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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-11-02 City Council Minutes Approved Anacortes City Council Minutes — November 2, 2020 Mayor Laurie Gere called to order the Anacortes City Council meeting of November 2,2020 at 6:00 p.m. Councilmembers Jeremy Carter,Anthony Young,Ryan Walters, Carolyn Moulton, Christine Cleland-McGrath, Bruce McDougall and Matt Miller all participated in the meeting in absentia via video conference. Mr.Walters moved, seconded by Mr.McDougall,to move agenda item 5a, Closed Record Decision Hearing: LPS-2020-0001 -The Crossings Cottages Preliminary Plat& Site Plan,to be the first item of Other Business since the closed record hearing was not an open public hearing. The motion carried unanimously by voice vote. Announcements and Committee Reports Presentation of Advanced Certificates of Municipal Leadership: Association of Washington Cities CEO Peter King presented Advanced Certificates of Municipal Leadership to Mayor Laurie Gere and Councilmember Ryan Walters. Mr. King also acknowledged Administrative Services Director Emily Schuh for her years of valuable service on AWC committees and the AWC Board of Trustees. COVID-19 Update: Mayor Gere shared current case statistics for Anacortes, Skagit County,Washington State, and the nation. The mayor compared Skagit County case counts to the metrics required to move to Phase 3 of the Safe Start Washington Plan. Information Technology Committee: Mr.McDougall reported from the committee meeting the prior Thursday which had focused on the storage space contract that would be addressed later on the agenda. Finance Committee: Mr.Walters reported from the committee meeting the prior Wednesday. He said the committee discussed the proposed 2021 budget including the open staff positions,the fiber budget, and deferred allocations to the pavement management program and the equipment rental replacement fund. Public Works Committee: Ms. Moulton reported from the committee meeting earlier in the evening. She described the committee's discussion of upcoming revisions to the City's green energy contract,the water treatment plant shut down scheduled for November 4,2020 in connection with the new raw water line coming on line, long range transportation projects,the wastewater treatment plant outfall project, and the Genifuel contract that would be addressed later on the agenda. Public Comment Carol Bordin asked about the status of the A Avenue city dump cleanup. Mayor Gere said the city was working closely with the Depai linent of Ecology on that topic. She invited Ms. Bordin to contact her office for more information. Drake Elliott stated his deep concern at witnessing Thin Blue Line emblems and stickers on Anacortes Police Department cars and uniforms. Mr. Elliott's comments echoed his written comments which had been submitted to councilmembers earlier in the day and which were added to the packet materials for the meeting.Mr. Elliott objected to any political affiliations being displayed on publicly owned equipment or facilities. He urged that such a prohibition be established if it did not already exist. Mayor Gere invited Mr. Elliott to contact her office for more information. Erika McPhee-Shaw asked to speak about The Crossings project.Mayor Gere explained that Ms. McPhee-Shaw was not a party of record in that matter and so could not comment on the project. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 2, 2020 1 Rochelle Kealoha asked why the city did not yet have a policy against choke holds and carotid artery holds, said the city should hire social workers rather than hiring three new cops, and objected to the lack of a policy prohibiting City employees from displaying the Thin Blue Line symbol.Ms. Kealoha said she was disgusted by seeing officers display an emblem which had become a symbol of racism and white power militias. She referenced conversations with Anacortes police officers on this topic. Kayla House asked what Council was doing to enforce and deliver on the promises of Resolution 2060 which declared a policy of inclusion. Ms. House said Black Lives Matter demonstrators at 12th and Commercial were subjected to hate speech and death threats. Mr.Young assured the commenters and the mayor and Council were engaged in a deep discussion of this topic. Carol Bordin asked if parties of record for The Crossings Cottages Preliminary Plat& Site Plan,which had been postponed from the October 14,2020 City Council meeting,would be able to address the Council on that project at the present meeting.Mayor Gere confirmed that parties of record for that project would have an opportunity to address Council on information already in the record when that item was reached on the agenda. 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 October 26, 2020 b.Approval of Claims in the amount of: $383,974.30 The following vouchers/checks were approved for payment: EFT numbers: 98501 through 98543,total$267,385.76 Check numbers: 98544 through 98560,total$111,004.47 Wire transfer numbers: 275057 through 275654,total$5,844.62 PUBLIC HEARINGS Public Hearing: 2021 Budget Finance Director Steve Hoglund introduced Ordinance 3078 adopting the proposed 2021 budget and briefly summarized the schedule for continued consideration and eventual adoption of the budget. At approximately 6:33 p.m. Mayor Gere opened the advertised public hearing. Dennis Clark, 3805 M Avenue,commented on the city's progress over the past six years addressing the backlog of street maintenance caused by the great recession, including the voter-approved sales tax increase to support street maintenance.Mr. Clark said that maintaining transportation infrastructure truly is a high priority. He strongly supported maintaining inflation-adjusted 2020 funding levels for pavement management in the 2021 budget. Drake Elliott requested clarification on whether public opportunities to comment on the proposed budget would continue past the present meeting.Mayor Gere said yes. Mr. Elliott said he did not support hiring three new police officers and cutting other areas of the budget. He said he would rather see that money spent on mental health and housing. Mayor Gere said the public hearing on the budget would continue on November 9,2020. Rochelle Kealoha agreed with Mr. Elliott's comments. She supported spending on mental health,housing and social workers rather than police officers. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 2, 2020 2 Kayla House agreed with Mr. Elliott and Ms. Kealoha. She did not support allocating funds to hire three new police positions. She said most problems in the community are mental health issues and could be better handled by social workers. Mr. Hoglund invited Council and the public to contact him with any additional questions.Members of the Finance Committee suggested that the Mr. Hoglund's presentation to the committee at its meeting the prior Wednesday would be useful to the entire Council and the public. Councilmembers concurred. Mayor Gere directed Mr. Hoglund to share that presentation at the November 9,2020 regular City Council meeting. Mayor Gere left the public hearing on the 2021 budget open to the next regular City Council meeting on November 9,2020. OTHER BUSINESS Closed Record Decision Hearing: LPS-2020-0001 -The Crossings Cottages Preliminary Plat& Site Plan Planning Manager Libby Grage presented the project,referring to her slide presentation included in the packet materials for the meeting. Ms. Grage provided an overview of the project and the process to date. Councilmembers Moulton,Walters and Young expressed interest in conditioning the wood chipped path to connect to the lower street,not just the common area. Mayor Gere invited the applicant to address the Council. Mr. Strandberg said Ms. Grage's presentation had covered the project well and that he was available to respond to questions. Mayor Gere invited parties of record to address the Council. Shawn Patrick referred to his letter in the record for the project. Mr. Patrick expressed his concerns that parking from the project would overflow onto his street,Meadows Lane, and that surface water from the project would end up in his crawl space. Carol Bordin argued against the classification of the wetland as a Category 2 wetland and said that 225-foot buffers should apply which would reduce the project from 18 cottages to 9. Ms. Bordin also addressed impacts of the local hydrology from development,wildlife species monitoring,wildlife habitat,prohibitions on pesticides,herbicides and insecticides, limiting truck access from the west,prohibiting trails and human access in the buffer,wildlife corridors,tree preservation and replacement, and additional suggested conditions. Cherie Goyer said that AMC 19.42.100 would only allow 16 cottages on the site,not 18.Ms. Goyer also said parking is a huge issue. She expressed extreme concern about increased traffic and pedestrian safety at the intersection of Oregon Avenue and West 12th Street if Oregon Avenue were connected to Meadows Lane. She also asked how construction crews would access the site without violating the wetland buffer. Susan Lavell Warm said the wetland on the project site was not a separate Category 2 wetland but a contiguous Category 3 wetland with the wetland across the street,hence required larger buffers. Ms. Lavell Warm also argued that the chipped path through the wetland was not in the best interest of the wetland and questioned when Meadows Lane would be widened to meet the demands of increased traffic. No other parties of record expressed an interest in addressing Council. Mayor Gere invited Council discussion. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 2, 2020 3 Councilmembers questioned Ms. Grange, Engineering Technician Steve Lange,Planning Director Don Measamer and the applicant about the street width and improvements on Meadows Lane,parking, and prohibition of short-term rentals. At Mr. McDougall's request,Karla Gallina of ATSI explained why Wetlands A and B had been classified as separate wetlands in ATSI's critical areas report. Ms. Bordin and Ms. Lavell Warm disagreed with Ms. Gallina's classification. Ms. Grage displayed the recommended conditions of approval for the project. Mayor Gere queried councilmembers whether they wished to take action or to continue deliberations on the project the following week. It was agreed to continue the closed record decision hearing to November 9,2020. Mayor Gere observed the late hour and suggested that consideration of the remainder of the agenda items be postponed to the November 9,2020 regular City Council meeting.No councilmembers or staff objected. At approximately 9:00 p.m.the Anacortes City Council meeting of November 2, 2020 was adjourned. Anacortes City Council Minutes November 2, 2020 4