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HomeMy WebLinkAbout12/29/93TAPE #1162 UNAPPROVED DRAFT Council Approved Jan 19, 1994 CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DECEMBER 29, 1993 #0030 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, December 29, 1993, at 6:00 P.M., with Council President Eileen Fitz presiding. Council members present were Richard Neville, Lynn Horton, C.R. "Tiny" Collins, Morrie Dawkins, Russ Johnson, Lon Overson, Hank Waibel, and A1 Colvin. Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and City Clerk Kathleen McCluskey. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Reverend August Lubkeman of Memorial Lutheran Church. CONSENT AGENDA None CLAIMS/WARRANT 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/Waibel) December 29, 1993, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 171903-through 171905, 171930 through 172025 in the total amount of $97,599.99; and Retirees Payroll for the period ending 12-15-93, in the amount of $94,723.98; and Regular Payroll for the period ending 12-15-93, in the amount of $542,957.46. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS President Fitz announced this was the last City Council meeting for Council members Horton, Waibel, Johnson and Collins. She extended a personal "thank you" to each of them for their assistance to her during her two years on the Council. Their knowledge, background, thoughtfulness, and attention to detail helped her immensely during her term as Council President this past year. She introduced Merilynn Erhart, Council's Legislative Assistant, who has known and worked with all of the Council members who are leaving, and asked her to present each of the retiring Council members with a plaque. Merilynn Erhart called each of the four Council members forward to receive a plaque that reflected their significant contribution to the City of Bremerton as a City Council member for the number of years each of them served. Councilmen Horton and Waibel were also TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 2 of 18 recognized for their tenure as City Council President and the leadership they brought through that responsibility. She expressed appreciation to each Council member in the form of a "verse" that related to their special talents/gifts that they have given to the citizens of Bremerton during their tenure. Hank Waibel thanked everyone and stated it has been a rather exciting eight years that included some sad and happy times along with some frustrations. He extended a special "thank you" to his family for sharing him with the public for those many years. Lynn Hotton expressed her appreciation to her fellow Council members, both present and past. She sincerely hopes the relationship that she's had as a member of the Council will continue on with the new and existing Council members. She is looking forward to the exciting next four years and noted facing Council from the Administration side does give one a different perspective. She encouraged the new Council members to establish early on their philosophies and then apply each situation to those personal philosophies so that they then feel they have made the best decision they could at the time, and then move on. She feels strongly that there will be some hard decisions for both she as Mayor and the Council in the coming year and on into the future, however, her hope is to pull together and do what is best for the City of Bremerton Tiny Collins stated he had many thoughts he wished to pass on, however, he would limit it to those he wished to pass on to the new Council members and those Council members who will be carrying on into the new year. It is important for the new Council members to understand that the City is not a separate identity, not something inanimate but the City is the people...each individual. Do not think of City employees as a group, but think of them as individuals and don't try to put them all together. In his opinion, the hardest thing to learn is that when there is a difference of opinion between you and your colleagues remember that their opinion is as good and as valid as yours and don't let it become a personal things as so often happens. He was tremendously pleased with what has happened in Bremerton over the past 14 years, six years he served on the City's Planning Commission and eight years as a City Council member. He is constantly amazed over the use of the boardwalk and the numbers of people on the boardwalk at all times of the day and night. There are many things in Bremerton to be proud of, especially the people. He thanked Mayor Mentor for what he has accomplished during his tenure, and that it was a pleasure working with Mayor Gene Lobe. He does not envy Mayor- elect Horton because of future budget constraints. He thanked the citizens and each City Council member for their help, understanding and ability to let "tiny" get up on his soapbox once in awhile". TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 3 of 18 Russ Johnson thanked the many citizens, hundreds of staff members, all his fellow Council members going back to 1983, as well as the Association Of Washington Cities staff, Municipal Research, State Legislators and other elected officials from other others that are willing to share their time and expertise. He has learned how to disagree with someone over an issue, but still retain the ability to be cooperative and stay friends. He found out through his service as Councilman that one person can make a difference and he urged citizens to try. He encouraged people to step forward and run for public office. He signed off with "good night and good luck". President Fitz added a special note that Councilman Horton will not be leaving public office and would return at the new year as Mayor when she presents her plans for the City and continued running of the government. She looks forward to serving with Mayor Horton and appreciated her help and assistance during President Fitz's term as Council President. Mr. Overson stated he wished everyone a safe and happy New Year. Mr. Neville thanked Russ, Tiny and Hank for all the help they gave him during his time on the Council, and he is looking forward to working with Mayor-elect Horton. Mr. Dawkins thanked the out-going Council members for doing an excellent job, as well as Mayor Mentor; and extended a welcome to the Mayor-elect Horton. He reminded everyone that Council members legislate the City, but the heart and soul of the City is the uniform and non-uniformed employees, who do an excellent job in a tough situation and everyone should be proud of them. Mr. Colvin congratulated all of the out-going Council members and Mayor-elect Horton. It pleased him that Mayor Mentor paid Mayor- Elect Horton a compliment during the Bremerton Central Lions Club meeting this date. He extended a Happy New Year wish to all the citizens in District #1 and thanked them for all the kindness they have shown him throughout the year. Mr. Johnson extended a special "thank you" to his wife, Marty, for her support during these many years. president Fitz stated she enjoyed working with Mayor Mentor over the past two years, especially during the time she has served as Council president, and she will miss him. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Louis Mentor reported on: 1. December 28th, a ribbon cutting ceremony at Mary Ann Harris' TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 4 of 18 Yesterday, Todays And Tomorrows. 2. Swearing In Ceremony on Thursday, in the City Council Chambers. December 30, 4:00 P.M, 3. December 30, 11:00 A.M., dedication of the Pat Carey Vista, a new little park. Mayor Mentor thanked his wife for all the help she has given him over the past four years and he thanked the citizens for four great years. He believes Bremerton is a better place to live and many people view it as a much different town that it was in 1989. He will miss the Council members and was sorry to see those leaving who had served so many years. He reminded the Council that the Mayor doesn't do anything without Council's support. He appreciates his relationship with the Council that allowed the accomplishment of the many things that have come about over the past four years. The City staff, employees and citizen volunteers have been tremendous and he hoped they will give the new Mayor and City Council members as much support as they gave him. He wished everyone a Happy New Year. Gordy Byrd, P.O. Box 930, reported as of this date he had collected $14,404.63 towards his shelter for the homeless. Cecil McConne11, Almira Drive, expressed his appreciation to Council members Johnson, Waibel, Collins and Horton for the job they have done for the citizens of Bremerton. Jim Strait, Kitsap Lake, thanked the three Council members, who are leaving City Hall, for a job well done. He urged each of them to let the succeeding Council member know their feelings on issues. Lena Swanson, 2123 Snyder Avenue, expressed her appreciation of the individualism of each of the outgoing City Council members. She is looking forward to seeing how responsive Mayor Horton will be to the citizens. She also expressed her appreciation to Mayor Mentor for the street improvements around the City, but she did not have much sympathy for the boardwalk and does not believe that it will save the downtown. She is concerned about the safety of citizens on City streets. She is saddened to see the loss of the tax base inside the City. Spencer Horning, Marine Drive, shared that there is "life after serving on the City Council". He emphasized the money received as a City Council member is just a stipend for the amount of effort and expenses that elected officials have to endure. The many things that have been done are appreciated, as are the times when a difficult vote has to be taken. He thanked each of the outgoing TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 5 of 18 Council members for the sacrifices they have made in order to serve the citizens of Bremerton. To Mayor-elect Horton he cautioned don't expect to much to soon from yourself, it will be difficult but you will make decisions that will make Bremerton a better place. Roy McInnls, 2711 Maple Street, stated he has been attending City Council almost as long as the Council/Mayor form of government was formed. He's had chances to agree and disagree with some of Mr. Johnson's decisions, however, as a gentlemen he is one of the greatest and Mr. McInnis has a lot of respect for him. He and Mr. Collins have shared a number of discussions on things that took place during Council meetings. He wanted everyone to be aware that he was attending and speaking at City Council meetings long before those meetings were televised. To the incoming Mayor, he believes with the help of the City Council tactics in the City will change. A comment that has stuck with him for a number of years, that was made by a Council member whom he respected, was "the people in the City don't know what they want". 6A - INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT REGARDING EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AND OTHER SERVICES, #AB93-251 The attached Interlocal Agreement replaces the Agreement dated July 1990. Funding formulas were not changed. Major elements of change include: 1) Changing the name of the governing body to "CENCOM Policy Board" and adding the Sheriff as a voting member; (2) Replacing the "CENCOM" Operations Board" with two advisory user groups of the law enforcement and fire service agencies; and (3) Realigning basic responsibilities and oversight with "the board". The "edit" copy shows all added, deleted, and changed language. Mrs. Horton related some of the dynamics that went into the decision to add Sheriff Pat Jones to the policy board. She urged Council members to ratify this interlocal agreement, which seems to be working much better since they have the advantage of Sheriff Jones' and the user groups technical input on the running of CENCOM. She urged Council to approve the interlocal agreement as presented. President Fitz concurred in Mrs. Horton's comments. Public comment - none. Mr. Waibel stated when the 1990 document was signed, the need for the Sheriff's and user groups input was recognized and asked that it be pursued. Mrs. Hotton noted the subject document is the fine tuning of the document Mr. Waibel worked on in 1990. Mr. Overson stated he was surprised that there was not a new computation of fees included, and questioned if the current #1659 TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 6 of 18 schedule was adequate? Mrs. Horton noted that was an issue that was discussed, but' it was felt there needed to be a separation...make the change to the Policy Board and then come up with the reformulation of the fee structure. M/S/C/U(Horton/Waibel) to approve the Interlocal Agreement and sign the "signature" copy regarding emergency communications and other services. 6B - LABOR AGREEMENT BY AND BETWEEN THE CITY OF BREMERTON AND BREMERTON POLICE MANAGEHENT A88OCIATION 1994 - 1996, #AB93-252 The attached Labor Agreement between the City and the Bremerton Police Management Association has been negotiated in conformance with Council direction and covers a three-year period beginning January 1, 1994 and ending December 31, 1996. Changes to the existingagreement are as follows: PREAMBLE ARTICLE 1. ARTICLE 2. ARTICLE 3. ARTICLE 4. No Changes DISCRIMINATION ALLEGATIONS No Changes RECOGNITION No Changes ASSOCIATION ACCESS No Changes WAGES Changes as follows: January 1, 1994: 5% (3%=same as Sgts + 2% to spread differential between top base Sgt/Cpt to 22%) January 1, 1995: Same as Sgts + 1.5% to spread differential between top base Sgt/Cpt to 23.5% January 1, 1996: Same as Sgts + 1.5% to spread differential between top base Sgt/Cpt to 25% ARTICLE 5. HOURS OF WORK' No Changes ARTICLE 6. VACATION LEAVE No Changes ARTICLE 7. HOLIDAYS No Changes ARTICLE 8. SICK LEAVE AND INDUSTRIAL DISABILITY No Changes ARTICLE 9. OTHER PAID LEAVE No Changes ARTICLE 10. RETIREMENT BENEFITS No Changes ARTICLE 11. INSURANCE BENEFITS No Changes ARTICLE 12. CLOTHING AND UNIFORM CLEANING ALLOWANCE No Changes ARTICLE 13. PERSONNEL PRACTICES No Changes ARTICLE 14. ACADEMIC INCENTIVE No Changes ARTICLE 15. MANAGEMENT RIGHTS No Changes ARTICLE 16. GRIEVANCE PROCEDURE No Changes ARTICLE 17. SEVERABILITY No Changes ARTICLE 18. ENTIRE AGREEMENT No Changes ARTICLE 19. CONFLICTING PROVISIONS No Changes ARTICLE 20. TERM January 1, 1994 - December 31, 1996 APPENDIX A. WAGE RATES (See Article 4) APPENDIX B. POLICE OFFICERS BILL OF RIGHTS No Changes Caroline Marshall, Personnel Director, noted Council had reviewed the proposed changes to the labor agreement in Executive Session #1725 #1808 #1858 TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 7 of 18 and the agreement was negotiated in accordance with City Council direction. She recommended approval of the agreement as presented. Public comment - none. M/S/C(Collins/Colvin) to approve the Labor Agreement by and between the City of Bremerton and the Bremerton Police Management Association for the period January 1, 1994 through December 31, 1996. Vote on motion: Motion carried. In Favor: Opposed: Overson, Waibel, Horton, Waibel, Fitz, Collins, Dawkins, Colvin Johnson 6C - AMENDING CONTRACT FOR CONFIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE SECRETARY, LEGAL ASSISTANT, AND BENEFIT 8PECIALIST, #AB93-246 There are five confidential employees not represented by a bargaining unit nor included in the Management Compensation Plan. The Payroll Specialist received Counsel approval for the payment in lieu of medical coverage provided for in the Management Compensation Plan. The Legislative Assistant is similarly being provided this benefit in her 1994 contract amendments. The remaining three employees have requested this benefit be added to their contracts. Proposed contract language is attached. Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, stated at the previous Council meeting a question was raised: "will Kitsap Physician Service (KPS) reinstate, upon request, City employees wishing to return to the KPS Plan, if they should lose their outside coverage?". KPS answered "yes" and a letter will be forthcoming stipulating that response. It is the employee's responsibility to let the City know when and if their outside coverage lapses. Public comment - none. M/S/C/U(Johnson/Waibel) to approve amendments for payment in lieu of medical plan contracts for Confidential Executive Secretary, Legal Assistant, and Benefits Specialist. 7A - ONDINAMCE NO. 4441 (SECOND READING) AMENDING THE 1993 BUDGET, #AB93-247 Public comment - none. M/S/C(Johnson/Colvin) to pass Ordinance No. 4441, on second reading, amending Ordinance No. 4433 relating to the budget of the City of Bremerton for Fiscal Year 1993. Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz, TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 8 of 18 Motion carried. Abstain: Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson Waibel 7B - ORDINANCE NO. 4442 (SECOND READING) CHANGING UTILITY RATES, CREATING A STORMWATER FUND, AND AUTHORIZING GENERAL STORMWATER CHARGES, #AB93-248 Eddy Chu, Public Works and Utilities Director, stated in response to a question that was raised at the previous Council meeting regarding funding the settled lawsuit by either Utility rate increase or tax levy, he prepared a memo that outlined the advantages and disadvantages. His analysis resulted in the fact that a tax levy assessment would be complicated to administer and a public vote would be needed to authorize the City to implement such a levy. And, in response to whether or not Ed Rollman qualifies for low income disabled water rate and/or an appeals process, he was pleased to report that Mr. Rollman has been approved for the low income disabled rate as of December 14, which was prior to the date he came before Council concerning his case. Due to the bi-monthly billing, Mr. Rollman will not see a change in his service until after January 1994. President Fitz questioned who would the citizens contact to determine if they qualify for the low income disabled rate? Mr. Chu stated inquiries can be made to Customer Service 478-5318 or 5316. Mr. Colvin noted this seemed to be a fiscal matter and should be addressed by the City Treasurer. President Fitz noted the City Treasurer was on vacation. Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, pointed out the City's consultant Tom Gould could respond to financial concerns. Tom Gould, Economic and Engineering Services, concurred with Mr. Chu's presentation on the disadvantages and advantages of a property assessment. He believes the revenue bonds are the most equitable from the customers' standpoint. The reason he supports that position is the fact that most of the funds needed will be going towards plant improvements and from a users perspective you would want to share the cost over the life of the plant with those using the plant. The disadvantages that Mr. Chu pointed out if a G.O. type bond were used are quite significant. The one concern he would have using a G.O. bond is that the City does not have any property taxing authority for customers outside the City and some type of mechanism would have to be developed to deal with that situation. Mr. Colvin wanted to know what is' best for the citizens of Bremerton, who live inside the City. Mr. Gould stated he believed the use of Revenue Bond were the most equitable approach and that was why they recommended that approach in their study. Mr. Collins commended The Sun on the most recent newspaper article on the proposed rates. The following individuals spoke on the issue of increased Utility TAPE #1162 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 9 of 18 rates: Lena Swanson, 2122 Snyder Avenue: (1) cost of settlement of Utility lawsuits do not have to come out of the Utility Fund. (2) That a decision be postponed until new City Council members are brought on to the City Council and given an opportunity to orient themselves on this issue. (3) Navy needs to pay their fair share Considering the fact that Navy Yard workers use City Streets and the Navy contributes zero dollars as far as a tax base. (4) Sewer improvements in the Warren Avenue and Callow Avenue basins should be paid for by the people who benefit from those improvements. (5) Odor protection was included in the initial design of the sewer treatment and proper research by City staff should disclose that point. If the design was included, why can't it be brought up at this time and implemented? (6) If a vote by the Council is taken at this time, a citizens initiative will be initiated so that it comes before the vote of the people to deal with this issue in a different manner. (7) Willing to work with the City Council to find a better way to address Utility financial needs. (8) Technical explanations should be in layman's terms so that it is easily understood. Mary Lou Long, Baymont Place: (1) problem with the wording in the ordinance as to where the collected funds will be used (referenced Item 3.4.42,010- Fund Created) and should be specifically stated "for the construction of the system". (2) There are people in the City who have already paid for stormwater separation, now they will be asked to pay an additional rate added onto their wastewater charges. (3) Doesn't the City know exactly how many Utility customers there are? (4) Did not want 6% City tax tacked onto utility rates. (5) Would vote for ULID instead of increased Utility rates. (6) Give a breakdown of the $6.00 base charge. (7) Newspaper articles on the issue of rates increases have been confusing. (8) City spent funds on other property purchases that could have been used to resolve odor problem at the sewer treatment plant. TAPE #1163 Mark Fisher, new City resident: (1) City over taxing residents. (2) Rate plan smells as bad as the sewer treatment plant. (3) Employees only receive 2-3% annual pay increases...not 30+%. (4) If citizens have to live within their means then the City should live within its means. Lori Muntford, 2224 Perry Avenue: (1) last sewer/water bill was in the amount of $316.00/two months for a family of four. Normally, her bill is $135.00 for a two month period. (2) Do not understand what she is receiving for her money. (3) No one should get $25,000 for smelling something bad once in a while. TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 10 of 18 Brian Mueller: (1) City Council is not doing a good job nor doing what is right for the City. (2) When lawsuit with the Navy Yard City residents was brought before the City Council how many on Council wanted to settle the suit, wanted to work with the owners /or wanted to take it to court? And, When the decision was made to fight the lawsuit was it based on the advice by the City Attorney? President Fits responded that the City did not go to court but did go to mediation. Mr. Waibel stated at each point in this process the City Council always tried to make the cost to the rate payers the least. Ian 8ievers, City Attorney, stated before going to mediation an offer was made to implement plant fixes and that settlement proposal from the City was rejected. Mr. Mueller asked if that was prior to contracting out with an outside law firm? Mr. Sievers stated it was shortly after obtaining an outside legal counsel. Mr. Mueller's comments continued: (3) Why did the City hire an outside attorney to defend the City against the City residents and what was the final bill for the outside law firm? Mr Slevers responded the outside attorney's bill reflects the number of hours during 1+ years that the City retained them . This case was very complex and required a lot of hours in "discovery" and they had a litigation team consisting of more than two attorneys, who at times were working pretty much full time on this case. The reason why the City sought outside counsel was due to the City not having enough inside counsel to maintain the normal work load. The City's cost for this outside counsel amounted to approximately $500,000. Those attorneys are still under contract while they research outside sources of restitution for the amount the City has paid. Mr. Johnson pointed out there are larger costs of improvements to be made that are mandated by the lawsuit filed by the Puget Sound Alliance, implementation of the Stormwater Utility and pursuing avenues whereby the City may have some resource to recover funds from other people involved in the wastewater treatment plant construction. (5) Question - has a second suit has been filed by other members of the general area of Navy yard City? Mr. Sievers responded "no". (6) If the proposed repairs to the sewer plant don't work, will the City hire another outside counsel plus be faced with additional lawsuits? Mr. Sievers responded in the event of a second lawsuit over the odor from the sewer treatment plant, the claims would be much smaller than the first lawsuit because there is less at stake, discovery as to cause of odor has already been completed, which would apply to any future claims, and the statute of limitations would limit the number of years for which the City would be exposed to claim for persons that file in the future. (7) Does the City have a percentage required for treatment of the Navy's generated sewer service and the residents of Bremerton? (8) Do City residents pay equivalent to what the Navy pays for sewer services. Mr. Chu responded currently the Utility is working with the Navy for their share of contribution. At this point, the current contract allows the City TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 11 of 18 to collect 25% from the Navy for cost of improvements to the sewer treatment plant. Also, the Navy's flow is about 1/3 of City residents/businesses contribution to the treatment plant. (9) Three weeks ago Mr. Mueller requested that the City request the Attorney General's office to investigate the Utility's funding, operation of the sewer treatment plant, liability of elected officials (past and present). Has the City contacted the Washington State Attorney General about doing an independent audit or investigation on Bremerton's sewer plant and/or utility rates? Mr. Sievers stated he was almost certain the Attorney General's office would decline to accept the City's request to have that officer work on evaluating potential claims this Municipal corporation has against anyone. They are not funded to perform that task and they work for the State Legislature and are an Agency of the State. Mr. Mueller asked Mr. Sievers if he had any intention of calling the State Attorney General? Mr. Sievers stated not unless it involved misappropriations or violations of finance laws of the State then the Attorney General's office would get involved through the State Auditor. Mr. Waibel pointed out any citizen can ask the Attorney General to investigate something, however, what Mr. Mueller is wanting is not a task they will perform. Mrs. Horton explained in this state the State Auditor and Attorney General function is to investigate malfeasance in office. Malfeasance means that there are laws that were broken in conduct of business. Someone gained financially, there was graft, corruption, etc. Misfeasance is simple on a level of incompetence or that a job was not carried out properly. Mr. Mueller questioned if the Council members were incompetent or willfully violating laws? Council's response was "neither". Mrs. Horton explained that as a result of consultants reviewing the operation of the sewertreatment plant, there is no possible way to point at one thing or at one person and say that caused the problem. Mr. Mueller stated he and many others are concerned that many mistakes were made from the original design up to today when everyone is trying to figure out how the citizens of Bremerton will pay for those many mistakes. Mr. Horton emphasized at the time decisions were made it was not construed as a "mistake", the plant was designed specifically to have a long conveyance system. If there had been some way to see into the future that there would be odor problems associated with the long conveyance system, then at that time shorter conveyance systems could have been implemented. Mr. Mueller asked if anyone on the City Council had reviewed the original sewer treatment plant plans to see if the odor control devices were included and if not should they now be included or that there never was odor control plans included in the design? President Fitz stated she was not an Engineer and would have no idea what to look for if she did review them. Whether or not the odor control devices built into the system were pertinent to today's technology is something that must be addressed by engineers who have the expertise in that area. Mr. TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 12 of 18 Mueller asked if Mr. Chu or anyone on his staff had been asked to look at the original designs relating to odor control? Mr. Johnson stated he has no recollection of deleting any odor control system in the plant. If Mr. Mueller is asking that he prove a negative proof, which is impossible, he has better things to do with his time. Mr. Mueller asked that Council tell the people what was in the plant at the time it was originally designed and built. Cecil McConnell, Almira Drive: (1) Question: if the City had not become self-insurance, would that previous insurance policy covered any of the charges that are being assessed against the City through the lawsuits? Mr. Sievers explained the City did have insurance policies throughout the period of exposure after the plant was built to the present time. During this period of time, insurance companies were routinely writing in pollution exclusions in their policies. All of the policies the City had since 1985 to the present contained that exclusion in various forms. There may be possibilities of finding coverage under some of these policies and the City is investigating that possibility. Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, assured Mr. McConnell that the City was never uninsured in the liability exposure. Mr. McConnell questioned if the City had a fund that would handle this kind of contingency? Ms. McCluskey explained the City has an insurance reserve fund that is established to handle those items that fall within the self-insured retention for items, but it does not cover pollution and those things excluded by the insurance companies. The City's self- insurance fund is not dedicated to cover the kind of exposure due to the treatment plant because there was no coverage for pollution exposure. Mr. McConnell questioned the length of time the increase in rates will last and will there be more increases in the future? President Fitz stated there are no more increases planned. Mr. Overson pointed out there has been pressure put on municipal governments for filtration of drinking water and if that prevails, it will cost the City millions of dollars, which is not a part of this proposal. Mr. McConnell questioned if the City received grant funding or funds from one of the entities involved, would that reduce the rates being charged the rate payers? President Fitz stated if the City received funds from such a source, serious consideration would have to be given to the best way to utilize those funds...pay it directly on to the bonds, buy another piece of equipment, etc. Mr. McConnell questioned the source of funding to cover the $300,000 approved by the City Council for the West Kitsap Lake ULID? President Fitz stated the City will be going out for bonds to cover the Utility's financial needs and that would be a portion of the'bond request. Mr. McConnell stated he preferred paying for the lawsuit settlement, not for the W. Kitsap Lake project. In reference to the Stormwater Utility, he felt putting in stormwater storage tanks would be cheaper and accomplish the job as well. Not one drop of rainwater on his property goes into any TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 13 of 18 sewer line due his residence being located below the street level. He questioned what good does it do for the public to come to a Council Study Session if they are not allowed to give input? If Council has retained that policy, then the public should not be chastised for not attending those Study Sessions. President Fitz stated that Mr. McConnell had asked questions and/or made comment at Council Study Sessions. Mr. McConnell stated he interpreted a Public Hearing as a time when the public can give their input on a particular subject without Council taking a vote following public comment. President Fitz stated she was sorry that when she spoke earlier about three public hearings she really meant the public would have three opportunities to comment on the rate change issue. Del Knauss, Olympia Avenue: (1) requested Council to postpone this item until a proper hearing could be held with the key players present, such as Department Of Ecology/Kevin Fitzpatrick and Lori Frickey, State Representatives Paul Zellinski, Tim Sheldon, Betti Sheldon, etc., Congressman Norm Dicks, Senator Patty Murray. (2) On December 22 the City council urged the public to contact their State representatives and other officials. Mr. Knauss called the DOE and talked with Kevin Fitzpatrick about the problems with Bremerton's sewer treatment plant and sewer system. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated the biggest problem at the sewer plant was industrial waste. He also stated Bremerton is not truly separating all stormwater from its wastewater; and Bremerton should be eligible to receive Federal matching funds. Lori Frickey, DOE, stated she thought Bremerton had applied for a grant to help fund the improvements. Representative Tim Sheldon offered to look into RCW's 90.48 and 90.70 to see if they caused undue problems for Bremerton. Representative Paul Zellinski stated he would willing to set down with local officials and discuss Bremerton's sewer plant problems, if he was invited. Mr. Zellinski also noted that recently when the legislators met with the City's elected officials there was no discussion about sewer plant problems. Ruth Davies, Park Avenue: (1) Soon she will be paying more in sewer rates than her house payment. (2) Explain what the $6.00 base charge will buy. Tom Gould, Rate Study consultant, stated the recommended charge is $6.00 hi-month and would pay for the cost of meter reading, billings, some administrative costs and a portion of the debt service. Typically, those types of costs comes to $3.00 per customer per month. (3) Don't mix the lawsuit settlement with improvements to the sewer plant and sewer system. (4) A statement was made by Mrs. Horton that she would not follow the Puget Sound Alliance Decree. Mrs. Horton stated for clarification that if it was to the City's benefit, she would like to try and renegotiate those Decent Decrees. There may be better and more cost effective ways to attain the same goal and if that is the case, she would TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 14 of 18 like to look at those options through renegotiations. She will comply with the Decree as it stands unless there is some way to renegotiate to the benefit of the City. (5) Is it true that in fall of 1992 there were approximately two millions dollars available from one of the funding agencies, but due to the City Council not acting promptly the funding was lost? President Fitz noted the City applied for every available grant, however, the City was turned down through that effort. Mr. Johnson noted he recalled there was a grant, in the amount of $25,000, for some type of beautification project. (6) Doesn't feel welcome at City Council meetings and doesn't feel that anyone on the City Council represents her. (7) Council members should have had meetings within their districts to discuss the potential increase in utility rates prior to it coming before Council for a vote. Robin Henderson: (1) Not many people are showing their interest in rates being raised by attending City Council meeting. (2) Through body language and facial expression City Council members show lack of interest in people speaking before them. Jack Lefcoski, W. Kitsap Lake Road: (1) City Council is interested in comments from the public, however, those speaking should provide constructive comments. Maz7 Lou Long, Baymont Place: (1) City Council should give the citizens a fair shake and give them the opportunity to vote for or against a ULID for stormwater separation. (2) If a ULID process was used to pay Utility debt service, citizens could use that as a tax write off. (3) How many full time attorneys could have been hired for what the City paid out to outside counsel for the sewer odor related lawsuit? Ruth Reese: (1) recommended waiting 60 days before taking a vote on this issue. (2) Why would anyone want to come to a Council Study Session if they aren't allowed to give input? Jack Lefcoski: (1) supported the proposal to postpone voting on this issue, however, by delaying three of the City Council members would no longer be serving on the Council. He noted the three new elected City Council members were not present at this meeting. He suggested that the outgoing Council members be drafted for a Council Study Session and/or Executive Session to take part in the discussions (not voting). Mrs. Horton stated Council and staff had many discussion about how to formulate hearings on this issue and had discussed the use of the three retiring Council members, but they questioned why would they want to take more abuse. Mr. Waibel pointed out his replacement, John Law, had attended the meetings on this issue and Mr. Waibel offered to provide him any information he could on this topic. If people attacked City Council members TAPE #1163 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 15 of 18 personally, he felt that was abuse and not the American way. Eileen Anders-Newland stated if the citizens of Bremerton feel that the City Council members are not doing their job correctly it is up to them to speak out. Brian Mueller: (1) It is not for each and every Council member to make their choice, they should be voting the way the people in their respective districts want them to vote. (2) Not one resident has come before Council and requested them to vote for the rate increase. Mr. Colvinquestioned what would happen if Council postponed voting on this issue for one more week? Mr. Sievers stated it may have a financial impact but it is not a legal issue and Council would not be violating any law. Mr. Colvln supported the idea of allowing the citizens additional time for further review. Mr. Collins felt further delay could have a very big impact on the City if it does not address obtaining a source of funding for the monies needed. He emphasized, for the public's edification, that the City has been in litigation on this particular issue for over two years with constant update information being provided by the City Attorney, outside counsel and consultant engineers. He can recall that over the past seven years Council has been provided information on how the odor problem and sewer system needs were being addressed. Mr. Mueller pointed out it wasn't until the sewer odor related lawsuit was settled that the City came out with the dire need to raise more funds to pay off the debt and to fix the CSO problems. All of the problems identified and requiring financing have been known by the City for several years. Mr. Waibel pointed out the City has been in the process of making improvements to the sewer plant and sewer system during the eight years he has served on Council. Mr. Mueller asked what has been done to solve the odor problem .... the smell still exists? Mrs. Horton explained at the time the Puget Sound Alliance lawsuit came about the City had already adopted a CSO Plan to start construction on the Warren Avenue Basin project in July of 1994, plus work had gone into the design of the Callow Avenue Basin project. However, Puget Sound Alliance was not satisfied with what the City had already completed, sued the City and the settlement was the Decent Decree that lists what has to be done and dates by which they must be completed. Although the City's CSO's are higher than what the State allows, staff has been working with the Department of Ecology to come up with a plan that could be implemented. The City has very few options: (1)are the wastewater costs passed on as a rate increase; or (2) is a ULID project established? TAPE #1164 TAPE #1164 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 16 of 18 Mr. Waibel stated eight years ago the citizens were hit with a huge increase to pay for a secondary treatment plant that the City was mandated to build. At that time, Council did not want to increase the rates again another 100% on top of what was already being charged to address the other needs that are being addressed at this time. If a mistake was made, it was probably not raising the rates 5-10% annually. No one seems to consider the relative rates...such as rate increases for electricity. Sewer rates have been artificially low in the City because Council didn't want to raise them, but now the City is being forced to do it faster than they had wanted. David Boynton stated he believes there has been a communication problem betweeh the City and City residents. He questioned if the City Council could vote on a particular section of the ordinance to cover the debt incurred by the sewer odor related lawsuit and hold further discussion on the issue of "rates" for the next two weeks? President Fitz questioned if the City Attorney felt the City would be adversely impacted by delaying action on rates? Mr. Sievers stated delaying would have an impact on borrowing needed funds and he doubted it would be in the best interest of the City to borrow a portion of what is actually needed. Mr. Collins mentioned if the City falls behind on construction schedule on the air quality issue PSAPCA, who is part of the Consent Decree, would issue daily fines. There is a deadline on second payment of the lawsuit settlement even though there is a three month flexibility, but the City is charged interest if that first month's payment is not paid, which would be unnecessary costs that could have been avoided by having the bond issued now. Mrs. Horton questioned the City Clerk how difficult a task would it be for her staff to implement a ULID to cover the subject costs in addition to development of a County rate for those residents receiving City services but live outside the City limits? Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, stated she believed it would be very difficult to determine what the rate would be for Country residents verses the ULID rate for City residents and accounting for the separate rate structures. It would be far more difficult than a usage based rate. Mr. Waibel pointed out before a ULID could be formed it would have to be voted on by the City residents. Mr. Overson brought up the possibility of approving the increased rate now and converting it to a ULID later, if that was desired. Mr. Sievers stated he believed that was a possibility and felt it could be built into the bond issue. Tom Gould pointed out issuing a Revenue Bond costs a significant amount of money and if six months later the City decides to issue a GO Bond, those costs would also be incurred, plus the cost of holding an election on the ULID issue. He did not feel it was a wise .financial move for the City to take such action. Mr. Johnson stated he felt it was totally TAPE #1164 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 17 of 18 inappropriate to use GO Bonds for a rate payer based utility, particularly since the City's GO Bond capacity is already used up. Mrs. Horton stated she felt Del Knauss had a good point about gathering the involved agencies and State legislators together with the citizens and City Administration/Legislative members to talk about mandates being made on municipalities and how they impact the citizens. She welcomed the opportunity for City residents to ask the mandating agencies questions and she also sees the need of better educating the public as a City responsibility. President Fitz supported this idea and would make every effort to put together such a meeting in February/March of 1994. She did discuss funding needs with Congressman Norm Dicks, who offered his assistance in looking at possible funding sources. Mr. Neville stated he did not feel it would serve any purpose to delay making a decision until the new Council members are seated on this issue. He strongly supports conveying information back to the residents through community meetings. Mr. Overson referenced an earlier comment about people from outside the City driving on City streets and how they don't maintain them. To set the record straight, many streets within the City are maintained by state and federal funds as opposed to City funds. Mr. Colvin stated he was strongly in favor of delaying any action because of the concerns and questions raised by the people during this discussion. He was encouraged with earlier comments that possibility something could be done later to ease the overall impacts of the increased rates. Mrs. Horton noted in response to Mr. Colvin's comment, she was not sure there was anything the City could do considering Mr. Gould's comments that forming a ULID at a later date would be more costly than just going ahead with a rate increase. Mr. Colvin stated he was looking more towards obtaining some kind of grant funding. Mr. Collins pointed out the City is already in the process of looking for outside funding. #1244 M/S/C(Collins/Johnson) to pass Ordinance No. 4442, on second reading amending fees, rates, and charges for utility services; establishing a separate Stormwater Operating Fund and separate stormwater rates; and amending Ordinance No. 4319 and Title 15 of the Bremerton Municipal Code. Vote on motion: Motion carried. In favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz, Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson Abstain: Waibel #1244 M/S/C(Collins/Overson) that within six months of the new #1255 #1263 TAPE #1164 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes December 29, 1993 Page 18 of 18 administration a Utilities Board be established, if appropriate. Mrs. Horton asked the City Attorney's opinion if six months was a reasonable period of time to develop the necessary legislation. Mr. Johnson called for a point of order on two points: (1) late in the evening to engineering from the podium; (2) would this fall into the category of things where one Council would be binding a future Council to an action? Mr. Sievers explained it would be just setting something on the agenda and his interpretationof the motion is that it is desired to have it in place within six months. M/S/C(Johnson/Waibel) to table this item for one week. Vote on motion: Motion carried. In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Waibel, Fitz, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson Opposed: Collins Item 7C: General discussion by Council revealed that a number of unanswered questions about funding sources were not addressed in the supporting documentation and could not be addressed at this time due to the absence of the City Treasurer. The general consensus of the Council was to delay action until the information could be provided. M/S/C(Horton/Johnson) to table items 7C and 7D for one week. Vote on motion: Motion carried. In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Waibel, Fitz, Collins, Colvin, Johnson Opposed: Dawkins With no further business meeting adjourned at 9:52 P.M.. KATHLEEN McCLUSKEY, City Clerk ~EILEEN FITZ, Council President City of Bremerton KLM/EF/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault