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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/21/94TAPE #1235 UNAPPROVED DRAFT COUNCIL APPROVED OCT '5 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 21, 1994 #0158 #0184 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, September 21, 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, Lon Overson, and Richard Neville. 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 Councilman A1 Colvin. Judqe Bruce Martin officiated at the "Swearing In" of Carlos D. Montgomery as District #8 City Councilman· Mr. Montgomery was then seated with his fellow Council members. CONSENT AGENDA A. Bid Award/Acquisition of P.C. - NAD, Inc. #AB94-198 Bid Award/Familian Northwest, Inc., - Supplying #AB94-199 Materials For Irrigation Systems At Evergreen Park, Kiwanis Park, and Sheridan Recreation Center M/S/C/(Neville/Colvin) to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Vote on motion: Motion carried. In Favor: Dawkins, Law, Farr, Colvin, Overson, Neville, Huff-Menees Abstain: Montgomery 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 September 21, 1994, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 178567, 178568, 178570 through 178573 in the total amount of $54,129.26; and Regular Payroll for the period ending September 15, 1994, in the amount of $585,377.78. President Huff-Menees made the following announcements: (1) THE SUN newspaper has agreed to publish the City Council Agenda TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 2 of 9 weekly it the "Your Town" section of the "Tuesday" newspaper. (2) Immediately following this City Council meeting Council will hold a Study Session and hear a presentation by the Bremerton/Kitsap Visitor And Convention Bureau...and the public is welcome. (3) City Council will hold a Retreat on Saturday, September 24, 8:00 AM to 4:00 P.M., at Gold Mountain Golf Course - public is welcome. (4) The Wastewater Treatment Plant Odor Control Project will hold a meeting on Monday, September 26, 5:30 P.M., at the Public Works Complex, 100 Oyster Bay Road - public is welcome. At a previous Council meeting, Jack Lefcoski asked about the functions and duties of the City's lobbyist, who was hired to represent the City with the State Legislature. Mr. Lefcoski was given a report with information relating to the work of the City's lobbyist, however, he again contacted her with more specific questions and felt it would benefit the public to be made aware of some of the more detailed information. Based on that request, the first and foremost benefit to the City for having their own representative with the legislature is that he is there on a daily basis and able to track all of the bills that might affect the City in any way and contact the City. That kind of representation is not available through the Association Of Washington Cities or any other group. Mr. Walgren, the City's lobbyist, was very instrumental in funding appropriations for the Jumbo Class ferries. He was involved with the City and Bremerton Area Chamber Of Commerce working on that bill for the 1993 budget. He also worked very had with the Superintendent Of Public Instruction to allow joint use of the Crown Hill Elementary School facility. The Court Commissioner bill was passed primarily by the work of lobbyists. The defensive measures in regard to the Municipal Court Judge's salaries was also something that lobbyists were very instrumental in. She was not going into more detail, however, there were several different ways at each Legislative Session that Mr. Walgren has been of benefit, and reinforces the need for the City to have its own representative in Olympia. If anyone else within the public would like to receive the information available on the lobbyist, we would be happy to provide it. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Overson complimented the Mayor and Police Department on a more positive reputation of the City's Police Department. Even in some instances with the mere threat of calling a Police Officer, there is an impact that will stop an altercation or turn a situation to TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 3 of 9 a more mild occurrence. He called attention to the open space at the end of 5th Street and Washington Avenue where a burned out apartment building has been removed. Mr. Neville announced a neighborhood meeting will be held on September 26, 5:30 P.M., at the Warren Avenue PeeWee Clubhouse and is a continuation of the meeting held two weeks ago with Kitsap Community Action Program (KCAP) and the Parks Department. He announced a Teen Dance will be held Friday, September 23, from 8:00 P.M to midnight at the Sheridan Park Recreation Center. Admission to the dance is $3.00 and geared for teenagers 13 on up. He congratulated A1 Colvin on his receiving the Bridge Builders Award from the Martin Luther Scholarship Fund Committee. He also congratulated Carlos Montgomery on his appointment to join the City Council. Mr. Farr welcomed Carlos to the City Council. Mr. Law extended his welcome to Carlos and noted it would not be much of a change to his activities since he has been a regular attendee at City Council meetings. He also congratulated Councilman Colvin for his deserved recognition as a true "Bridge Builder" by the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund Committee. He thanked Sgt. Randy Cox for participating and for his presentation at the District #3 Neighborhood meeting on September 20. He had a good turn out at that meeting, and in addition to Sgt. Cox's report, the exchange of ideas within and outside the District was outstanding. He appreciated all the exchange of ideas and looks forward to the next District #3 Neighborhood meeting. Mr. Montgomer~ stated for the citizens' in District #8 he is interested in holding neighborhood meetings and would like their input. If they desire such meetings, he would appreciate a call at 373-1300. He extended congratulations to A1 Colvin on his being awarded the Bridge Builder award. Mr. Dawkins stated he enjoyed listening to the election returns being broadcast over KBRO 1490, which was back on the air for a one-time broadcast. Mr. Colvin stated he appreciated his fellow Council members' congratulations and extended congratulations to Councilman Carlos Montgomery on his appointment. He thanked all those who participated in the District #1 Neighborhood Coalition meeting on September 15. He also extended a "thank you" to the TCI cable access crew for their job in video taping the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund program. He shared with the public the content of the Bridge Builder Award. TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 4 of 9 Mrs. Huff-Meness offered her congratulations to Councilman Colvin on his receiving the Bridge Builder Award, which was a surprise to A1, but a very fitting award. She congratulated the winners of the Primary Election and offered appreciation and thank you to those candidates who won't be going on to the General Election, but were willing to step up and accept the responsibility of representing their friends and neighbors in this community. MAYOR'8 REPORT Mayor Lynn Hotton congratulated Councilman Colvin on his Bridge Builder Award and acknowledged his positive persuasive way in getting people to volunteer. She also congratulated Carlos Montgomery on his being seated as a City Council member. Mayor Horton stated in response to a question by Del Knauss about the City's parks not being watered, the City is addressing that issue by approving an item on the Consent Agenda that will provide for irrigation systems in several parks that currently do not have them. And, in reference to the Consent Agenda item for computers, the administration has gone through a rather extended process analyzing users and needs throughout the City. Once the new computers come on line, there will be some shuffling of equipment to provide the upgraded systems to those that need them, and some down grading of equipment for those that have less of a need, but will still be well within the capabilities of the job that needs to be performed. Mayor Horton's trip to Washington, D.C. the previous week was very informative. The Naval Base Association group met with Charlie Nimbocus, Deputy Chair of the Base Structure Evaluation Committee. His role is to look at the Naval installations and make recommendations to the Base Realignment And Closure Commission as to what they think would be prime targets for closure. They also met with the Base Closure Committee and talked with them about all of the Naval bases in Kitsap County and presented a united front in support of all of those military installations. The word that they brought back was Kitsap County is in fairly good stead and they will be looking at Keyport in three different directions, as a depot, technology analysis department, etc. A meeting was also held with Slade Gorton, Norm Dicks, and Maria Cantwell and 2-3 Admirals and several staff members. She felt the trip was very worthwhile. One of the things that impressed the Washington D.C. delegations was the fact that the Puget Sound Naval Base Association is an organization that is 50 years old. This organization has worked diligently for a lot of years to do what is best for the Kitsap County Naval bases, and the fact that it is a combined emphasis from business, labor, government, and the.public at large. TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 5 of 9 PUBLIC RECOGNITION Karen Williams, Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Fund, thanked the public for their input and attendance at their ConstitutiOn Day luncheon. She pointed out there was public input on who should receive the Bridge Builder Award and Councilman A1 Colvin was the recipient of that commendation. Funds raised at that event will be used to support a College stude~t from Kitsap County. She also extended special thanks to Council President Huff-Menees, and Councilman Montgomery for attending the luncheon. Roy McInnis reported he just returned from the National Baptist Convention in New Orleans, which was well attended by approximately 70,000. He congratulated A1 Colvin on his award and welcomed Mr. Montgomery to the City Council. He raised the question: "why can't the Police Department's two motorcycles be used on the streets for patrol?" Ronda Delcamp stated she is a teacher at the Bremerton Junior High School and Treasurer of the Bremerton Education Association. She identified the following issues that are currently not being addressed by the School District: (1) violence in schools; (2) site decision making; (3) supplemental days; and (4) class size. She emphasized the teachers are only asking to keep what they have and she hoped speaking out publicly will help laminate why the teachers found it necessary to go on strike. Delores Hall, member of the Bremerton Education Association, stated she is out on strike for the benefit of the young teachers, who need as much support as they can get. She expressed deep appreciation to the listening community. She understands that the "strike" is a difficult situation and also difficult to know where the truths lie. The teachers are glad to provide answers to questions raised by the public and have seen tremendous support from the community. She is also sensitive to the neutrality that the City Council and Mayor Horton wish to observe on this issue. She commended Mayor Horton on the way she presented herself at their forum. Sherrie Thompson stated she is the mother of five children and came forward to speak in support of the teachers. She feels the four issues as stated earlier are very important and need to be accepted by the Administration. President Huff-Menees pointed out the Police motorcycles have occasionally been in use. 7A - APPROVAL OF PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WITH PUGET 8OUND PUBLIC EMPLOYER8 "PSPE,, TO REPRESENT THE CITY IN COLLECTIVE TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 6 of 9 BARGAINING, #AR94-200 The City wishes to contract with Puget Sound Public Employers (PSPE) to represent the City in collective bargaining including state mediation, grievance arbitration and interest arbitration. Included as part of its services, PSPE will prepare all contracts, reports, salary surveys, and/or exhibits necessary to support the City in collective-bargaining efforts. PSPE also agrees to represent the City in any action resulting from Unfair Labor Practices. The City shall pay PSPE the sum of Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00) per month, plus reimbursement for mileage at .28 cents per mile, photocopies at .13 cents per copy, and long distance telephone charges incurred by PSPE on behalf of the City. Jim Meith, Human Resources Manager, stated this item has been before both Council Committees, and Council had the opportunity to meet the principals of the firm at a Council Study Session. The contract will provide the City with expert labor consulting, negotiation skills, and most important a great resource that this firm can bring as far as data and research in the area of labor relations. He feels the cost effective use of the City's resources and process in selecting this group resulted in the belief that this firm represents the best of what they were looking for. INegotiations with the Patrolman's Association began today and the firm consented to enter those negotiations prior to this contract being finalized. The cost of the contract amounts to $500.00 per month and will provide the City a much more economical approach to labor consulting than if it was being charged out at an hourly rate. He urged Council's approval of the contract as presented. Public comment - none. Mr. Colvin questioned the cost of "mileage" per day? Mr. Meith explained the consultant's offices are located in Spanaway. There will be instances where the City is charged the full distance between Spanaway and Bremerton, however, there will be times when the firm will have other business within the County and the City will be charged only that milage between that destination to the City. Mr. Law stated he was impressed with Mr. Meith's good negotiations, and was in awe of the consultant being able to balance a budget on a $500.00 per month fee. Mr. Melth explained PSPE currently has approximately 24 clients in the area and he was not sure if each of their clients is set up at a rate of $500.00 per month. It was the fee proposed to the City and for what they are offering in way of services, made the City see this as a beneficial opportunity. Mr. Farr questioned for clarification, if the items under the Scope TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 7 of 9 of Work providing for additional training for management, employee counseling, policies and procedures, etc., would be over and above the $500.00 per month fee? Mr. Meith stated no, they would be included within that fee structure. One thing that he mentioned during the Committee presentations was that he will personally monitor this contract to make sure the City is getting quality service. How much this firm is used outside of the actual labor negations and other representation practices, such as unfair labor practices and grievances, will be approached cautiously. Mr. Overson stated he understood that this contract is not without precedent and this organization provides some of these same services to other cities. Mr. Meith stated that was correct, such as the City of Bainbridge Island, several Fire Districts, Bonnie Lake, Buckley, Marysville, etc. This firm has been in existence since 1987. Mr. Overson questioned at what point have they extended themselves and depleted their resources? He questioned if this firm has the resources to provide the City the services outlined in the contract on a continuum? Mr. Meith stated from his interviews with the firm, he feels comfortable that they do have adequate resources. Mr. Overson asked if Mr. Meith had talked to other cities who use PSPE's services? Mr. Meith stated the actual references were checked by Kathleen McCluskey. Kathleen McCluskey, Director of Administrative Services, stated she contacted five other cities in the Puget Sound area, and all of them responded very favorably in terms of the services, and they received a variety of the range of services listed in the contract. Specifically, they all had the firm involved in negotiations at the table and were very happy with the interaction with the Unions and helped them through their labor contracts. Mr. Overson asked the City Attorney's opinion on this contract. Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated he did not review all of the applications, however, he did sit through one meeting with them in preparation of the Patrolmen's Association contract negotiations. He feels comfortable with their approach to bargaining and as Mr. Meith stated the City will be monitoring some of the other areas for quality control. Mr. Overson asked if Council's proposed motion should be to recommend that the Mayor sign the contract? Mr. Sievers stated he saw no problem with the motion to "approve the contract". Mayor Horton stated this contract does not mean this firm is the City's indentured slaves until the end of the contract. When the City talked with them, .they were told the role Mr. Meith would be playing and the role the City anticipated they would be playing. Since the City has three Union contracts, ideally she would like to have one contract negotiated each year so we would see them for a concentrated, but limited amount of time through theyear, and then TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 8 of 9 #1633 on an as-needed basis for some of the other services. She believes Bremerton is the largest city that they are contracting with and if they want to expand their customer basis, this provides them with a good opportunity to say they are now in a medium class category. Everything she has heard about this firm has been very positive. Mr. Colvinquestioned if the fee proposed for this contract was the average of what other consulting firms are charging? Ms. McCluskey stated no, this fee was well below the other companies hourly rates. As Mayor Horton stated, she believed there would be concentrated pieces of time that they would be working with the City and throughout the rest of the year it is less intense, which enables them to spread out their work load. It is her understanding that the other cities are being charged the same $500.00 per month fee. M/S/C/U(Law/Colvin) to approve contract with Puget Sound Public Employers to represent the City in collective bargaining. 7B - CONFIRMATION OF APPOINTMENT OF PRO AND CON COMMITTEE TO PREPARE VOTER PAMPHLET STATEMENTS, #AB94-201 APRO Committee and CON Committee are needed to prepare statements for the Voters Pamphlet relating to placement of a ballot measure on the November General Election annexing unincorporated Rocky Point area. PRO COMMITTEE James Robinson Carl Cramer Clint Shinkle CON COMMITTEE Harold Brooks Mel Baird Harold Pinsch Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, explained this item has been added to the Agenda. Kitsap County publishes a County-wide Voters Pamphlet for the November General Election and the City of Bremerton opted to participate a number of years ago. A law was passed whereby the City is now required to participate, which the City does willingly because it is good information for the public. Due to that requirement, the City must appoint a committee to develop a Pro and Con statement for the proposed annexation of Rocky Point. The Pro Committee to write the Pro Statement would be comprised of James Robinson, Carl Cramer, and Clint Shinkle, and the Con Committee to write the Con Statement would be comprised of Harold Brooks, Mel Baird, and Harold Pinsch. The statements must be submitted to the County by September 28. President Huff-Menees questioned if the statements will come back to the City once they are written? Ms. McCluskey stated the procedure established is such that the statements will be returned TAPE #1235 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 21, 1994 Page 9 of 9 #1788 #1841 to the City, there will be an exchange of statements between the two committees, and then they are allowed to write rebuttal statements. Those statements will be returned to the City, and then faxed to the County Auditor's Office. Public comment - none. Mr. Colvin asked who selected the Pro and Con Committees? Ms. McCLuskeV stated Mrs. Erhart obtained names of individuals as to people who have been involved in the Rocky Point Annexation issue, and from that list of names she obtained volunteers to serve on those committees. The City Council is required by the County to confirm the committees before it is official. M/S/C/U(Neville/Colvin) to confirm the appointment of JAMES ROBINSON, CARL CRAMER, AND CLINT SHINKLE to act as the PRO COMMITTEE; and HAROLD BROOKS, MEL BAIRD, and HAROLD PINSCH as the CON COMMITTEE to prepare the Voters Pamphlet statements for the ballot measure on the November General Election for annexing the unincorporated Rocky Point area. 8A - ORDINANCE NO. 4483 (SECOND READING) VACATING A PORTION OF AN ALLEY ABUTTING YANTIC AVENUE, #AB94-197 Public comment - none. M/S/C/U(Dawkins/Colvin) to pass Ordinance No. 4483 on second reading vacating a portion of an alley abutting Yantic Avenue, "Port Orchard Addition". With no further business meeting adjourned at 6:40 P.M. .TH E~M. McCL% City Clerk KLM/SH-M/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault