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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/02/94TAPE #1245 UNAPPROVED DRAFT COUNCIL A PROVED NOV 16 1994 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES NOVEMBER 2 , 1994 #0046 #0070 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, November 2, 1994, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Sherril Huff-Menees presiding. Council members present were Morrie Dawkins, John Law, David Farr, A1 Colvin, Carlos Montgomery, Richard Neville, and Lon Overson. Councilman Bob Winters 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 Harrison Hospital Chaplain Ben Belcher. CONSENT AGENUA A. Minutes of Meeting -- October 12, 1994 '#AB94-232 B. Minutes of Meeting -- October 19, 1994 #AB94-233 M/S/C/U(Neville/Colvin) 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 November 2, 1994, the Council does approve for 'payment those vouchers included and further'described as follows: 179615, 179620 through 179776 in the total amount of $946,482.38; and Retirees Payroll for the period ending October 31, 1994, in the amount of $87,073.97. President Huff-Menees made the following announcements: (1) The City Council held an Executive Session prior to this Council meeting to discuss: "litigation". (2) A City Council Study Session is scheduled NoVember 9, 1994, immediately following the City Council meeting and the topic to be discussed will be "Bremerton Ferry Terminal Development And Passenger-Only Ferry Review" presented by Richar'd Hayes, Director of Kitsap Transit. (3) The week of Thanksgiving Day the City Council meeting will be held on Tuesday, November 22, rather than Wednesday, November 23. TAPE #1245 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 2, 1994 Page 2 of 6 COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Overson reminded everyone that Tuesday, November Election Day and to buckle down and prepare for winter. 8th is Mr. Neville announced a Holiday Craft Sale and Flea Market will be held November 5, 9:00 A.M to 4:00 P.M., at the Sheridan Park Recreation Center. The West Narrows Neighborhood Network meeting will be held Tuesday, November 8, 7:00 P.M.,. The program for this meeting will be a CENCOM TOUR, an opportunity to learn from a dispatcher how to get the best results from emergency calls. This meeting will begin at the CENCOM headquarters, located at the south end of Warren Avenue Bridge. Mr. Farr reported he recently learned that a property owner in the area of 15th and Arvon has contacted District #6 resident Mary Sump about donating property to the City to be used as a playground. He hopes that this offer is valid and that it can be worked out for the benefit of that neighborhood. Mr. Law announced the next District #3 Neighborhood meeting will be held on November 15, 7:00 P.M. at the Senior Center. Mr. Montgomery reported on October 27 he attended a Budget Workshop sponsored by Senator Betti Sheldon, which he found to be an "eye opener" for a new City Council member. He announced the next District #8 Neighborhood meeting will be held on November 17, 7:00 P.M., at his residence. The guest speaker at that meeting will be Pat Harris, Director Of Parks and Recreation. Mr. Harris will address the Parks Comprehensive Plan including the portion pertaining to Forest Ridge Park. Mr. Dawkins reported he stopped by the Pendergast Sports Complex site and was pleased to report the backstops are in and fencing is in around the first field. Mr. Colvin announced the next District #1 Neighborhood Coalition meeting is scheduled for Thursday, November 10, 7:00 P.M., at the Sheridan Park Recreation Center. As part of that meeting, they will be honoring the memory of Clif McKenzie, a very dedicated citizen. MAYOR'8 REPORT Mayor Lynn reported today she had the pleasure of meeting Seattle Police Chief Norm Stamper at the Bremerton Central Lions Club meeting where he was the guest speaker. She felt he was right on target as to some of the causes of today's youth violence, disintegration of homes, disintegration of neighborhoods and the fear factor where people are going behind closed doors altering their pattern of living and letting the streets be taken over by TAPE #1245 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 2, 1994 Page 3 of 6 whomever is willing to take them over. Chief Stamper's message was we all have to be a partner in taking back our communities and neighborhoods. She echoes his sentiments and hopes to get all of the neighborhoods in Bremerton up and running in some fashion to have some sort of link with City government. Ideally, she would like to have every neighborhood in Bremerton become involved in the Block Watch Program or Safe Streets Program so we are linked together. Chief Stamper commented on a poster produced by the City of Tacoma that showed a picture of a group of citizens and words stating: "THERE ARE 500,000 OF US AND ONLY 500 OF THEM -WHYEWE LETTING THEM TAKE OVER OUR COMMUNITIES". She emphasized in most instances it is a small portion that causes the greatest damage, however, she believes everyone needs to stand together and say "we're not going to tolerate it", and to find outlets for kids to keep them out of trouble. In response to Peggy Atkins' inquiry, Mayor Horton gave an explanation of the selection process used to establish a Citizen Advisory Committee for the Wastewater Treatment Plant Odor Control Project. Mayor Horton emphasized applicants for that Committee had to meet the following two criteria to be considered for selection: (1) all' applicants who live within the areas impacted by the wastewater system odor, i.e., wastewater plant, pump stations or the air relief stations are eligible; (2) applicants must reside within the existing City of Bremerton wastewater service area. Mayor Horton pointed out Ms. Atkins lives on the Old Belfair Highway and thus did not meet either of the above stated criteria, and since there were other people who did meet the criteria, she was not selected. If the City had not received applicants that did qualify, then Ms. Atkins would have been considered for the committee. She is pleased, based on what she has seen of the Citizen Committee, how knowledgeable they are and it is obvious that they put in a lot of time and energy researching and. getting as much information as they can to bring themselves up to speed on the odor control project. Mayor Horton thanked Ms. Atkins for applying. Mayor Horton announced the 1995 Preliminary Budget books are out and she is presenting a balanced budget. She emphasized the budget, as presented, is based on her decisions not staff decisions. President Huff-Menees reminded Council members and the public the first Budget Review meeting will be Thursday, November 3, 1994, 5:30 - 8:30 P.M. in the Council Conference Room. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Jack Lefcoski, representing Kitsap Lake Neighborhood Association (KLNA), re-emphasized the boundaries of the KLNA and extended an open invitation to anyone living within those boundaries to attend the their meetings. The next two schedules meetings will take TAPE #1245 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 2, 1994 Page 4 of 6 place on (1) November 16~ 7;00 P.M.; (2) December 15, 7:00 P.M., at the Cascade Natural Gas Building. He was pleased to report the 20- 25 salmon have found their way into KitsapLake during the spawning 'season and Kitsap Creek and Chico Bay were full of Chum Salmon. Gordy Byrd reported on several fund raising events held over the past weekend. Don Atkinson, Bremerton Main Street Association, handed out a flyer announcing Downtown Christmas Season Schedule and Highlights. Contact is being made with the Bremerton School District and churches in the area to get involved in decorating windows in the downtown area. Holiday banners will be in place Thanksgiving Day holiday week and the Ginger Bread House, a Christmas market, will open on November 26/27 and December 10/11. On the weekend of December 10/11 it is anticipated that 20-25 choral groups performing downtown. Several tree lighting ceremonies will also take place. 7A - ORDINANCE NO. 4490 (SECOND READING) CONFIRMING THE FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLL FOR 4TH STREET L.I.D. NO. 326, #AB94-224 Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, pointed out at the time of first reading of the ordinance and the public hearing, there were no objections to the assessment roll, however, at that time one of the L.I.D. participants asked that a longer repayment schedule be considered. Because of that request, Council delayed second reading for two weeks so that the City Treasurer and City Engineer could respond to that request. Randy Witt, City Engineer, stated as a follow up to Council direction, a letter was sent out to all of the property owners with a complete tabulation of the options available from a 5-year term to a 20-year term and they were asked to choose their preference. Rich Hanna, City Attorney, stated the City received responses from only four of the affected property owners within the Improvement District, two expressed a strong preference for the 20-year period and two said they preferred the 15-year period, but were comfortable with the 20-year term. He believed the latter two preferences was brought about based on the knowledge that there is always the option to pay off the assessment early without any penalty. Based on that response, staff recommends to authorize the 20-year term for the bonds, which would create an 18-year term for the underlying Assessment Roll. Public comment - none. Mr. Overson thanked staff for responding favorably to the citizen input and it was his understanding that was what Mr. Weir was #0902 TAPE #1245 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 2, 1994 Page 5 of 6 seeking. M/S/C/U(Overson/Montgomery) to pass Ordinance No. 4490 on second reading adopting and confirming the assessment roll for Local Improvement District No. 326 and implementing on a 20-year schedule, providing for the improvement to 4th Street from Washington Avenue to Pacific Avenue as described in Ordinance 4419 providing for the levying and assessing for the costs and expense thereof against the parcels and lots of land within the boundaries of said improvement district; providing for the collection thereof; creating and establishing a special fund thereof. Mr. Hanna pointed out that what was discussed throughout this process was a 20-year bond, which would result in an Assessment Roll by statute two years shorter, so the term of the assessments and payment schedule would be 18 years. Ms. McCluskey questioned the amount of interest rate of the bond? Mr. Hanna stated the interest rate would be 1% higher than the underlying bonds and he is estimating that at 8.2%. 8A -RESOLUTION NO. 2487, ESTABLISHING HANDLING FEES FOR DI8HONORED CHECKS AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2186, #AB94-234 The City currently charges a fee of $15 for the handling of dishonored checks. This fee was established in 1987 and is now significantly below the fee charged by most businesses. The proposed resolution is intended to bring the City's fee up to the level of current business practice. Rich Hanna, City Treasurer, stated as mentioned in the Agenda Bill, it has been a considerable length of time since these fees were last changed. In preparing the Agenda Bill, contact was made with Seafirst Bank and they indicated merchants are currently setting fees for this type of service in a range from $20 - 40.00. The City wanted to be within the range of the merchants, however, the proposed rate of $25.00 is just a little lower, but seemed a reasonable figure. Public comment - none. Mr. Dawkins asked if the City received many "bad" checks, such as when people pay for traffic tickets? He also wanted to know if this would help the City? Mr. Hanna stated what is proposed is a City- wide fee that would apply to checks received in payment for all transactions including those with the City. The volume of "bad" checks received by the City is about 15 per month. Mr. Overson noted during Fiscal and Budget Committee's discussion #1140 TAPE #1245 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes November 2, 1994 Page 6 of 6 on this item brought out that the City works very pro-actively with anyone who has a problem with a check not clearing the first time so they are not charged the fee. However, if it turns out they are unwilling to work it out, the City must charge the fee. Mr. Colvin asked what the ramifications would be if the person does not pay the City for the bad check or the added on charge? Mr. Hanna stated the City will contact the person by mail, and following a standard waiting period of ten days if the person does not respond within that time then the matter is referred to a collection agency. Mr. Colvin asked if there was the possibility that those charges could increase once it gets to that process? Mr. Hanna stated yes, State statute specifically outlines what procedures, fees, etc., are allowed in the collection efforts associated with NSF checks. The City's procedures are those that have been recommended by the collection agency. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated the State Legislature passed incentives or liquidated damages to help the problem of NSF checks and merchants. M/S/C/U(Montgomery/Colvin) to approve Resolution No. 2487, establishing the handling fee for dishonored checks and repealing Resolution No. 2186. With no further business meeting adjourned at 6:23 P.M. City of BremeMrE~ KLM/SH-M/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault