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HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/26/03TAPES #1879,#1880,& #1881 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES MAi;[ ]. 2 2003 February 26, 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, Wednesday, February 26, 2003, at 5:30 P.M., with Acting Council President Mike Short presiding. Council members present were Will Maupin, Eric Younger, Mike Shepherd, Ed Rollman, Daren Nygren, Cecil McConnell, and Wayne Olsen. Council President Carol Arends was absent. Aisc 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 Cec# M¢Conne/I, followed by the invocation provided by Major Jim Baker of the Salvation Army. Actinfl President Short made the following announcements: 1. A Pre-Council session was held in the Council Conference Room to discuss updates to the meeting Agenda. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting - February 19, 2003 (#AB03-027) #0025 M/S/C/U (McOonnell/Olsen) Move to approve Consent Agenda as presented. CLAIMS & CHECK REGISTERS Vouchers audited and certified by the auditin9 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. #.0050 M/S/C/U (Younger/McConnell) On February 26, 2003 the Council approved payment for Check Numbers 278851 through 279004 in the amount of $315,609.79; and Regular Payroll for the period ending February 15, 2003 in the amount of $864,549.40. COI~/NCIL MEMBER REPORTS Will Maupin reported on a number of meetings he as attended this past week including the PSRC Growth Management Policy Board meeting; and the "AWC 2003 Legislative Action Conference" held in Olympia where he had an opportunity to meet with Legislators and testify in support of the passenger only ferry service. Eric YounRer invited citizens to hear "UPDATES ON CITY PROJECTS" with Gary Sexton, the City's Economic Development Director at the next combined District 6 & 7 Neighborhood meeting to be held on Thursday, March 6 from 6:30 to 8:00 P.M. in the Conference Room of the Oyster Bay Public Works & Utilities Building located at 100 Oyster Bay Road Mike Shepherd reported that he too attended the "AWC 2003 Legislative Action Conference" held in Olympia, and elaborated on several bills that would directly affect the City. He also announced the next District 5 neighborhood meeting would be held Thursday, March 20 from 6:30 to 8:30 P.M. at the Memorial Lutheran Church located at 10th & Veneta. Ed Rollman provided a briefing on the Parking Committee meeting held Monday evening; announced a few local events in honor of Black History Month, including a "Hip Hop for Unity Event" this Friday night at Olympic College; saluted local historian Dianne Robinson on her plans to research African American history, and write a book on the subject; and lastly, he reiterated information about the Miss Kitsap Scholarship Pageant to be held March 15. TAPES #1879, #1880, & #1881 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes February 26, 2003 Page 2 of 5 Daren Ny~lren thanked citizens for attending the District 3 meeting held on Saturday, and providing feedback on "EASTPARK" and "THE MANETTE PLAN". He also thanked Council Member Cecil McConnell and Sgt. Olan of the Bremerton Police Department for attending. Cecil McConnell thanked citizens for attending the District 1 & 2 Town Meeting held on last Thursday, and also thanked City staff members Luke Korpi of Engineering, Bob Tulp of the Street Department, Lt. Williams of the Fire Department, and Officer Shultz of the Police Department for their participation in the discussion on "Traffic Control". Mike Short announced a District 9 meeting would be held at the Public Works & Utilities Building on Monday, March 10 from 7:00 to 8:00 P.M. to discuss plans for a "Hydro Race & Regatta" proposed on Kitsap Lake in April. MAYOR'S REPORT · Mayor Bozeman thanked Dick McConaughy for his 6-years of service to the City while serving on the Civil Service Commission, and congratulated him on his recent retirement; · Proclaimed the month of March 2003 as Red Cross Month, which was accepted by Ann Byrnes, Director of West Sound Service Center; and Phyllis Mann, Executive Director of Emergency Management. Ms. Mann challenged the citizens of Bremerton to get a "First Aid Card", and participate in the county-wide "Drop, Cover & Hold"drill on April 3; · Thanked the Poggie Club for their volunteer work in the community, and presented a bronze plaque to the club to be displayed at Gorst Creek; which was accepted by Raymond Fredrick, President of the Poggie Club; and · Reminded the public that "Bremerton Night"would be held in Olympia tomorrow night. PUI~LIC RECOGNITION Alien Shute reiterated his concern that verbatim Council meeting minutes were not available. Tom Long, First Vice-President with the Bremerton Symphony Association, announced an upcoming concert with classical guitarist "Craig Alden Dell' on Saturday, March 8, 7:30 P.M. at the Bremerton High School Performing Arts Center. Wade Lieseke voiced his opposition to the building of the Bremerton Hotel & Conference Center, which he believes should be put to a vote of the people. 8A - PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH MRS CORPORATION AMERICA FOR DESIGN COMPLETION AND LIMITED CONSTRUCTION PHASE SERVICES -WEST 650 PRESSURE ZONE IMPROVEMENTS (#AB03-028): Michael Mecham, City Engineer, said that the engineering consultant for design of the West 650 Water System has terminated its contract with a partially completed design. The City needs to complete this design with professional engineer's certification to proceed with the construction. This construction is required by the City's EDA grant for the West Hills improvements, and must be completed by September 2003. URS CORPORATION AMERICA has nationally recognized expertise for water system design, and has agreed to complete the required design services. It is recommended that City Council approve the Professional Services Agreement in the amount of $181,578. There were no comments from the public. #1033 M/S/C/U (Maupin/Roliman) Move that Council approve the Professional Services Agreement with URS CORPORATION AMERICA in the amount of $181,578 and authorize the Mayor to execute the same. TAPES #1879, #1880, & #1881 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes February 26, 2003 Page 3 of 5 gA- PUBLIC HEARING AND RESOLUTION NO. 2886 APPROVING INTERLOCAL AGREE~MENT; CONSTRUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT; REAL ESTATE CONTRACT AND SECURITY AGREEMENT; AND CONTINUING DISCLOSURE AGREEMENT FOR THE BREMERTON GOVERNMENT CENTER (#AB03-029): Mayor Cary Bozem,an provided comments in support of the Bremerton Government Center, and established that this Resolution was being submitted for Council consideration and review with supporting agreements relating to the City's participation in the construction and purchase of an interest through condominium ownership of the Bremerton Government Center. Kathy McCluskey, Administrative Services Director, summarized the history and the progress of this project; LMN ARCHITECTS provided a power point presentation on the building concept and design criteria; a detailed financial report was provided by Michael Wilson, Finance Director; and Roller Lubovich, City Attorney discussed the details of the proposed Resolution, which approves and authorizes the Mayor to finalize and execute, in substantially the same form, the following agreements: · Interlocal Agreement between the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, Kitsap County, and the City of Bremerton · Construction and Development Agreement between the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, Kitsap County, and the City of Bremerton · Real Estate Contract and Security Agreement between the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority, and the City of Bremerton · Continuing Disclosure Agreement Allen Shute asked if the building would be ADA accessible. Walt Niehoff of LMN ARCHITECTS established that the building was designed to meet all ADA requirements, and also referred back to slides from the power point presentation to indicate all accessible areas. Mr. Shute then requested that proposed Resolution No. 2886 be read in full into the record, which was done so by Deputy City Clerk Paula Johnston. Helen Miller presented a letter in support of the project, which was included as part of the official record. Wade Lieseke expressed his opposition to this project, and was concerned that the Council had already made up their minds prior to the meeting tonight. Additionally, he expressed his belief that this issue should be placed on the ballot to be voted on by the cifizens. TAPE #1880 Lynn Horton provided a brief history of Bremerton to assist in putting this project in current perspective, and urged the Council to be "bold and courageous" in voting to support the project. Tim Mathes was concerned that not enough information has been provided to the public. Helen Miller countered that she has attended numerous meetings in the last three years on the Bremerton Government Center, and that tax payers need to avail themselves to the information. Mr. Shepherd asked LMN ARCHITECTS to provide brief reports on the use of recycled building materials and the use of the art deco theme; and also thanked current Council members, particularly Wayne Olsen, and former Council members for their involvement in this project. Mr. Maupin expressed his support for the building, and believes it would be more cost effective to spend the money now on a new building rather than investing more money to improve the current building. He also provided brief comments on his involvement with the Health District. TAPES #1879, #1880, & #1881 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes February 26, 2003 Page 4 of 5 Mr. youn~ler provided his reasoning as to why he did not support this project, padicuiarly for financial reasons. He expressed his concern with how the City would finance the Bremerton Government Center, because he felt it was important that the public understood exactly what the costs would be. Gary Tuskberfl discussed the issues raised by Mr. Younger, along with Michael Wilson., Finance Director. Mr. Olsen commended the points raised by Mr. Younger, however, pointed out that many costs have changed due to the number of changes made during the three years, and also that the actual contractor bids were needed, which were not opened until January 23. Lastly, he asked Mr. Wilson to elaborate on the use of real estate property excise tax to fund this project, and the City's bond rating. Norm McLoughlin, Director of the Kitsap County Consolidated Housing Authority (KCCHA), was asked to indicate the members of the KCCHA board, which includes Mayor's from all the other cities in Kitsap County. Mr. Nygren thanked Mr. Younger for his comments, as well as those of the citizens who were in attendance tonight as he provided his own comments in favor of this project, which he described as a "cornerstone of the downtown redevelopment". Mr. McConnell stated that this was one of the hardest decisions he has had to make as a Council member, and although he too expressed his concern over the debt capacity of the bonds and the parking situation, he was ultimately in favor of the project to lead the way in revitalizing downtown Bremerton. However, he requested answers to several other issues, including the reasoning for advertising office space as "condominiums"; where would the cost come for finishing of the interior such as walls and furniture; what other areas would suffer due to the transfer of $150,000 from the General Fund; could the City afford the cost for continued maintenance; and lastly, if questioned if consideration has been made for the relocation of the clarion bells. Mr. Neihoff was not able to provide an answer at this time, and indicated this issue would need further study. Mr. Rollman provided his comments, noting that the building would restore civic pride and would be a major piece in the revitalization of downtown, however, his main concern was with the potential lack of parking for the Government Center as well as parking for the Max Hale Center. In addition, he expressed concerns that the City was exceeding bonding debt capacity, and questioned if the City would still have money for maintaining capital improvement projects, and maintaining public safety and streets. Lastly, asked if there would be any attempts to hire local labor. Mr. McLou~lhlin stated that they have taken steps to remind the contractor that this was a "revitalization project", therefore the hiring of local people would be advantageous. TAPE #1881 Mr. Younger cautioned that the real estate excise tax would be committed for the next 32 years; there would be an additional maintenance expense of $145,000 that could not be paid with real estate excise tax; and referred to a parking study that showed only a 63% parking capacity was expected, while at the same time the City is depending on the parking revenue. Lastly, he pointed out that this project was not a public/private partnership as was indicated earlier, but is rather a project being funded entirely with taxpayer money. Mr. McConnell asked additional questions regarding the debt service reserves and what would happen if all of the construction contingency was not used due to cost overruns. Mr. Wilson responded that there are provisions in the contract which states that a Committee would study the use for the distribution of any left over funds. TAPES #1879, #1880, & #1881 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes February 26, 2003 Page 5 of 5 Mr. Short thanked all of the entities involved in this project, the Mayor, the Council, and the citizens who shared their comments. He decided that although the vision for the Bremerton Government Center has changed over the years, he believed the project was worth the risk. #0325 M/S/C (Rollman/Olsen) Move to pass Resolution No. 2886 approving documents relating to the City's participation in the construction and purchase of an interest through condominium ownership of the Bremerton Government Center. Voted in favor of this motion: Rollman, Shepherd, Maupin, OIsen, Nygren, and Short Voted opposed to this motion: Younger and McConnell Motion carried: 6-Yes; and 2-No With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:05 P.M. Prepare~and Submitted by: lOl~ ~q~l'T H Legislative Assistant P'~ULA JOHN$1dl',T,'D-e'pu~ City Clerk CAROL ARENDS, City Council President City of Bremerton CNP J/Is/cge c: Normal Distribution; File