Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/29/00 TAPES #1734, #1735 & #1736 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES November 29, 2000 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, November 29, 2000, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Carol Arends presiding. Council members present were Jim Reed, Conrad Esser, David Farr, Mike Shepherd, Ed Rollman, John Law, and Cecil McConnell. Council member Wayne Olsen was absent. Also present were City Attorney Glenna Malanca; 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 given by Pastor Larry Rodgers of Central Kitsap Christian Church. President Arends made the following announcements: (1) Council held a Pre-Council Session in the Council Conference Room to discuss general Council business; followed by a 5-minute Executive Session to "Review Labor Negotiations" and a 15- minute Executive Session to discuss "Potential Litigation"; and (2) Item 9C was added under NEW BUSINESS to discuss "Retention of the Current City Attorney as Special Counsel to the City Council in the Event of a Purported Separation from Employment". CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting - November 8, 2000 (#AB00-261) #0025 M/S/C/U (McConnell/Shepherd) 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. #0045 M/S/C/U (Law/McConnell) On November 29, 2000, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 247151 through 247301 in the amount of $459,950.81. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS John Law welcomed a new merchant "The Antique Ladies of Manette", a very nice antique shop on East 11th Street. He also acknowledged the Police Department, the Bremerton School District, and Mayor Horton for their participation in a very informative District 3 meeting last week. Ed Rollman was pleased to see a big crowd at the meeting tonight. He reminded the public that Santa & Mrs. Clause were "coming to town" this Friday at approximately 6:00 P.M. Mike Shepherd commented on a 26-mile marathon that he was proud to complete this past weekend. He discussed the budget sessions recently completed, the proposed committees to be formed with citizen participation; a Joint City Council & Planning Commission Session held Monday night; and lastly, the "Smart Growth" workshops held at the Admiral Theater Tuesday afternoon. David Farr thanked the Bremerton Police Department for their efforts in apprehending a very reckless driver within minutes after being reported by a concerned citizen from his District. TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173u City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29, 2000 Page 2 of 7 , President Arends also attended the "Smart Growth" conference sponsored by Kitsap County, and complimented the organizers, speakers, as well as the Admiral Theater for being excellent hosts. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Horton reiterated comments regarding the outstanding "Smart Growth" conference sponsored by Kitsap County at the Admiral Theater yesterday afternoon, which she considered very "worthwhile" and encouraged anyone to view the taped presentations. She announced the Church of the Nazarene would be hosting 70-minute walk-through presentation of "A Little Town of Bethlehem" for the next two weekends; and encouraged citizens to participate in a blood drive from 12:00 noon to 6:00 P.M. at the Washington Mutual Bank Building on Friday, December 1. On a sad note, she reported that Mr. James Walker, a long-time citizen of Bremerton had recently passed away, and extended condolences to his family. LEGISLATIVE REPORT - There was no report this evening. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Bruce Christopherson, Vice President of Ace Paving Company (founded in Bremerton in 1947), announced that both the Company and City of Bremerton received the First Place Quality Award for "The Best City Paving Project" in Western Washington for the Burwell Street Improvement project. Mayor Hotton received the award, and thanked Ace Paving Company for their excellent work; and the Washington Asphalt Paving Association, and the Washington Chapter of American Public Works Association for the award. Carol Atkinson reiterated the announcement be Mr. Rollman regarding activities that would begin at 5:30 P.M. downtown along with the arrival of Santa Clause by a fire truck at approximately 6:00 P.M. Del Knauss was proud of the Council for setting legislation, "as they were elected to do", and commented that Glenna Malanca was "one of the best City Attorneys Bremerton has had". H, Emily Moshay disagreed, and was disappointed and upset at how the Mayor has been "attacked for doing her job". Paul Drnjevic agreed with Mr. Knauss that the Council was doing the job they were "elected to do", and referred to an editorial in The SUN. Roy Mclnnis added his comments regarding the recent articles, and that for Bremerton to "come together", the employees of this City will have to work together. Gerry Peret was upset at the actions of the Council, but. also agreed that the City must pull together. Rob Schniedler provided his comments, and emphasized that it was the job of the Mayor to represent the City; and it was the job of the Council to also represent the City as well as their individual Districts. Wendy Rexson addressed her concerns regarding downtown parking issues. Gordy Byrd provided information on upcoming Kitsap Transit meetings. 9A - APPOINTMENT OF JOAN TAlE TO THE PUBLIC ACCESS CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE (#AB00-262): Mayor Horton provided comments to support her recommendation for Joan Tale to be appointed to the Public Access Citizens Advisory Committee. There were no comments from the public. #1335 M/S/C/U (Farr/Rollman) Move to confirm the appointment of Joan Tale to the Public Access Committee. TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173b City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29, 2000 Page 3 of 7 9B - MOVING LEGAL DEPARTMENT BUDGET UNDER CITY COUNCIL BUDGET (#AB00-263): This request is for the Council to consider the need to place the Legal Department's budget under the City Council budget to better facilitate the direct of Legal Department communications to the City Council. Ensuring the independence of the City Attorney in providing legal service to the City is an additional motivation for this budget consideration. Paul Drnjevic agreed with this action by the Council to solve the problem of this "unfortunate situation", and commended Glenna Malanca for the work she has done for the City. Jerry Van Fossen agreed with the Mayor for not accepting the "withdrawal of the resignation" by the City Attorney, and believed that Glenna Malanca should now have to "reapply" to get back her position. He very much disagreed with the action being taken by the Council. Roy Mclnnis pointed out that this issue was strictly dealing with moving one department's budget under another department's budget, and this was not an issue of any particular "individual". Mr. Reed stated that it was the job of the Council to legislate, set policy, and provide direction to the City. He proposed that this was one step toward keeping the current City Attorney employed by the City. Mr. Farr did not feel this action was good for the City or the right thing to do because, in part, this was a part-time Council that did not have the time or the expertise to deal with administrative issues. He believed the trend for the City was getting better and moving forward and feared this action would interfere with the progress that has been made. Mr. Rollman stated he believed the Council was doing what they had to do to retain a good Department Head, and has not seen any information to justify or support her being forced to leave the City. Mr. McConnell decided that the problem was not the Council, but the Mayor's dislike for the City Attorney. Mr. Law supported this action before the Council, then explained why the Council wants to keep this attorney, and second, what would happen to future Councils if the City loses this attorney. He provided several significant examples why this City must do everything it could to retain this City Attorney. He hoped the mediation efforts would take place in the next few days. Mr. Esser provided his comments of support, emphasizing that this was a matter of "checks and balances". #2318 M/S/C (Reed/Esser) Move to provide for the placement of the Legal Department's budget under the City Council budget during the course of the Council review of the 2001-2002 Budget. Voted in favor of this Motion: Shepherd, Esser, Reed, McConnell, Law, and Rollman Voted opposed to this Motion: Farr Abstained: Arends Motion carried: 6-Yes; 1-No; 1-Abstention 9C - RETENTION OF THE CURRENT CITY ATTORNEY AS SPECIAL COUNSEL TO THE CITY COUNCIL IN THE EVENT OF A PURPORTED SEPARATION FROM EMPLOYMENT (#AB00-268): The City Council is considering the need to provide for the employment of the current City Attorney as Special Counsel to the City Council, as provided under Section 25 of the City Charter. The need for this consideration is based upon the opposing legal positions taken by the City Council and the Mayor regarding the City Council's November 15 acceptance of the City Attomey's withdrawal of her November 1 resignation, subsequent to the Mayor's November 2 acceptance of the City Attorney's resignation. The proposed employment of the current City Attorney as Special Counsel would become effective contemporaneously with the effective date and time of any separation paperwork relating to the City Attomey's current employment. The City Council continues to maintain its authority under the terms of the City Charter to accept the City Attorney's withdrawal of her resignation. TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173~, City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29. 2000 Page 4 of 7 Carlos Montgomery was concerned that this action would only provide a City Attorney to the Council and not the whole City; Elizabeth Buell wanted the resignation withdrawn; Roy Mclnnis was concerned that these actions taken tonight were "illegal"; Sherril Huff-Menees addressed this motion in a broader sense, including how the public perceives the action being taken. She reminded the Council that they must only deal with legislative issues, not administrative duties. Larry Dickerson agreed with the previous comments and was embarrassed by these actions. Jerry Van Fossen reiterated his opposition to this action. Tim Arnold provided a comment made by a developer, who was looking at this area, that after reading articles in the paper, he was "glad he would be locating outside the City limits because Bremerton was dysfuncfional." Gerry Peret suggested both sides go through arbitration before these actions are taken. Paul Drnjevic supported Glenna Malanca, however, he hoped an answer could be found through mediation. Richard Neff believed there were a lot of "tactical" maneuvers going on, and therefore, agreed that mediation should precede action such as what was before Council on this issue this evening. Mr. Farr agreed, that mediation would be adventitious, and "implored" his fellow Council members to step back, and remove themselves from any "personal issues". #0182 M/F (Farr) Move to table this item for one week. Motion failed for lack of a second. Mr. Esser reiterated his previous comments that the Mayor is responsible is for carrying out the policies set by City Council, and cautioned the public to not get all of their information from the newspaper. He provided a recap of the events, which he believed led to this action before the Council this evening. Mr. Rollman added that it takes both sides participating in good faith for any mediation to work, which was an option offered by the Council, but the option was not accepted. Mr, McConnell elaborated on earlier comments made regarding misinformation provided to Council by previous City Attorneys. He clarified this as a "preventative measure" by the Council. He also pointed out that the Bremerton City Charter designates that the City Council, not the Mayor, is the only authoritative body to fire the City Attorney. Mr. Law provided an additional comment on the mediation issue, clarifying that today was the first sincere offer made by the Mayor to accept their previous offers of mediation. Mr. Shepherd stated this action was a contingency provision that will only be enacted if necessary. Mr. Reed added that this action does not cost the City any money, and reiterated that it is only a preventative measure. #0670 M/S/C (Shepherd/Law) Move to provide for the employment of the current City Attorney as Special Counsel to the City Council in the event of separation paperwork becoming effective relating to the City Attorney's current employment. As Special Counsel to the City Council, Glenna Malanca will become employed under the same terms and conditions, including office space and support staff, as under her present employment. Her duties as Special Counsel shall be as assigned by the Council President. A Budget Adjustment and Contract of Employment shall be considered by the Council at its next regular meeting subsequent to the effective date of any separation papers relating to Glenna Malanca's present employment. Until such Budget Adjustment, her position shall be funded from the Legal Department's budget. The City Council stated for the record that they believe City Council has the authority to accept the City Attomey's withdrawal of her resignation, and this action is solely a preventative measure to avoid confusion regarding the current City Attomey's employment status, which the City Council maintains is still the "City Attorney". Voted in favor of this Motion: Esser, Reed, McConnell, Law, Rollman. Shepherd, and Arends TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173b City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29, 2000 Page 5 of 7 Voted opposed to this Motion: Farr Motion carried: 7-Yes; 1-No 10A- PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) REDUCING MAYOR'S SPENDING AUTHORITY (#AB00-264): The City Council is considering the need to amend Chapter 2.76 of the Bremerton Municipal Code to reduce the Mayor and other employee's spending authority in order to be more informed on the expenditures by the City. It was clarified that the ordinance was amended to pertain only to professional services. Carlos Montgomery was opposed to these actions, which he felt were the result of what only 5 members of the Council wanted. Dave Boynton voiced his concern that this limit to the Mayor's spending authority would affect equipment. Ms. Malanca reiterated that this action would only affect professional services. Larry Dickerson urged the Council not to support this action. Paul Drnjevic provided comments in support of the Council and their approval of this item, but suggested a more realistic limit of $5,000 rather than $1,000. Ms. Malanca in response to previous comments, explained that professional services discussed are very specifically defined in the Purchasing Ordinance, which include "consultants" such as engineering, attorneys architects, or those holding a license to practice their trade. Mr. Esser, Mr. Rollman, Mr. McConnell, and Mr. Law each provided comments in support of this action; balanced by comments in opposition by Mr. Farr. #1585 Amended-M/S/F (Shepherd/McConnell) Move to amend amount of professional services to $0. Voted in favor of this amended Motion: Esser, Reed, and Shepherd Voted opposed to this amended Motion: Farr, McConnetl, Law, Rollman, and Arends Amended Motion failed: 3-Yes; 5-No #1605 M/S/C (McConnell/Law) Move to approve the ordinance on first reading, amending Chapter 2.76 of the Bremerton Municipal Code and updating the City's purchasing procedures. Voted in favor of this Main Motion: Esser, Reed, McConnell, Law, Rollman, and Shepherd Voted opposed to this Main Motion: Farr Abstained: Arends Main Motion carried: 6-Yes; 1-No; and 1-Abstention 10B - PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) VACATING A PORTION OF "O" STREET (#AB00-265): Jeff Shea, Senior Engineer, stated that a petition was provided by Dale & Donna Dahl to vacate a portion of "O" Street from Oyster Bay Avenue to 279-feet east. A hearing date of November 29, 2000 was set by the City Council on October 25, 2000. Posting of the hearing notices, along with mailings to the adjacent property owners have been completed in accordance with state law and the Bremerton Municipal Code. This right-of-way consists of an unimproved section of right-of-way currently used as a vehicle access to the property. The furthest east section of this right- of-way is a deep depression that contains water year round. The vacation is being requested by the abutting property owners to improve the property for development. Specific items for City Council consideration are outlined in the Staff Report. Visuals were shown, and it was additionally pointed out that the property owner, Mr. Lachlan Munro, provided a written letter stating that he did not have any objections with this vacation of the right-of-way. There were no comments from the public. TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173~ City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29, 2000 Page 6 of 7 #1835 M/S/C/U (Farr/Reed) Move to approve the attached ordinance on first reading, vacating a portion of "O" Street, from Oyster Bay Avenue to 279 feet East. 100 - PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) REGARDING ANNEXATION OF THE REAL PROPERTY DESCRIBED WITHIN THE ADOPTED PORT BLAKELY SUB-AREA PLAN (#AB00-266): Warren Olsen a consultant with this project, reiterated that the City of Bremerton, Kitsap County, and Port Blakely Communities have cooperatively prepared and adopted a Three- Party Agreement, which established certain terms and conditions relating to annexation of the Port Blakely Sub-Area Plan, a large parcel of land (approximately 440 acres) located to the west of Kitsap Lake. The City has amended its 1995 Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code in such a manner as to facilitate annexation of the Port Blakely Sub-Area. Consequently, the City has received a petition to annex the proper'h/from the developer and has forwarded the Notice of Intention of Bremerton Annexation to the Kitsap County Boundary Review Board. Annexation of the property implements the agreed upon provisions of the Three-Party Agreement. A letter from the office of the Suquamish Tribal Attorney was distributed, which provided their testimony in opposition to approval of the Initial Development Agreement between the City of Bremerton and Port Blakely. Lee Wyatt of the Planning Department provided additional comments, and also addressed the questions regarding the legality of this project. He established that it was legal according to the Growth Management Act, which allowed Kitsap County to create this as a "joint planning area" with the City of Bremerton. Carlos Montgomery hoped the citizens did not take the "population allocation" as absolute fact because the City needed this type of growth. Donna Ostervahl also expressed her support for this project. Helen Miller read a letter into the record to voice her concerns over this project, which included her concern that it is unknown how much citizen tax money would be used for this project, and questioned what benefit was this project to Bremerton. Mrs. Miller was asked to provide a copy of her letter so that all of her issues could be addressed. John Adams with Port Blakely Properties, clarified that the population allocation has already been dealt with; then provided additional information to address road construction and maintenance issues; and what the Development Agreement does and doesn't do, particularly regarding SEPA issues, in response to the document received by the Suquamish Tribe. Mr. Shepherd provided comments in support of this project, and pointed out that it was a "model" project. Mr. Reed clarified that the issue of access will still be studied in the future, and was not included in this document. Mr. Farr commented that he was proud to vote in favor Of this action. #3715 M/S/CIU (Farr/Reed) Move to approve ordinance on first reading, annexing 440 acres of real property commonly known as the Port Blakely Sub-Area, pursuant to the direct petition method set forth in R.C.W. Chapter 35.13, describing the boundaries thereof; requiring said properties to be assessed and taxed at the same rate and basis as the other property within the City; and fixing the' effective date of said annexation. John Law left the meeting at approximately 9:00 P.M. and was not available for the following vote. 10D - PUBLIC HEARING AND ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) REGARDING ADOPTION OF INITIAL DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT FOR THE PROPERTY COMMONLY KNOWN AS THE PORT BLAKELY SUB-AREA PLAN, WHICH ESTABLISHES A MIXED USE DISTRICT (MXD) ZONING CLASSIFICATION FOR THE PROPERTY UPON ANNEXATION (#AB00-267): Warren Olsen a consultant with this project, reiterated that the City of Bremerton, Kitsap County, and Port Blakely Communities have cooperatively prepared and adopted a Three-Party Agreement, which TAPES #1734, #1735 & #173,. City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 29, 2000 Page 7 of 7 established certain terms and conditions relating to annexation of the Port Blakely Sub-Area Plan, a large parcel of land (approximately 440 acres) located to the west of Kitsap Lake. The City has amended its 1995 Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning Code in such a manner as to facilitate annexation of the Port Blakely Sub-Area. Consequently, the City has received a petition to annex the property from the developer and has forwarded the Notice of Intention of Bremerton Annexation to the Kitsap County Boundary Review Board. Adoption of the Initial Development Agreement and classification of the Port Blakely Sub-Area is a Mixed Use District (MXD) zone upon annexation implements agreed upon provisions of the adopted Port Blakely Sub-Area Plan and the Three-Party Agreement. In closing, the content of the document was briefly summarized. Helen Miller clarified that the letter from the Suquamish Tribe was made a part of the official record, then raised questions regarding the recent ruling on Chico Creek. Warren Olsen responded that the letter from Suquamish Tribe was handed out during the previous issue. He responded that he was not familiar with the ruling on Chico Creek, however, but noted that substantial studies would be done, Mr. Adams noted that he was familiar with a possible ESA ruling on Deer Creek, once rules are established next year, all projects must then comply with those rules. #0175 M/S/C/U (McConnell/Reed) Move to approve ordinance on first reading, zoning the site commonly known as the Port Blakely property upon annexation as authorized by the City's Comprehensive Plan by Ordinance No. 4722; applying the "Mixed Use District" (MXD) zone classification for the site as established by Ordinance No. 4723; and adopting an Initial Development Agreement as part of the site specific zoning. With no further business, meeting concluded at 9:10 P.M. CAROL ARENDS, City Council President City of Bremerton CAIP JIIslcge c: Normal Distribution File