HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-03-02 City Council Minutes Approved City Council Minutes—March 2,2020
Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the Anacortes City Council meeting of March 2,2020 at 6:00 p.m.
Councilmembers Jeremy Carter,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters, Christine Cleland-McGrath and Matt Miller
were present. Councilmember Bruce McDougall participated in the meeting via telephone. Councilmember
Carolyn Moulton and was absent.
Ms. Cleland-McGrath moved, seconded by Mr. Walters,to excuse the absence of Ms. Moulton. The motion
carried unanimously by voice vote.
The assembly joined in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Announcements and Committee Reports
Finance Committee: Mr. Walters reported from the committee meeting the prior week. He said the committee
members met with citizen Ward MacKenzie to learn about Seattle City Light's Capital Facilities Planning
process.
Mr. Young reported that the Museum Committee had held its first meeting at which it had discussed the
Thompson Train.
Fiber Committee: Mr. McDougall reported from the committee meeting the prior week, sharing statistics on
customers in service and customer pre-orders. He reported on a brief damage outage and on design of next areas
after the pilot zones.
Public Works Committee: Mr. Walters reported from the committee meeting earlier in the evening. He indicated
that the committee had reviewed Public Works Director Fred Buckenmeyer's proposal for an intrusion and leak
detection system for the water utility,making use of the fiber optic cable already installed in the pipes. Mr.
Walters added that the group had briefly discussed the Port's proposed event center at Cap Sante marina.
Mayor Gere reported on her conversations with state and regional leaders about the Coronavirus disease 2019
(COVID-19). The mayor read the community press release that had been issued earlier in the afternoon. The
press release was added to the packet materials for the meeting. Mayor Gere then introduced Island Hospital
CEO Charles Hall who addressed the COVID-19 outbreak and steps being taken to keep the community
informed and control risk of infection.
Mr. Walters reported from the public meeting between City Council Planning Committee and a Planning
Commission committee the prior Tuesday on the bonus height provision in the R4 zone implemented in the
recent Development Regulation updates and the moratorium on same. Ms. Cleland-McGrath added that the
public boards displayed at that meeting were posted on the city website and said additional public feedback
could be submitted there.
Mr. Walters reported that the prior Wednesday the City Council Planning Committee had met with BYK in
Sedro Woolley to learn about affordable housing options being pursued there. He concluded that multifamily
housing is clearly a more affordable option.
Public Comment
Lori Maul, 711 Commercial Ave,thanked the city for considering public comment on the proposed event center
presented by the Port of Anacortes at the February 24,2020 City Council meeting. Ms. Maul said she was
excited by the plan,which would provide better access and parking than the current gravel lot. She said the
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event center would also boost accessibility for the disabled. Ms. Maul urged Council to move ahead quickly
with the required land swap at the five-way intersection. She encouraged connectivity to bring waterfront
visitors into downtown and vice versa.
Doug Thurber also addressed the Cap Sante event center proposed by the Port of Anacortes at the February 24,
2020 City Council meeting. Mr. Thurber noted separate concerns about the event center's impact on 9th Street
view corridors, about truck traffic in the R Avenue corridor, and about the 11th to 13th Street intersection
improvements currently being studied.Mr. Thurber suggested incentivizing Safeway to move its store to R
Avenue and 17th Street or R Avenue and 21'Street,vacating its current site which could then serve as an
alternative location for an event center that would more naturally connect to the downtown business district.
Brian Wetcher, 814 26th Street,reported that at recent ACFL Advisory Board meetings members of the public
had requested more information regarding progress on the Critical Areas Ordinance update and the schedule for
updating the ACFL comprehensive plan. Mr. Wetcher inquired of Mr. Walters about progress on the CAO and
how that might impact the ACFL comprehensive plan update. Mr.Walters invited the public to contact him
directly for more information.
Consent Agenda
Mr. Miller moved, seconded by Ms. Cleland-McGrath, to approve the following Consent Agenda items. The
motion carried unanimously by voice vote.
a. Minutes of February 21,2020 and February 24,2020
b. Approval of Claims in the amount of: $362,319.75
c. Interlocal#20-084-LEG-001 Cooperative Purchasing Agreement with Snohomish County
The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment:
EFT numbers: 96406 through 96462,total$187,782.91
Check numbers: 96463 through 96481,total$145,029.72
Wire transfer numbers: 264420 through 264861,total $17,670.97
OTHER BUSINESS
Public Works GIS Demonstration
Mr. Buckenmeyer introduced Rob Hoxie, GIS Manager,to provide an update on the city's mapping and asset
tracking services. Mr. Hoxie's slides were added to the packet materials for the meeting. He summarized the
history of asset tracking and mapping in the city,tracing the evolution of paper records to electronic records
management to provide better access to and security for critical information. Mr. Hoxie demonstrated several of
the many interactive searchable maps available to the public on the city website, including Grand View
Cemetery interments and building permits. Councilmembers encouraged coordination of all city utilities
including the new fiber utility in the Cartegraph asset management system.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item. No one present wished to address
the Council.
Stormwater Management Program Plan 2020
Mr. Buckenmeyer introduced Diane Hennebert, Stormwater Program Manager,to present the draft 2020
Stormwater Management Program Plan. Ms. Hennebert's slide presentation was added to the packet materials
for the meeting. She discussed the requirements of the city's National Pollution Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES)permit and how the city was meeting those requirements. Ms. Hennebert invited public comment on
the plan through the end of the week.
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Ms. Hennebert provided an overview of the components of the plan including comprehensive stormwater
planning,public education and outreach,public involvement and participation,mapping and documentation,
illicit discharge detection and elimination, controlling runoff from development and construction sites,
municipal operations and maintenance, and source control.
Mayor Gere invited members of the audience to comment on this agenda item.
Brian Wetcher commended the city on its stormwater program but noted that infrastructure cannot remove
pollutants from herbicides once they are in stormwater. Mr. Wetcher urged the SWMP to require the city to
reduce or cease use of glyphosate and to encourage citizens to reduce or eliminate private use of that substance.
There being no further business, at approximately 7:20 p.m. the Anacortes City Council meeting of
March 2,2020 was adjourned.
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