HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-11-25 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—November 25, 2019
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the Anacortes City Council meeting of November 25,2019 at 6:00 p.m.
Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters,Brad Adams, Carolyn Moulton,Bruce
McDougall and Matt Miller were present.
The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements and Committee Reports
Parks&Recreation Committee: Mr.Adams reported from the committee meeting the prior Thursday. He briefly
summarized the topics discussed including the Parks Comprehensive Plan update which was scheduled to come
back to Council at its December 16,2019 meeting,the schedule for installing the repaired Washington Park boat
launch,possible revisions to the Parks impact fees, and expansion of the sailing program.
Planning Committee: Mr. Walters reported that the committee meeting scheduled for earlier in the evening had
been cancelled so committee members could attend the ribbon cutting at the Anacortes Family Center.
Finance Committee: Mr. Walters reported from the committee meeting the prior Friday at which the committee
members discussed Parks impact fees and further analysis required to determine appropriate revisions to those
fees.
Mr. Walters observed that Mr. McDougall wished to participate in absentia at the December 9,2019 regular
City Council meeting but had already participated in eight meetings in absentia during 2019,the maximum
allowed by Resolution 2044, Section 4.3(e). Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to suspend the rules
of procedure to allow Mr.McDougall to participate in absentia at the December 9, 2019 meeting. Vote: Ayes—
Young,Walters,Adams,Moulton,McDougall,Miller and Johnson. Motion carried.
Mayor Gere added Item 7d,Letter of Intent from Fidalgo Pool&Fitness Center,to the agenda.
Ms. Moulton reported that the recently completed Skagit County Homeless Housing Task Force report had been
considered by the Skagit County Commissioners earlier in the day and that the Commissioners had approved a
resolution to submit the report to the Washington State Department of Commerce. Ms. Moulton said the report
was available on the Skagit County Public Health website. She said submission of the report would allow the
county to qualify for State funding for homeless programs throughout the county.
Mr. Walters announced he was hosting a Ward 1 community meeting on November 26,2019 at 6 p.m. at the
Anacortes Public Library.
Mr. Miller reported from the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee meeting the prior week, anticipated to be the
final of a series of LTAC meetings held since October. Mr. Miller advised that the committee's recommendation
for awards would come before the full Council very soon for consideration and action.
Public Comment
Joe Verdoes, 13399 Driver Rd, addressed Council regarding the potential acquisition of the South Fidalgo Water
System by the City of Anacortes. Mr. Verdoes said he was not for or against the acquisition but cautioned
Council that the old wooden reservoir located in Summit Park was in extremely poor shape and visibly leaking.
Mr. Walters advised that the city was aware of the condition of that reservoir and planned to eliminate it from
the water system if the acquisition were to take place.
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Consent Agenda
Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. McDougall, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
a. Minutes of November 18,2019 and November 19,2019
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $345,580.13
c. Contract Award: 2020-2022 Cartegraph Solutions and Subscription Agreement#20-005-ENG-001
d. Contract Award: WWTP Restroom Upgrade#14-002-SEW-004
e. Contract Award: Fidalgo Avenue Culvert Repair-Design#19-191-STM-001
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
EFT numbers: 95375 through 95411,total$89,693.10
Check numbers: 95412 through 95437,total$267,677.48
Wire transfer numbers: 259235 through 259532,total $3,322.78
OTHER BUSINESS
Ordinance 3052: Updating AMC Chapter 12.50,Street and Alley Vacation
City Attorney Darcy Swetnam presented a revised draft of Ordinance 3052 following its initial presentation and
Council review at the November 12, 2019 City Council meeting. Ms. Swetnam's slide presentation was added to
the packet materials for the meeting. She summarized the legal framework for the code revision,process
requirements, and the problems with the current code,then outlined the proposed revision of the code. Ms.
Swetnam presented a number of policy questions for Council to consider. Councilmembers discussed the
ordinance language and requested a number of changes to the draft, as well as further staff suggestions on
revised language regarding partial vacations.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.
Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, spoke to the longstanding practice of allocating vacated property adjacent to the
Anacortes Community Forest Lands to the management of the ACFL. Mr.Wetcher requested that that past
practice be codified.
Mr. Walters suggested that the code require Council to affirmatively determine as a part of each vacation which
department would manage the city's portion of the vacated property.
Mayor Gere asked Ms. Swetnam to incorporate Council's suggestions and bring a revised draft of Ordinance
3052 back for consideration at the December 9, 2019 regular City Council meeting.
Regarding the policy questions Ms. Swetnam had presented, Councilmembers generally but not unanimously
concurred with the staff recommendation to increase the threshold below which a formal appraisal would not be
required to 5,000 square feet and to increase the required consideration for areas held longer than 25 years or
obtained with public funds to 100%of their value.
Resolution 2067: Updating Purchasing Policy
Ms. Swetnam introduced draft Resolution 2067 which would adopt an update to the city's Purchasing Policy to
address recent legislative changes and the need for more flexibility in unit price contracting. Ms. Swetnam's
slide presentation was added to the packet materials for the meeting. She summarized the proposed changes and
the rationale for those.
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Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address
the Council.
Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to adopt Resolution 2067 updating the city's purchasing policy.
Vote: Ayes—Walters,Adams,Moulton,McDougall,Miller, Johnson and Young. Motion carried.
At approximately 7:25 p.m. Mayor Gere called a five-minute recess. At 7:30 p.m. the mayor called the meeting
back to order.
Contract Award: Municipal Broadband Network—Library to MSTs#19-175-FBR-002
Municipal Broadband Business Manager Jim Lemberg requested Council consent to award a contract in the
amount of$236,102.22 to Robinson Brothers Construction,Inc. (RBC)to perform the construction of Municipal
Broadband Network—Library to MSTs project. Mr. Lemberg displayed a slide summarizing the key aspects of
the proposed contract;his slide was added to the packet materials for the meeting. Mr. Lemberg and Ms.
Swetnam responded to councilmember questions about the contract. Mr. Lemberg responded to councilmember
questions about the fiber project timeline and budget.
Mr. Young moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to authorize the Mayor to sign contract 19-175-FBR-002 with
RBC in the amount of$236,102.22 to perform the construction of Municipal Broadband Network—Library to
MSTs project.Vote: Ayes—Adams,Moulton,McDougall,Miller, Johnson,Young and Walters. Motion carried.
Letter of Intent from Fidalgo Pool& Fitness Center
Mayor Gere read a Letter of Intent from the Fidalgo Pool and Fitness Center that had been hand-delivered to her
office earlier in the day. The letter,which was added to the packet materials for the meeting, expressed the
Center's wishes to explore a partnership between FPFC and the City of Anacortes to construct and operate a
shared facility on FPFC property adjacent to its current structure incorporating mutual goals, i.e. replacing the
current obsolete pool with two pools; a community meeting space; child watch;ADA accessibility; increased
programming capacity and safety features; a community/youth center with a regulation gymnasium;kitchen
facilities; and space for arts/music/after-school/ASAC activities, among other features. Councilmembers
discussed a number of topics that would need clarification in the near future.
Mr. Walters moved, seconded by Mr.Adams,to accept the Fidalgo Pool&Fitness Center's Letter of Intent in
spirit and to direct staff to produce a framework agreement for moving forward. Vote: Ayes—Moulton,
McDougall,Miller, Johnson,Young,Walters and Adams. Motion carried.
There being no further business,at approximately 7:57 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
November 25,2019 was adjourned.
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