HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-10-07 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—October 7, 2019
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the Anacortes City Council meeting of October 7,2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters,Brad Adams, Carolyn Moulton and Bruce
McDougall were present. Councilmember Matt Miller was absent.
The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements and Committee Reports
Proclamation of Childhood Cancer Awareness Month: Mayor Gere read a statement proclaiming September to
be Childhood Cancer Awareness Month in Anacortes and encouraging all citizens to support this cause which
impacts children and their families in Anacortes and in communities across the country.
Finance Committee: Mr. Walters reported from the special committee meeting the prior Tuesday.He said the
committee discussed the potential sales tax for affordable housing and proposed updates to General Facilities
Charges. Mr. Walters indicated that the committee suggested additional discussion on both topics.
Port/City Liaison Committee: Mr. Johnson reported from the committee meeting on October 1,2019. He said
EDASC CEO John Sternlicht of EDASC reported on a recent regional delegation to Norway to foster business
development by Norwegian companies in Washington State. Mr. Johnson said the committee also received staff
updates on the Port's northwest basin redevelopment plan and a range of potential development projects around
town. Mayor Gere added that the Port was looking at shipping additional products over Pier 1 besides petroleum
coke.
Public Safety Committee: Mr. Johnson reported from the committee meeting the prior Tuesday at which the
police and fire chiefs reported on staffing in their departments. The committee was also briefed on recent 911
changes to implement closest unit dispatch. Mr. Johnson added that the committee discussed with the police and
fire chiefs enforcement and education for Ordinance 3050 which would be considered later on the agenda.
Mayor Gere announced that she and councilmembers Carolyn Moulton,Ryan Walters, and Brad Adams would
be facilitating a community meeting on Tuesday, October 8, 2019 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Anacortes
Senior Activity Center. The mayor said the meeting would be a discussion of the Comprehensive Plan,Land
Use Development Regulations, and how those recent developments had set up the permitting framework for the
proposed project at 18th Street and 0 Avenue.
Housing Affordability&Community Services: Ms. Moulton reported from the committee meeting the prior
Thursday. She said the group focused on the ongoing lack of a cold weather shelter for the upcoming winter.
The committee also discussed developing a Human Services Advisory Commission as part of the Human
Services Strategic Plan and updates underway to the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan.
Public Comment
Mike Pearl thanked the mayor for setting up the community meeting on October 8 regarding the proposed
multifamily residential project at 18th Street and 0 Avenue. Mr. Pearl expressed some concern about adequate
notice to the neighborhood. Mayor Gere encouraged Mr. Pearl to help spread the word to his neighbors,noting
that the meeting was posted on the city website. Mr. Pearl acknowledged the development regulations adopted
over the summer but said neighbors were not expecting this sort of development in a single-family
neighborhood.
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Consent Agenda
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Adams,to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
a. Minutes of September 23,2019
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $1,083,013.23
c. Contract Modification: Sewer Cost of Service and Rate Design Study#18-099-SEW-001
d. Street Fair Application: Anacortes High School Homecoming Parade
e. Contract Approval: PSE Pole Attachment Agreement#19-165-FBR-001
f. Memorandum of Agreement: Anacortes Museum Foundation#19-167-MUS-001
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
EFT numbers: 94757 through 94827,total$807,608.27
Check numbers: 94756 and 94828 through 94873,total $330,842.57
Wire transfer numbers: 256323 through 256926,total $2,687.82
OTHER BUSINESS
Ordinance 3050: Adopting New AMC Chapter 8.10 Regarding City Parks and the Anacortes Community
Forest Lands
Mr. Walters continued invited discussion of this ordinance following its introduction at City Council's
September 23, 2019 meeting. Mr. Walters listed the few minor changes that had been made since that meeting
as outlined in the agenda bill. Councilmembers discussed other infractions that were not addressed in the
ordinance,including dogs off leash, and agreed that separate future discussion on some of those items was
appropriate.
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Young,to approve Ordinance 3050 as presented. Mr. Adams thanked Mr.
Walters and Ms. Moulton for spearheading the legislation.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.
Douglas Thurber suggested that signs posted at ACFL trailheads group the lesser infractions together and the
larger ones regarding fire danger together.
Vote: Ayes—Young,Walters,Adams,Moulton,McDougall and Johnson. Motion carried.
Ordinance 3051: Repealing Fees for Certain Administrative Land Use Actions and Resolution 2059:
Updating Unified Fee Schedule to Add City Planning Fees and Implement a Credit Card Fee
Finance Director Steve Hoglund introduced draft Ordinance 3051 to remove Chapter 3.03,Fees for
Administrative Actions, from the Anacortes Municipal Code, and draft Resolution 2059 to update the Unified
Fee Schedule(UFS)to incorporate updated fees for administrative land use actions and for accepting credit card
payments. Mr. Hoglund presented the rationale for the proposed changes,referring to his slide presentation
which was included in the packet materials for the meeting. He recommended approval of the ordinance and
resolution,noting one extraneous line in the UFS regarding rezones that would be removed prior to execution of
Resolution 2059.
Mr. Johnson asked for more detail on the changes to the planning review fees. Mr. Walters noted that the
proposed new fees had been reviewed by both the Finance and Planning Committees. Planning Manager Libby
Grage distributed a comparison of the current and proposed fees which was added to the packet materials for the
meeting. Ms. Grage explained that the fees were based on average staff time required to process various types of
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administrative actions and actual burdened labor costs for Planning Department staff. She responded to
questions from Mayor Gere and councilmembers about comparable fees in other jurisdictions and frequency of
fee revisions. Mr. Hoglund responded to councilmember questions about the city's costs to accept credit card
payments.
Mr. Walters suggested lowering the fee to file a Type 1 or Type 2 appeal from$500 to $200. He also proposed
lowering the fee for proposing text amendments to the Comprehensive Plan to a nominal fee, such as $50. Mr.
McDougall asked that the UFS be corrected to reflect that the monthly WiFi fee for Fiber only applied to
customers who selected that optional service.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.
Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, questioned charging the public a fee to propose a comprehensive plan
amendment and argued that doing so impeded first amendment participation in the legislative process. Mr.
Wetcher also clarified with Mr. Walters that all comprehensive plan amendment proposals submitted under the
regular annual process were forwarded to Council for decision on docketing,not subject to staff discretion. Mr.
Wetcher emphasized that indigent people need to be able to submit comprehensive plan amendments. He
strongly urged not charging any fees to submit comprehensive plan amendment proposals because that would
limit freedom of speech.
Mr. McDougall agreed with Mr. Wetcher that the fee to introduce comprehensive plan amendments should be
nominal or eliminated and agreed with Mr. Walters that the fee for Type 1 and Type 2 appeals should be set at
$200 rather than$500 as proposed.
Mayor Gere concluded that the proposed ordinance and resolution would come back to Council for second
reading and further consideration at its next regular meeting.
Updated Sewer Rates and Updated General Facilities Charges(GFCs)for Water and Sewer
Mr. Hoglund invited Council to continue discussion of water and sewer general facilities charges (GFCs),
referring to his slide presentation in the packet materials for the meeting. He summarized the September 3,2019
presentation by FCS Group to City Council on this topic. After considerable discussion,the mayor and
councilmembers asked to see the methodology and calculations behind the FCS recommendations for GFC
revisions. Mayor Gere also asked that the planned CSO project be addressed in the GFC calculations.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address
the Council.
Mayor Gere concluded that discussion of this topic would continue at a future meeting.
There being no further business, at approximately 7:25 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
October 7,2019 was adjourned.
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