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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/16/03 COUNCIL TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 ,~ CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JAN ? Tuesday, December 16, 2003 The weekly meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton was called to order in the City Council Chambers, 239 4th Street, Bremerton, Washington, Tuesday, December 16, 2003, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Carol Arends presiding. Council members present were Mike Short, Will Maupin, Eric Younger, Mike Shepherd, Ed Rollman, Daren Nygren, Cecil McConnell, and Brad Gehring. Also present were City Attorney Roger Lubovich; Deputy City Clerk Paula Johnston; and Legislative Assistant Lori Smith. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council Member Cecil McConnell~ followed by the invocation provided by Ethel Mae Nelson of Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. President Arends made the following announcements: 1. The Pre-Council session was held in the Council Conference Room from 5:00 to 5:30 PM to discuss updates to the agenda; 2. Item 9A under New Business has been moved on the Agenda, and will be heard following 9F; 3. There will be an Executive Session immediately following the Council Meeting to "REVIEW LABOR NEGOTIATIONS" per RCW 42.30.140(4)(b); and 4. The next Council meeting will be held Tuesday, December 23, 2003. CONSENT AGENDA A. Contract Award to MACHINISTS, INC. for the Howell Bunger Valve Repair Project (#AB03-232) #0040 M/S/C/U (McConnell/Rollman) Move to approve Consent Agenda as presented. CLAIMS & CHECK REGISTERS Vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as required by RCW 42.24.080, and those expense reimbursement claims certified as required by RCW 42.24.090 have been recorded on a listing that had been made available to the Council. #0060 M/S/C/U (McConnell/Rollman) On December 16, 2003, the Council approved payment for Check Numbers 286661 and 286662; and EFT-7967 through EFT-7970 in the total amount $819,784.65. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mike Shepherd announced the next District 5 Neighborhood meeting would be held on Thursday, December 18 from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M. at the Memorial Lutheran Church located at 10th & Veneta, and would also include a Christmas party. Ed Rollman thanked Mayor Bozeman for giving him the "Key to the City", and thanked Council staff for all they do. Daren Nyaren explained that because he was on vacation, he was not here during the lighting of the new Christmas tree in Manette, however thanked the Parks Department, Utilities Department, Holly James, and Sherril Huff-Menees for their efforts in organizing this new tradition. Brad Gehrinfi stated that in 30 states and various counties, December 16~ is celebrated as "B~LL OF RIGHTS" day, and therefore reminded citizens to look at the document closely and remember all the privileges the document provides to citizens. TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 2 of 6 MAYOR'S REPORT - There was no Mayor's Report this evening. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mike Eliason, Government Affairs Director with the KITSAP COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, thanked Eric Younger and Ed Rollman for their service to the City. 8A - PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH URS CORPORATION FOR THE WEST 580 PRESSURE ZONE UPGRADES PROJECT {#AB03-233): Gene Sampley, Director of Public Works & Utilities; and Michael Mecham, City Engineer, explained that based on an evaluation of qualified consultants, the City has selected URS CORPORATION to provide consulting engineering services for the West 580 Pressure Zone Upgrades. The project includes construction of a new pump station to serve the new West 580 Pressure Zone and construction of a water transmission main between the new pump station location and Old Clifton Road. The not-to-exceed amount of the agreement is $190,459.00. There were no comments from the public. Mr. Younger asked what the total implementation of the upgrades will cost, and if there would be any repercussions if the agreement were not passed. Mr. Sampley, Director of Public Works & Utilities, answered that the completion of the West 580 Zone Upgrades would cost about $3 million, and that the developer was obligated to pay for a certain portion of the infrastructure and distribution main to the reservoir and to the Northwest Corporate Campus. It was further stated that not passing this particular agreement may make the City vulnerable. Mr. Lubovich elaborated further on the comments of Mr. Sampley, and also agreed with his assessment regarding the potential vulnerability of the City. Mr. Shepherd provided his concerns regarding this issue, and asked if the money held in trust is being held by the bankruptcy court. Mr. McConnell added that although he agreed with some of the comments made by Mr. Shepherd, the City has come too far to make a "u-turn". #0865 M/SIC (Maupin/Roliman) Move to approve a Professional Services Agreement with URS CORPORATION, to provide consulting engineering services for the West 580 Pressure Zone Upgrades project, in an amount not to exceed $190,459.00, and authorize the Mayor to finalize and execute the necessary contract documents for the agreement. Voted in favor of Motion: Nygren, Rollman, Younger, Maupin, Short, Gehring, McConnell, Arends Voted opposed to Motion: Shepherd Motion carried: 8-Yes; 1-No 9B - ORDINANCE [FIRST READING] ADOPTING THE 2004 ANNUAL BUDGET; REPEALING BMC CHAPTER 3.02~ 3.10, AND 3.38; AND AMENDING BMC CHAPTER 3.36 (#AB03-227): Michael Wilson, Finance Director, stated that this ordinance adopts the City of Bremerton's 2004 Annual Budget at the Fund level as described in the Mayor's Proposed 2004 Budget. Two corrections were pointed out: 1) Each of the Departments will reflect a decrease for the funds removed due to IT redistribution for IT Services; and 2) BMC 3.36.020 "The Contingency Reserve Fund~ shall be amended. Helen Miller stated that after sitting through quite a few Budget Sessions, it was her understanding that the Mayor was going to be asked to reduce staff by about $380,000, but did not see it in any of the documentation. TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 3 of 6 Prior to opemng the discussion to the Council, Deputy City Clerk Paula Johnston. provided a briefing on the parliamentarian procedures... #1185 MISICIU (YoungedShort) Main Motion to approve an ordinance on first reading, adopting the City of Bremerton's 2004 Annual Budget. No vote was taken at this time, as the discussion began. The Council members provided their comments and asked numerous questions. Some of those comments have been summarized as follows... Mr. Youn~ler thanked the Council for their efforts in working to balance this budget then discussed the highlights of the main 18-points summarized by members of the Fiscal & Budget Committee. Mr. Shepherd expressed his concern at the non-collaborative effort in presenting this budget prior to discussing "Police Special Projects" and "Jail" expenditures. Mr, McConnell added that although the City Council spent a lot of time with this budget, he does not believe that enough time was spent looking for ways to cut the budget. Mr. Nygren acknowledged that the budget was a challenge, but pointed out that Public Safety was being protected and that Street funds were increased to improve the roads. Mr. Short offered his comments, and also reminded the public that the Council is committed to re- looking at the budget mid-year. He specifically asked for clarification on the BKAT financial structure. Mr. Wilson explained that 25% of the BKAT Managers salary has historically come from the General Fund through the Executive Budget. However, there is a gap between what the City is able to fund the position at and what funding the Kitsap County is able to offer, so the City must increase the amount in the budget to cover this difference. Mr. Rollman expressed his frustration with the process used to present this budget to the Council this year, which he believes was "too late", and now the Council is doing its best to work with it. He also expressed concerns over increasing health care costs for employees, would like to see more emphasis placed on public safety, and suggested some changes in the management of and marketing for Ivy Green Cemetery. Mr. Gehrinfl stated that he was new to this process, and although he has seen many good things in the budget, he is not comfortable increasing taxes, or not looking at positions to determine their value. He further stated that a proposed reorganization should not be "revenue neutral" but rather provide an opportunity for the City to save some money. Mr. Maupin agreed that the budget process used this year was less than perfect, and although it would have been more beneficial for the Council to have been involved earlier, he thanked the Council and the Administration for their efforts in working through this process and keeping the lines of communication open. He particularly thanked members of the Fiscal & Budget Committee for spending the additional time to review the budget and providing their recommendations. TAPE #1926 Mrs. Arends provided her comments on the budget, and added her regrets that that Council was not included earlier in the process. She expressed her appreciation for all of the Departments, and thanked them for the good work they do, even when additional work is added with less funding. #0224 A-M/S/C/U (Younger/Short) Move to amend the main motion by striking out Section 5 of the proposed ordinance. Motion carded unanimously. TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 4 of 6 #0288 M/SIC (YoungedShort) Main Motion to approve an ordinance on first reading, adopting the City of Bremerton's 2004 Annual Budget. Voted in favor of Motion: Younger, Maupin, Short, Nygren, and Arends Voted opposed to Motion: Shepherd, Gehring, McConnell, and Rollman Motion carried: 5-Yes; 4-No 9C - ORDINANCE rFIRST READING1 UPDATING BMC CHAPTER 3.01 RATES AND FEER (#AB03-228): Michael Wilson, Finance Director, said that the proposed ordinance updates the rates and fees for certain City Departments (Administrative Services, Municipal Court, Community Development, Police, Fire, Parks & Recreation, Public Works & Utilities), and non-residential City services. The schedule is attached to the ordinance. Mike Eliason noticed that the fee increases for the Community Development Department seemed exceptionally high, and questioned if the City consulted any stakeholder groups to see how these increases would affect the market place. Mr. Wilson responded that fees were increased to recover the cost of performing the services, and to be competitive with other jurisdictions. Because several Council members also had the same concerns with the proposed Land Use fee increases, Chris Hugo, Director of Community Development, elaborated further to explain that a very costly service is being provided to developers, and that these fee increases would prevent the taxpayers from subsidizing the actual costs. #1223 M/S/C (Maupin/Short) Move to approve an ordinance on first reading, amending BMC Chapter 3.01 RATES AND FEES. Voted in favor of Motion: Younger, Maupin, Short, Nygren, Shepherd, and Arends Voted opposed to Motion: Gehring, McConnell, and Rollman Motion carried: 6-Yes; 3-No 9D - ORDINANCE [FIRST READING] AMENDING BMC CHAPTER 3.50 UTILITY TAXEfi (#AB03-229): Michael Wilson, Finance Director, pointed out that the proposed ordinance increases the utility tax rate for Water, Wastewater, Stormwater, and Cable Utilities from 7% to 8.5% as a means of generating revenue so that no cuts need to be made to essential services. Mike Eliason asked if the rate increase would apply to utility users outside the City as well. Mr. Lubovich explained that yes, because the rate is charged for the utility, not the location, and elaborated further that the tax is charged to the general revenues of the utilities, not to the individual tax payer. Mr. McConnell. proposed reducing the 11% tax for solid waste to 10% to honor a previous commitment made to the taxpayers, and will research another means of making up the difference. Discussion continued by the Council members prior to the vote... #2141 M/SIC (Short/Younger) Move to approve an ordinance on first reading, amending BMC Chapter 3.50 UTILITY TAXES. Voted in favor of Motion: Maupin, Short, Nygren, Younger, and Arends Voted opposed to Motion: Gehring, McConnell, Rollman, and Shepherd Motion carried: 5-Yes; 4-No TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 5 of 6 9E - ORDINANCE [FIRST READING] AMENDING BMC CHAPTER 3.82 COMMERCIAl PARKING TAX (#AB03-230): Michael Wilson, Finance Director, announced that the proposed ordinance increases the commercial parking tax rate from 8% to 10%. There were no comments from the public Council members expressed their support for this tax increase to support street improvements. #2525 MISIClU (UcConnell/Rollman) Move to approve an ordinance on first reading, amending BMC Chapter 3.82 COMMERCIAL PARKING TAX. 9F - ORDINANCE ('FIRST READING] SETTING RATES AND FEES FOR WATER~ WASTEWATER~ AND STORMWATER UTILITIES AND AMENDING BMC CHAPTER (#AB03-231): Michael Wilson, Finance Director, explained that an increase in assessments, rates, fees, and charges is required in order to meet the ongoing maintenance, operation, capital and debt service needs of the City's Water, Wastewater, Stormwater Utilities. This ordinance established new rates for all categories to incorporate a 2.1% CPI adjustment from the year 2003 rates to the year 2004 rates. There were no comments from the public. #2626 M/SIC (Rollman/McConnell) Move to approve an ordinance on first reading, establishing new rates for all categories of assessments, fees, rates, and charges for Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Utilities for 2004. Voted in favor of Motion: Gehring, McConnell, Nygren, Rollman, Younger, Maupin, Short, and Arends Voted opposed to Motion: Shepherd Motion carried: 8-Yes; 1-No 9A- RESOLUTION NO. 29~13~ RATIFYING COUNTYWIDE PLANNING POLICIES AS ADOPTED BY THE KITSAP COUNTY BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS (#AB03-234): Chris HuRo, Community Development Director, stated that the Kitsap Countywide Planning Policies (CPP's) were originally adopted and ratified by all Kitsap County local governments in 1992 pursuant to RCW 36.70A.210. In August 2001, the CPP's were subsequently amended according to procedures of the Kitsap County Regional Coordinating Council. The 2003 Amendments were developed over the past two years to address the remaining policy issues that were not considered in the 2001 amendments. This proposal is the result of considerable work of the KRCC Policy Board and it's supporting technical committees. Following public hearing, the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners made a preliminary approval of the KRCC proposed amendments on November 24, 2003, with minor revisions. Under KRCC procedures, ratification of the amendments is required of all participating jurisdictions. Representatives of the Bremerton City Council and the Mayor participated in the long and extensive deliberations that produced these proposed amendments. Vivian Henderson, KITSAP COUNTY ALLIANCE OF PROPERTY OWNERS, urged the Council to educate themselves on "Smart Growth" policies before they vote on this issue. Mike Eliason, Government Affairs Director for KITSAP COUNTY ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS, also suggested that the Council postpone their decision on this issue until other significant elements, such as the Fiscal Impacts, are approved. TAPES #1925, #1926, & #1927 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 16, 2003 Page 6 of 6 TAPE #1927 The Council members thoroughly discussed how the positive aspects of the Countywide Planning Policies would benefit Bremerton, however, offered their concems with some sections of the policies, as well as the urgency in which it was presented to the Council. It was ultimately suggested that the Kitsap Regional Coordinating Council provide regular updates to the Council, and citizens were encouraged to view the entire document on the Kitsap County web site and provide their input. #0671 M/S/F (Short/Maupin) Move to approve Resolution No. 2913, ratifying the Kitsap Countywide Planning Policies with 2003 Amendments as adopted by the Kitsap County Board of Commissioners on December 15, 2003. Voted in favor of Motion: Nygren, Maupin, Short, Arends Voted opposed to Motion: McConnell, Rollman, Shepherd, Younger, Gehring Motion failed: 4-Yes; 5-No At the conclusion of regular business, the Council reconvened in the Council Conference Room for a 20-Minute Executive Session to "REVIEW LABOR NEGOTIATIONS" per R.C.W. Chapter 42.30.140(4)(b). The meeting was then adjourned at 10:10 P.M. Prepa/~ed and Submitted by: L~)Ri SMITH -- Legislative Assistant PA'U-I-/(~O~IN~'i=(~//N~I~'eput~ City Clerk ~, City Cofi3ac~[Pmsident City of Bmmerton CNP JIIslcge