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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/18/95TAPE #1259 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES COUNCIL APPROVED FEB 8 1995 JANUARY 18, 1995 #0028 #0050 The regular 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, January 18, 1995, at'5:30 P.M., with Council President Sherril Huff-Menees presiding. Council members present were Morrie Dawkins, John Law, Carlos Montgomery, Bob Winters, Lon Overson, A1 Colvin and Richard Neville. Councilman David Farr was absent. Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and City Clerk Kathleen McCluskey. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Huff-Menees and Invocation given by Reverend Lawrence Robertson of Emmanuel Apostolic Church. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting - December 28, 1994 #AB95-007 B. Minutes of Meeting - January 4, 1995 #AB95-008 M/S/C/U(Neville/Montgomery) to approve the 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. M/S/C/U(Colvin/Dawkins) on January 18, 1995, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows:IS1061, 181062, 181272 through 181275, 181324 through 181577, 181579, 181580 in the total amount of $946,720.47. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORT8 Mr. Winters stated members of the public come up to him and comment on how they feel about his vote on various issues. Members of the public that come regularly to City Council meetings have been asking the public to become more involved. What he is asking is that a segment of the public that are around his age take steps to become more involved in their local government. He suggested that those who are property owners and investors in the City become involved in the direction and future of the City. He and the City Council need input from the public to help make Bremerton a great place to live and affordable at the same time. He announced on this date, at 6:30 P.M., the Kitsap Lake Neighborhood Association (KLNA) will meet at the Cascade Natural Gas building on Kitsap Way. TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 2 of 12 At that meeting, the public will have the opportunity to meet Police Chief Paul Du Fresne . The next KLNA meeting will be held February 23, 6:30 P.M., at the same location. The guest speaker at that meeting will be A1 Wilkins, Disaster Specialist. Mr. Colvin stated it was good to be back. On Sunday he attended the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholarship program and the scholarship recipient was Patrick Alina. Mr. Alina's story is about someone determined to work hard and accomplish something and Mr. Colvin believes that opportunity is available to all Americans. The next District #1 Neighborhood meeting will be held Thursday, January l9, 7:00 P.M., at the Sheridan Park Recreation Center. The guest speaker at that meeting will be Police Chief Paul Du Fresne. Mr. Dawkins stated it was good to see Councilman Colvin back after his being absent for four weeks. Mr. Montgomery referenced the saying" a new broom sweeps clean", and apparently the City's new administration is doing a pretty good job. He was pleased to report the rapid response by the Street Department in repairing potholes once they were reported as well as unplugging a storm drain that was causing flooding in people's garages. He announced Council Districts #6, #7 and #8 will hold a combined District meeting on February 2, 1995, 7:00 PiM., at the Bremerton School District Office, 300 Montgomery Avenue. The guest speaker at that meeting will be Police Chief Paul Du Fresne, along with Mayor Horton and Pat Harris, Director of the Parks and Recreation Department, who will discuss the Forest Ridge Park upgrade. Mr. Law was pleased to report between 45-50 people artended the District #3 Neighborhood Meeting on Tuesday evening. The guest speaker at that meeting was Police Chief Paul Du Fresne, and it was a pleasure listening to him explain his objectives in law enforcement and his philosophy in general, and hopefully he learned about the citizens objectives and concerns. Earlier in the day he had the pleasure and honor of accepting and invitation from Mr. Lane Dowell to speak to two Current Events classes at Bremerton High School. The subject of the classes had to do with "curfews" and the discussion became a beautiful conduit of communication back and forth on a face-to-face basis. He learned a great deal through that experience and he hoped the students learned about his concerns and justifications for a curfew to be considered. Interestingly enough, he did not find the negativism that some people would expect. Mr. Overson stated one item discussed at the District #3 meeting was the Warren Avenue Bridge, which is still under repair, and may require total closure for a time to do an extensive search for more TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 3 of 12 problems and then fixing them. He hoped everyone was aware of the Commissioning of the USS Rainier on Saturday, January 21. Mrs. Huff-Menees extended an invitation to all District #7 residents to attend the joint Neighborhood Meeting for Districts #6, #7 and #8. She noted it sounds like Chief Du Fresne is getting ample opportunity to meet all the citizens of the City and for them to meet him. She congratulated the organizers of the "Share The Dream" celebration that took place on January 16, at the Fairgrounds, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. That event was well attended, well organized and one she enjoyed. It was the first annual event with the promise of many more to come. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Lynn Horton reported the weekend celebrations were very successful and thanked those who organized them for their hard work. She read the following list of the 1995 street improvement projects: (1) Kitsap Way/Weslon Place to Auto Center Way (this may be delayed because the State wants to install another light off of freeway and further study is being made through a modeling procedure. Mr. Overson reported he obtained some information from the Engineering Department that they have seen the computer model for that area and intend to bring it before Council so that the public will have an opportunity to view it. (2) llth Street/Chester Ave to Warren Avenue (construction will be of concrete and not asphalt in order to avoid the "washboard" affect on the road due to heat and tire wearing. (3) Sylvan Way/Olympic Drive to Wheaton Way (the State will fund this project prior to its being turned over from a State road back to a City road); (4) McClain Avenue - the cul-de-sac to East 31st Street; (5) Veneta Avenue - 4th Street to 5th Street; (6) Acorn Street, Oak Street to Elm Street; (7) Crestview Drive/Burchfield Drive to the deadend; (8) Anderson street - Olympic Avenue to Bloomington Avenue; (9) Anderson Street - Rainier Avenue to Houston Street; (10) Rodgers Street - West City Limits to Constitution Avenue; (11) Rainier Avenue to Houston Avenue; (12) Pennsylvania Avenue - 15th Street to the water; (13) Lower Oyster Bay Avenue - Kitsap Way to the deadend; (14) Farragut Street - Summit Avenue to Cambrian Avenue; (15) Burwell Street from Bruen Avenue to Auto Center Way; (16) Burwell from National Avenue to Bertha Avenue; (17) 12th Street from Washington Avenue to Pacific Avenue; (18) 7th Street from Roosevelt Avenue to Hewitt Avenue; TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 4 of 12 (19) Hayward Avenue - E. 19th Street to E. 10th Street (20) Marine Drive Place from Laurel Avenue to Marine Drive Mayor Hotton read the a Proclamation: Proclaiming January 21, 1995, as USS RAINIER DAY in the City of Bremerton. PUBLIC RECOGNITION President Huff-Menees cautioned everyone, considering the fact that an election is coming up in the very near future, that the City Council is not allowed to take a position either for or against any issue that will appear on the ballot. It is acceptable to remind people to get out and vote. Don Larson, President Washington Scuba Alliance, reported he received a letter from the Environmental Resources Center in Madison, Wisconsin, inviting young people to get involved in an environmental type project - "GIVE WATER A HAND". Later this year this organization will video tape young people throughout the nation, who are working on a GIVE WATER A HAND project. Anyone wishing more information about this program can call 1-800-WATER20. Deadline for participants to apply for a National Youth Services Award is March 1, 1995. Awards will be made at a United Earth Ceremony at the Baltimore National Aquarium on May 11, 1995. Now that the marine life interpretative sign is installed at Lions Field, he hopes to place another sign in Evergreen Park once funding is secured. A local group of Boy Scouts have offered their services to build and install a second sign and in doing so they may qualify for the above mentioned program. An appropriate recognition plaque has been placed on the kiosk noting Key Bank's funding of the sign and Aqua Lift Lumber for their donation of the plastic lumber. He was pleased to report that Aqua Lift Lumber has already received some calls from Bremerton inquiring about the plastic lumber. Also included on the kiosk is a "Divers Alert Network" sign that displays a medical alert number for divers in the event there is a problem. He invited the public to the Kitsap Diving Associations meeting on January 19, 7:00 P.M., at the Olympic College - Humanities Room 102. On April 22, 1995, there will be another Sinclair Inlet Shoreline Clean Up event. Shannon Cook stated her thoughts and prayers are with the people of Kure, Japan during this time of difficulty due to the recent earthquake in that area. She is acquainted with Patrick Alina through the Harrison Hospital Volunteer program and agreed that he deserved receiving the scholarship award. Gordy Byrd acknowledged that individuals within the public had complained about his behavior at a City Council meeting when he burst out over an "ADA" issue. He still stands on what he said at TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 5 of 12 that meeting, but he offered his apology to anyone that may have been offended by the words he used in expressing his opinion/concern. He doubted he would be speaking before Council very much any more unless he thinks something is wrong or that something is really right. He emphasized if anyone has a complaint or something nice to say about the City, they should make the effort to come to City Council meetings and express their concerns to the City Council. 7A - EVERGREEN MASTER PLAN PROJECT - APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICE8 AGREEMENT WITH HOUGH, BECK & BAIRD, INC., #AB95-009 An interview panel composed of Councilman Neville, citizen Del Knauss, Assistant Parks Director Jodi Wroblewski, and Parks Director Pat Harris, interviewed four consultants for the master planning of Evergreen Park. Hough, Beck & Baird, Inc. ranked first by the panel from the four firms interviewed. Hough, Beck & Baird, Inc. have a successful record in helping agencies get IAC grant funding for their projects. They also have experience in shoreline redevelopment projects. After Hough, Beck & Baird, Inc. was ranked first, the City entered into negotiations on the project scope, schedule, and cost. The professional service agreement is the result of these negotiations. The action before the City Council is approval of the agreement. Pat Harris, Director of Parks and Recreation Department, outlined the following criteria used and emphasized in looking at consultants: (1) their experience and background in master planning; (2) their experience in regional park planning and experience; (3) their success in providing IAC funding for projects that they master planned for municipalities; (4) their construction cost experience and how closely the estimated cost met the actual cost when the project was cQmpleted; (5) their shoreline redevelopment experience; (6) their presentation to the committee in terms of their professionalism. The interview committee's first choice was Hough, Beck & Baird, Inc., due to their having 39 years experience in landscape design master planning. This firm has master planned 25 other waterfront park facilities including Silverdale Waterfront Park, and they have worked with other cities, state and federal agencies on park projects and development. Through negotiations, they have been asked to performthe following tasks: (1) master plan for the existing park; (2) master plan for the old Public Works site; (3) develop a master plan concept for adjacent properties to Evergreen Park; (4) develop a shoreline plan including a stabilization plan; (5) preparing an egress and access plan for the park as part of the master plan process; (6) they will be working with other departments - Public Works and Engineering - to develop a coherent plan so that the final plan is agreeable and workable with other departments within the City. Graphics will be provided along with oversight and review of the City's IAC grant TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 6 of 12 application, which will be submitted in early 1995. He contacted his colleagues in Kirkland, Bellevue, Kent and Kitsap County about their experience with this firm and their response was very positive in that they are easy to work with and have innovative ideas and approaches. Mr. Harris urged council to approve the contract as presented. Del Knauss related his experience on the interview panel, which he found to be an interesting process. All consultant interviewed were very knowledgeable, however, he felt the recommended firm was the most qualified for the project. He expressed his appreciation for having the opportunity to interview the consultants. Mr. Neville stated it should be brought out how well Hough, Beck & Baird work with the public in taking their input into development of the plan. He was also very impressed with this firm's track record in obtaining IAC grant funds, which is a definite necessity to complete the City's proposed park projects. Mr. Dawkins emphasized the important of City parks and this proposal will provide enhancement for an inner City park, and in his opinion is moving in the right direction. Mr. Oversonquestioned what will the City receive in return for the funds expended on this proposal? Mr. Harris stated one of the primary purposes of master planning Evergreen Park will be to have a plan that can be taken to IAC (Inter-Agency Committee) that will allow the City to compete with other municipalities in obtaining a matching grant. One criteria for the grant application is to have a completed Master Plan for Evergreen Park and sin~e there is not currently a Master Plan for Evergreen Park, it is imperative that this occurs first. This is and can be a jewel of a park. There was a study completed recently - The Evergreen Neighborhood Master Plan - that ties in this park with adjoining neighborhoods. There are some important issues in Evergreen Park: (1) shoreline stabilization; (2) public works property being acquired across the street from the park, which is a central part of this master plan process. The City is also stressing that we want a workable plan that fits with the community, is workable financially and in context with the neighborhood and surrounding area. Mr. Overson stated many people might look at Evergreen Park and say that it is complete, however, what is being discussed at this time is significant expansion of that park to potentially wrap around the Smith Cove area. At one time there was a discussion of using Evergreen Park in an expanded mode to partly replace the Roosevelt Field loss. He questioned if that was also a piece of the discussion? Mr. Harris stated that has not been a central component of their discussion, although it was identified as replacement of a portion of Roosevelt Field replacement. Mayor TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 7 of 12 Hotton pointed out that she included $125,000 in the 1995 budget to be used for park improvements, and she anticipates putting in at least that same level in the 1996 budget for park upgrades, focusing primarily on Evergreen Park, to be used as matching grant funds if the City is fortunate in receiving a grant. The Park Commission has tentatively identified Evergreen Park as one of the top areas they want to see in replacement of Roosevelt Field and she concurs in that recommendation. In looking at the Brem-Air Disposal site and the Loftes property, her intention is to work with the Department of Ecology and those two owners to see if long term we can get those properties cleaned up and turned into both expansion of Evergreen Park and to look at some redevelopment opportunities in the southern area of Smith Cove. She hopes this will result in park expansion and how it can meld with redevelopment efforts and preservation and wherever necessary revitalization of single family neighborhoods. She emphasized the City is not looking at the proposed contract as a study, but funding will be provided for implementation of this Master Plan...ideally matching it with IAC grant funding. Since the CSO project is running down Park Avenue and through Evergreen Park, she wants to use this opportunity to find out where the hard surfaces should be put in place so that at the time the CSO project contractor is ready to resurface the area it can be done in accordance with the new Master Plan. At that same time, consideration will be given to putting in a planter round-about at the new entrance area on Park Avenue, which can be used as a traffic calming device. She emphasized this plan will be used for a lot of different purposes, and in 1995 and 1996 there will be a tangible product from this plan. Mr. Dawkins asked the location of the "super mall of the great northwest development and wetland mitigation of 188 acres"? Fred Beck, Hough, Beck & Baird, stated that project is located in the City of Auburn, which is the largest retail project going on in the western part of the United States. There has been much wetlands' mitigation in that project and their firm was instrumental in getting the plan approved and also landscape development. Mr. Dawkins asked Mr. Beck if he felt the proposed project was a good thing for the City? Mr. Beck stated he has been familiar with Evergreen Park since he was in elementary school. He was disappointed in the condition of the shoreline in that area, but believes that problem can be solved and fulfill the requirements specified by the City. President Huff-Menees asked Mr. Beck to describe how they are so successful in obtaining IAC grants and what the City can look forward to in that respect. Mr. Beck explained IAC is a grant agency that every city, county and state agent goes after for park and recreation funding, which makes competition very keen. It #1468 TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 8 of 12 usually works out that the best team players and the best involvement with the community gains the most points. Therefore, they work very hard with the community, Council and Mayor within those communities to make sure they are accomplishing their goals as part of their Park Comprehensive Planning Program, which gains additional points with IAC. Also, they look at gaining intergovernmental activities, such as in the City of Bremerton you may be looking at cooperating with Kitsap County in joint efforts in some type of regional park type facility. An important element in their community involvement is learning the history of the park along with what cultural activities occurred in the park, which is then integrated into the planning process. Mr. Winters asked Mr. Beck if they are presently working with any other city that could possibly be in conflict with the City's project? Mr. Beck stated not directly, however, they are working with other cities or other governmental agencies that are also looking at IAC grant funding. They have several non-waterfront parks that will pursue IAC grant funding, but are not currently working on any waterfront parks. Mr. Winters asked if Mr. Beck felt the City had the edge to get IAC funding? Mr. Beck stated they like to think over past years that waterfront parks are the "peach" of all recreational facilities. They still believe they are, but other agencies/cities are also saying they don't have the opportunity to have water so their parks are just as important as waterfront parks. They work hard to focus in on IAC waterfront parks because it still serves a larger group of people and he believes IAC still looks at waterfront parks as being the "peach" of the parks. Mr. Colvin asked if he heard correctly that this would be in part to replace Roosevelt Field and if so, what part is being replaced? Mr. Beck stated the replacement aspect would probably be the open space. He did not see the Evergreen Park area lending itself to the same type of activity that occurred on Roosevelt Field and felt the City had other recreational locations that would help mitigate that loss. The elements they will be looking for are more community related park activities, open space, event activities and in terms of a more "passive park" rather than "recreating park". M/S/C/U(Neville/Montgomery) to authorize and direct the Mayor to execute the professional services agreement with Hough, Beck & Baird, Inc. to provide a master plan for Evergreen Park, including IAC grant consultation and assistance. Mr. Harris announced the first neighborhood meeting to discuss the Master Plan will be held February 6, 6:30 P.M., at the old Smith School. TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 9 of 12 8A - ORDINANCE NO. 4499 (EMERGENCY READING) AUTHORIZING THE ISSUE OF $248,339.81 LID NO. 326 SPECIAL ASSE8SMENT BONDS~ ACCEPTING THE PURCHASE OFFER OF DAIN BOSWORTH, INCORPORATED; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY, #AB95-010 The proposed Ordinance will authorize the issuance of bonds to finance the portion of LID No. '326 which was not paid by the property owners during the 30-day prepayment period. The term of the bonds will be 20 years with the City retaining the right to call bonds as necessary as property owners pay off assessments. Rich Hanna, City Treasurer, stated as mentioned, this will provide the financing for the 4th Street L.I.D. that provided park improvements and related amenities on the block directly in front of City Hall. Both the preliminary and the final Assessment Roll for this project were in the amount of $389,000. There were costs on the project beyond that amount, however, those were borne by either grant funding or the City itself. There was a 30-day prepayment period dictated by statute in which the benefitted property owners could pay without any financing charge their portions of the Assessment Roll. During the course of that time, approximately $140,000 of the total Assessment Roll was prepaid, which leave a balance of $248,000 with which to arrange financing. As stated, the estimated maturities on the Bond will be in the years 1996 through 2013 and the final maturity is in 2015. Coupons on the Bonds will run from a low of 5.4% in 1996 to a high of 7.35% on the back end of the issue. The true interest cost, which includes the coupons and the underwriting expenses, will be 7,238%. The Bonds are not rated and are subject to call on any interest paid dates. The reason we are required, as property owners, to pay off the assessments by using all fund available to call and retire these bonds as quickly as possible is because we cannot predict with certainty when the individual property owners will pay off their assessments, there is some flexibility in the maturities of the Bonds. The underlying assessments run for a period of 18 years and bear an interest rate of 8.2%. Dains Bosworth is underwriting this proposal and earlier Council was provided a copy of their offer to purchase the bonds. They have been successful in their marketing efforts today in selling, at the retail level through the Bremerton Office, a little over 50% of the issue. They do still have some of the bonds in inventory for people within the local listening area that might be interested in making that financial decision. As mentioned earlier, in order to minimize the market exposure that the City is asking the underwriter to accept and thereby get the best rate possible on the financing, this ordinance does contain "emergency" language and as such will require a unanimous vote for passage. Public comment - none. TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 10 of 12 Tim McCort, Dain Bosworth, reported marketing went well and they were able to place a little over 50% of the bonds, leaving a balance of 30-40% to be distributed to the remainder of Dains' Retail System primarily in Washington State. They do have a small remaining balance at days end, which is indicative of a good marketing of the Bonds. He noted that the market overall has been strong and the City picked a good time to sell these particular L.I.D. Bonds. Mr. Law stated having looked at the pre-issue agreement, which had lower interest rates on January llth (as an example starting out at 5.25% going up to a max of 7.0%), then when they were put on the market today that 5.25% became 5.4% and the max goes from 7.0% to 7.35%. He asked Mr. McCort to explain, for the public's benefit the difference between what was offered or committed initially. Mr. McCort stated what Mr. Law has before him is a preliminary scale to give their sales staff some idea so they can contact investors and say currently at this point in the market Bonds of this comparable credit quality with maturities as identified are selling for about this rate. They do have to pick a date to price those Bonds and to set and lock in a particular interest rate. What has happened since the issue of the pre-issue briefing is the market for those bonds became a little more defined, particularly by a fairly large L.I.D. in the City of Arlington that was priced last week. What the market said at that particular time was that an L.I.D. Bond in Washington State from a city such as Arlington or Bremerton is worth this interest rate scale. They work in very dynamic capital markets and things happen very quickly in that market. Mr. Law noted the true interest cost is going to be 7.238% and the rate we are charging the property owners is 8.2%. He questioned how that difference is being applied? Mr. Hanna explained there is a difference of roughly 1% between what is being paid to the Bond holders and underwriter for our cost of capital and what is being charged to the property owners on the underlying Assessment Roll. The difference is intended, in part, to offset the cost incurred by the City administering this Assessment Roll. L.I.D.'s are not an easy type of instrument to administer and require a fair amount of work on his part and his staff. If things don't go well, it can mean a fair amount of work on the part of the City's legal department. The property owners, who are taking advantage of the Time Payment Plan that is being offered through this Bond issue, are helping to pay those costs rather than having them distributed across all the taxpayers, who may not be incurring benefits from this Assessment Roll. Mr. Law questioned does that same difference ride whether or not we are talking about a 20 million dollar Bond issue verses a smaller amount? Mr. Hanna stated like anything in #2105 TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 11 of 12 the financial business, the larger the deal the narrower the margins with which we can carry it out. He believes it is fairly typical for a municipality to have between a half of percent and a percent of spread between the Assessment Roll and the Bonds that are financing the project. Mr. Law stated it did bother him that it jumped up that much. Mr. Manna stated the direction of interest rates through out 1994 has only been in one direction and this is one more manifestation of that situation. In trying to evaluate the coupons or prices that he was shown by the underwriter yesterday afternoon and again today, it was a little difficult for him to judge those as well. L.I.D. issues are a little different than most of the Bonds issues. M:. Law stated even though he had some concern with the proposal he would support it, however, he hoped next time the City could be a little more accurate in the preliminary numbers. Mr. Hanna stated we need to be mindful that in this case the preliminary scale had coupons somewhat lower than where we ended up with the Bonds. He noted Mr. Law's point is well taken. M/S/C/U(Colvin/Montgomery) to pass on an emergency basis Ordinance No. 4499, relating to Local Improvement District No. 326; fixing the amount, form, date, interest rates, maturity, and denominations of the Local Improvement District No. 326 Bonds; providing for the sale and delivery thereof to Dain Bosworth Incorporated in Seattle, Washington; fixing and reaffirming the interest rate on Local Improvement District No. 326 assessment installments; and providing that this ordinance will take effect immediately. Mayor Lynn Hotton reported the Draft EIS on the Gorst-Bremerton Connector Project will be out within the next four weeks and there will be a 90 day comment period before that can be concluded and moved on to the final EIS. Once the final EIS is completed, we will be able to see to property acquisition. Mr. Winters passed on to the Mayor some parents have expressed concern that in the early morning hours when it is so dark out there is no lighting of the crosswalk areas near the Bremerton High School. TAPE #1259 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 18, 1995 Page 12 of 12 With no further business meeting adjourned at 7:46 P.M. KATHLEEN L. ity. Clerk SHERRIL M ,'~C~u~ City of Breme KLM/SH-M/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault President