remove Scotch broom and prune trails
included Calvin Landrus, Rick Kruse, Nick Schmal, Khara Schmal, Emily Nolte, Nate Coach, Brian
Tottenham, Maggie Sullivan, Harold Mead, Dean Olin, Jovan Olin, Blake Olin, Jason Griffith, Wade
Bessett, Aaron Bryant, Rick Rogers, Tim Nelson, Neal Kloke, Christi Kloke, Don Bowen, Jonas Knudson
and Melanie Knudson.
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 2, 2011 1
Consent Agenda
Mrs. Pickett asked to remove Item b, Street Fair Application for Eagles Salmon BBQ, from the Consent
Agenda. Mayor Maxwell concurred. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to approve the
following Consent Agenda items. Vote: Ayes—Adams, Richardson, Geer, Johnson 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 April 21, 2011 and April 28, 2011 are approved for payment as of this date May 2, 2011.
Claim Checks
April 2011: Warrant Numbers 60053 through 60221 in the total amount of $614,533.77
EFT
April 2011: Warrant Number 60052 in the total amount of$105.40
Pre-Written Claim Checks
April 2011: Warrant Numbers 60049 through 60051 in the total amount of$5,100.00
Payroll for April 20, 2011 in the total amount of$559,149.09
Check Numbers 35815 through 35852 in the total amount of$34,561.03
Direct Deposit Numbers from 39431 through 39612 in the total amount of$344,803.88
EFT Numbers from 1267 through 1274 in the total amount of$179,784.18
Cancellation of Warrants
April 2011: Warrant Number 59274 in the total amount of$805.00
April 2011: Warrant Number 60026 in the total amount of$4,500.00
April 2011: Warrant Number 59378 in the total amount of$4,581.00
In the same motion Council:
Approved the Street Fair Application for the Anacortes Farmer's Market from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. every
Saturday from May 14, 2011 through October 15, 2011 except July 16, 2011 and August 6, 2011;
Approved the Street Fair Application for the 4th of July Extravaganza and parade from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. on
July 4, 2011; and
Approved the Street Fair Application for Shipwreck Days from 3 a.m. to 6 p.m. on July 16, 2011.
Regarding the Street Fair Application from the Eagles, Mrs. Pickett noted the request adds three new
dates to the annual August event and inquired if the City had asked for comments from the Port of
Anacortes. Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer clarified that the Eagles close half a block of 7th
Street and use the parking strip on the west side of Q Avenue for the August event but will use only the
parking strip for the May, June and July dates. Mayor Maxwell said the event does not shut down travel
lanes on Q Avenue. Mrs. Pickett said she asked because Q Avenue is a coke hauling route. Mr.
Buckenmeyer said it had never been an issue before but he would check with the Port to be sure there
would be no conflict. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson, to approve the Street Fair
Application for the Eagles Barbecue at 901 7th Street from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on May 14, June 18, July 16
and August 19-21, 2011. Vote: Ayes— Richardson, Geer, Johnson, Pickett and Adams. Motion carried.
Contract Award: Chemicals for Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants
Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer explained that the City goes out to bid every two years for
chemicals for the two plants and the new contract will be for 2011 through 2013. He asked Council to
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approve contract awards for the low bids recommended by staff, consider a separate contract with
Northstar for three chemicals, and recognize that the City of Mt. Vernon will partner with Anacortes to
piggyback on the bids. Mr. Buckenmeyer said the memo in the Council packet outlines the many different
chemicals used, the quantities needed, the bids received and the staff recommendation for contract
award for each chemical.
Mr. Buckenmeyer said three chemicals did not receive any bids but immediately after the bid opening the
City received a letter from Northstar Chemical, Inc. (who bid successfully on several other chemicals)
submitting a quote for those three chemicals. Mr. Buckenmeyer reviewed the quote with the Finance
Director and the Water Treatment Plant staff and said the quote appears to meet industry standards. He
said if the quote is not accepted the City will have to re-bid the chemicals for each purchase and will likely
receive similar pricing. Mr. Geer asked why Northstar didn't just bid on the three chemicals. Mr.
Buckenmeyer said the vendor provided no explanation. Mrs. Pickett asked if Northstar's quote is binding
for two years. Mr. Buckenmeyer said yes. Mayor Maxwell said it is within the parameters of recent
chemical prices. Mrs. Richardson asked if City Attorney Brad Furlong had reviewed the quote from
Northstar. The mayor said no. Mrs. Richardson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams, to accept the chemical
bids recommended by staff and pending review by Mr. Furlong to accept the quote from Northstar
Chemical, Inc. Mr. Adams asked if any of the chemicals have become really expensive or if there are any
the City is trying to phase out. Mr. Buckenmeyer said no. Vote: Ayes—Geer, Johnson, Pickett, Adams
and Richardson. Motion carried.
Contract Award: High Efficiency Diffuser Replacement Prpject
Mr. Buckenmeyer provided some background information on this project which he had discussed at
length with the City Council Public Works Committee. He said significant energy is used at the
Wastewater Treatment Plant to blow air into the processing flow. This requires a very large blower motor
as well as extensive ductwork and 682 diffusers. Mr. Buckenmeyer said WWTP Manager John Franz has
been working for some time to replace the blower motor and has recently convinced Puget Sound Energy
to share the cost (61%to be paid by PSE). He said that purchase would come to Council for approval at
the next regular City Council meeting. At this meeting Mr. Buckenmeyer asked Council to approve a
separate contract for the City to purchase the ductwork and diffusers for which PSE has agreed to
participate in the funding with a 61%grant reimbursement. Mr. Buckenmeyer said changing out these
components will save the City$700K of the projected $1.2M in electricity costs at the plant over the next
20 years (calculated at current rates). In addition, the current diffusers have to be manually cleaned every
six years which takes three people three weeks to perform;the new diffusers don't have to be cleaned so
significant labor savings will be realized. Mr. Buckenmeyer said the City received only one bid for the
diffuser system which was not surprising because it is very specialized equipment and of smaller size
than most of the industry. He said the one bid of$121,184 from Aerostrip Corporation falls very near the
Engineer's Estimate and staff recommends accepting it. He added that funding for the project is in the
2011 budget. Mr. Geer thanked the staff involved for continually finding ways to save energy and money
and moved, seconded by Mrs. Pickett, to approve the contract award to Aerostrip Corporation for
$121,184. Vote: Ayes—Johnson, Pickett, Adams, Richardson and Geer. Motion carried.
Water Treatment Plant Update
Mr. Buckenmeyer updated Council on the status of the Water Treatment Plant improvement project with
assistance from Project Manager Matt Reynolds. Mr. Buckenmeyer briefly recapped the project history,
scope and rationale and explained the treatment technology that will be used at the new plant. Mr.
Reynolds then showed photos of the current progress at the construction site. He reviewed a schematic
of the project and said all the piles have been driven for the new finished water storage tank and those for
the new high service pump station are nearly done. The piling are 105 feet long and there will be over 600
of them on the project. He said the foundation for the tank will begin in the next few weeks and submittals
are in process. Mr. Reynolds reported that the treatment plant building is on the critical path and the
contractor has started the mass excavation for that. He said the contractor is now installing 15 dewatering
wells so he can complete the excavation. There will be 12,000 GPM pumps in each well and during
construction they will be pumping out more groundwater than the plant processes daily. Mrs. Richardson
asked the capacity of the new water storage tank. Mr. Reynolds said it will be a 2.1 MG tank, the same
size as the tanks at Skyline and 29th Street. The current storage tank at the plant is only .5 MG which
Anacortes City Council Minutes May 2, 2011 3
allows just barely the chlorine contact time required. Mr. Reynolds said the contractor has excavated
23,000 cy of the total anticipated 35,000 cy, to within two feet of groundwater. Mayor Maxwell added that
the contractor hasn't had to haul in any fill. Mr. Reynolds confirmed that it is a balanced project except for
crushed rock for foundations. Mr. Reynolds said the piling have to reach 60-foot depth to meet seismic
criteria, then they have to meet bearing capacity. He said the piling are being welded in Vancouver, WA
and then driven north to the jobsite. Mayor Maxwell added that local firm T. Bailey is working on the big
tank. Mr. Geer observed that the piling get driven in below grade and asked how they connect to the
foundation. Mr. Reynolds and Mayor Maxwell explained that a piling cap will extend up into the structural
slab. Mr. Adams asked about the dewatering. Mr. Reynolds explained that the excavation has to go ten
feet below the water table so the excavation has to be dewatered and the water gets pumped right back
out into the Skagit River. Mrs. Richardson asked if the slide presentation can be posted on the City
website. Mr. Reynolds said yes. The mayor added that a webcam will be available to councilmembers.
Mayor Maxwell thanked Mr. Buckenmeyer and Mr. Reynolds for the update and said a Council site visit
will be scheduled when the site is more accessible.
There being no further business, at approximately 8:20 p.m. the regularly scheduled City Council meeting
of May 2, 2011 adjourned.
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