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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-12-09 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—December 9,2019 Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the Anacortes City Council meeting of December 9, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters, Carolyn Moulton and Matt Miller were present. Councilmember Bruce McDougall participated in the meeting via telephone. Councilmember Brad Adams was absent. The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance. Announcements and Committee Reports Board and Commission Appointments: Mayor Gere announced that she had reappointed Lisa Rhoades and Terry MacDonald to the Anacortes Arts Commission effective December 9,2019 for terms expiring November 30, 2022. Mayor Gere announced that she had reappointed James English as an alternate on the Civil Service Commission for a term expiring December 31,2022. Mayor Gere requested Council confirmation of her appointments of John Shafer and Christina Hansen to the Library Board of Trustees effective January 1, 2020 for terms expiring December 21, 2024. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Young,to confirm the mayor's appointments to the Library Board of Trustees. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Mayor Gere requested Council confirmation of her reappointments of Tom Kuhn and Kay Reinhardt to the Museum Advisory Board effective December 9,2019 for terms expiring December 1,2023. Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Mr. Johnson,to confirm the mayor's reappointments of Tom Kuhn and Kay Reinhardt to the Museum Advisory Board. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Mayor Gere requested Council confirmation of her reappointment of Gib Moore to the Museum Advisory Board effective December 9,2019 for a term expiring December 1,2023. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Miller, to confirm the mayor's reappointment of Gib Moore to the Museum Advisory Board. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Mayor Gere requested Council confirmation of her reappointment of Brian Wetcher to the Forest Advisory Board effective December 9,2019 for a term expiring November 30, 2024 and her reappointment of Sara Nichols to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission effective December 9, 2019 for a term expiring October 31,2024. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Young,to confirm the mayor's reappointments of Brian Wetcher and Sara Nichols. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Public Safety Committee: Mr. Miller reported from the committee meeting the prior Tuesday at which staff reported on the completion of the remodel of Fire Station 3,managing overtime for firefighters and police officers, and new hires in the police department. Port/City Liaison Committee: Mr. Miller reported from the committee meeting the prior Tuesday.He indicated that topics discussed included outreach meetings in November for the Port's northwest basin redevelopment plan,related parking concerns,property purchases, and the maritime strategic plan update. Mr. Johnson added that EDASC Executive Director John Sternlicht would be invited to join the committee meetings on a quarterly basis. Planning Committee: Mr. Walters reported from the committee meeting earlier in the evening. He indicated that topics discussed included minor changes to countywide planning policies which would come before Council for public comment before year end,the city's Shoreline Master Program update currently being prepared, and the Anacortes City Council Minutes December 9,2019 1 Critical Areas Ordinance update that was scheduled for a public hearing before the Anacortes Planning Commission on December 18,2019 and subsequent recommendations to City Council. Mr. Walters reported from the Ward 1 community meeting he had hosted two weeks prior at which topics discussed included the Critical Areas Ordinance,the proposed bike skills park, old town sidewalks and code enforcement for obstructing sidewalks,the noise level when the library generator is running,bonus height provisions in the development regulations, and the affordable housing sales tax that would be on the February ballot. Mayor Gere announced that Ken Hansen had announced his intention to retire from the Anacortes Historic Preservation Board at the end of 2019,having reached the two-term limit, and that Carolyn Suryan had indicated a willingness to serve on the Preservation Board for a 3-year term to expire December 31,2022. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Ms. Moulton,to appoint Carolyn Suryan to the Anacortes Historic Preservation Board. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Ms. Moulton reported from the meeting of the Housing Affordability and Community Services Committee the prior week. She indicated that the group had discussed the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan update that would come to Council in January, draft Human Services Commission bylaws, and the 2020 CDBG grant application. City Clerk Steve Hoglund advised that the affordable housing sales tax that would be on the February ballot required committees both for and against the proposition. He said community members had already volunteered for the committee supporting the proposition but not yet for the committee opposing the proposition. He asked that anyone interested in serving on the latter committee please contact him before December 13,2019 when he needed to submit documentation to Skagit County. Public Comment Mike Pearl read from his letter addressed to Mr. McDougall thanking him for his comments at the December 2, 2019 City Council meeting regarding the bonus height provisions in the development regulations. Mr.Pearl expressed his concern that the proposed 5-story building at 18th Street and 0 Avenue would detrimentally affect the neighborhood and suggested mitigating changes to the project. Mr. Pearl's letter was added to the packet materials for the meeting. Consent Agenda Mr. Young removed Item 5b,Approval of Claims in the amount of$221,226.34, from the Consent Agenda. Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr. Miller,to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. a.Minutes of December 2,2019 c. Interlocal Agreement: Fiber Optics Economic Development Grant#19-190-FBR-001 Mr. Young commended the Parks Department and the Museum for working hard to reduce what he termed"less than necessary"Amazon purchases. He encouraged other departments to continue that effort. Mr. Young moved, seconded by Mr. Miller,to approve Consent Agenda Item 5b. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment: EFT numbers: 95519 through 95552,total$128,292.15 Check numbers: 95518 and 95553 through 95568,total$86,368.41 Wire transfer numbers: 259492 through 260080,total $6,541.71 Anacortes City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 2 OTHER BUSINESS Recreation Program Update Recreation Manager Dustin South thanked all the volunteers involved with recreation leagues and special events and the service clubs who support recreation programming and events. He shared a video featuring recreation programs during 2019. Mr. South introduced Recreation Coordinator Travis Anderson who reported on some of the very popular recreation programs including Survivor Camp,the Haunted Walk/Run at Washington Park at Halloween, and Breakfast with Santa. Mr. South updated Council on the Youth Track and Field program,Pee Wee sports program, summer youth sport camps, and adult drop in sports. Mr. South's slide presentation was added to the packet materials for the meeting. He invited the public to Wonderland Walk at Washington Park from 5 to 8 p.m. on December 13 and 14. Mr. Johnson suggested establishing a Momentia Club to provide outings and activities for community members with dementia. Mr.Young suggested expanding recreation programming for adults over and 50. Update on Commercial Avenue Complete Streets Project Phase I- 11th Street to 13th Street Brandon Gonzales from Alta Planning+Design updated Council on the first phase of the Commercial Avenue Complete Street Project,noting that the project open house earlier in the afternoon had attracted 50-60 participants. Mr. Gonzales's slide presentation was added to the packet materials for the meeting. He described the current phase of the Commercial Avenue Complete Streets project, focusing on the two blocks between 11th and 13th Streets. Mr. Gonzales summarized the opportunities and constraints at the location,the timeline for the project design,public input opportunities, and presented three configurations under consideration. He shared the next steps and including a planned open house in March. Mr. Walters asked the consultant and staff to clearly articulate to the public the problems the project was trying to solve. He asked that councilmembers be explicitly invited to all future public meetings on the project. Ms. Moulton and Mr. Miller conveyed constituent sentiment against decreasing automobile travel lanes in the area. Mr. Johnson cautioned that closing the Sebo's entrance onto Commercial Avenue could have a negative safety impact. Mr. Walters asked that the city website be updated and kept current with relevant information about the project throughout the process. Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item. Doug Thurber,PO Box 155, said that the project was unnecessary. Mr. Thurber listed numerous objections to the configurations presented and suggested a number of alternative projects that he felt would be more appropriate for the town. Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, encouraged the city to begin negotiating with Safeway to realign the intersection of 12th Street and Commercial Avenue to move the Safeway entrance a block further north rather than terminating 12th Street in the store's parking lot. Resolution 2066: 2020 Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Recommendations Planning Director Don Measamer presented Resolution 2066 authorizing execution of Tourism Promotion Fund contracts. He summarized the applications received,the evaluation process, and the recommended awards as outlined in the packet materials. Mr. Measamer recommended approval of Resolution 2066. Mr. Walters asked that future agenda bills cite the statute constraining Council's possible actions in response to the LTAC recommendations. Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address the Council. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 3 Mr. McDougall requested a future study session on some of the projects such as the Chamber of Commerce projects. LTAC Chair Mr. Miller thanked Mark Lione,Karla Locke,Russ Olivier,Erik Schorr,Andy Stewart and Pamela Audette for their dedicated service on the committee over several months. Mr. Young moved, seconded by Ms. Moulton,to approve Resolution 2066 authorizing execution of the Tourism Promotion Fund contracts by and between the City of Anacortes and recipient agencies.Vote: Ayes—Young, Walters,Moulton,McDougall,Miller and Johnson. Motion carried. Resolution 2062: Updating Unified Fee Schedule for Updated Sewer Rates and Ordinance 3059: Updating AMC Title 13,Public Services Finance Director Steve Hoglund summarized the discussion from recent meetings on this topic,referring to his slide presentation that had been included in the packet materials for the meeting. He recommended adopting both Resolution 2062 and Ordinance 3059 as presented,noting that they would need to be adopted simultaneously. Mr. Walters asked that staff bring back an additional update to the UFS early in the new year to include the phased in sewer rates for 2021 through 2025. Ms. Moulton asked that Ordinance 3059 Exhibit A define ISU (impermeable surface unit)and ERU(equivalent residential unit). Mr. Miller asked that the block rates specified in 13.08.020(A)(2)be presented in a readable table format. Several councilmembers requested that the ordinance include a track changes version rather than highlighting changed sections,though Mr. Young said he preferred the highlighted version.Mr. Walters asked that Exhibit A explicitly state which sections of the code should be left in unchanged. Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.No one present wished to address the Council. Mayor Gere asked Mr. Hoglund to bring the resolution and ordinance back to Council for action at the next meeting with the changes requested to Exhibit A. Ms. Moulton suggested including that item on the Consent Agenda. Ordinance 3052: Updating AMC Chapter 12.50, Street and Alley Vacation Ms. Swetnam continued the discussion of this topic from prior City Council meetings. She presented a revised draft of the ordinance and discussed with Council the changes regarding criteria for decisions to vacate,partial vacations, compensation and appraisals. Mr. Johnson asked if the criteria listed in 12.50.060 were to be weighted in any way. Ms. Swetnam explained that since the decision to vacate was entirely at Council's discretion regardless of whether some or all of the criteria were met, analysis of the criteria was not necessary. Mr. Johnson asked that 12.50.060 explicitly state that. Mr. Walters asked that 12.50.070 require vacation of entire street widths as well as entire block lengths. Ms. Swetnam agreed to alter the draft language to accommodate both requests. Mr. Johnson asked for clarification of 12.50.090(3).Ms. Swetnam said she would take a look at that language to see if it could be simplified. Mayor Gere thanked Ms. Swetnam and concluded that a revised draft would come back to Council for consideration at a future meeting. Memorandum of Understanding: Fidalgo Island Water System Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer presented a revised draft of the MOU that had been proposed by Skagit PUD#1 following Council's consideration of an earlier draft at its regular meeting on November 12, 2019. Mr. Buckenmeyer advised that the PUD Commissioner would be considering and possibly taking action on the revised draft at its meeting the following day. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 4 Mr. Johnson moved, seconded by Mr.Young,to approve the Memorandum of Understanding for transfer and improvement of the Fidalgo Island Water System. Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item. Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street, said the revised draft was an improvement over the prior version. Mr. Wetcher requested that the final MOA include a positive statement that extension of services to these areas by the City of Anacortes be discrete to existing services rather than allowing for any expansion of services. Mr. Wetcher recounted the need for this language in order not to open the area up to large spot development. Vote: Ayes—Walters,Moulton,McDougall,Miller, Johnson and Young. Motion carried. Executive Session At approximately 8:25 p.m. Mayor Gere announced that City Council and the City Attorney would convene in Executive Session per RCW 42.30.110(i) for approximately 30 minutes to discuss potential litigation or litigation and that following the executive session the meeting would adjourn with no action having been taken. Councilmembers Eric Johnson,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters, Carolyn Moulton and Matt Miller attended the executive session. Councilmember Bruce McDougall participated in the executive session via telephone. There being no further business, at approximately 8:40 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of December 9,2019 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes December 9, 2019 5