HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/27/93TAPE #1145
UNAPPROVED DRAFT
CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 27, 1993
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, October 27,
1993, at 6:00 P.M., with Council President Eileen Fitz
presiding. Council members present were Richard Neville, Lynn
Horton, Hank Waibel, C.R. "Tiny" Collins, Morrie Dawkins, Russ
Johnson, Lon Overson, and Al 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 Pastor Sam
Rachal, Jr. of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
CONSENT AGENDA
A. Minutes of Meeting -- October 13, 1993 #AB93-208
#0030
M/S/C/U(Waibel/Horton) to approve the Consent Agenda as
presented.
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.
#0051
M/S/C/U(Horton/Colvin) October 27, 1993, the Council does
approve for payment those vouchers included and further
described as follows: 170463 through 170467, 170469 through
170647 in the total amount of $196,890.78.
COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS
Mr. Johnson requested staff to look into the construction of
either a replica of the Eiffel Tower or very large billboard
on 6th Street and Rainier Avenue. He recalled that in the
last Zoning Ordinance passed the intent was to scale down the
size of billboards in the urban parts of Bremerton.
Mr. Colvin reported he attended the ground breaking ceremony
today at St. Paul's Episcopal Church and invited a
representative from that church to speak during his report.
Reverend Steve Wendfeldt, pastor of St. Paul's Episcopal
Church, stated on October 26 they celebrated the ground
breaking for Canterbury Manor, a retirement home. On behalf
of the members of St. Paul's and all the Episcopalians around
this state and Episcopal Retirement Homes, a vote of thanks
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and gratitude is conveyed to the City Council, the Mayor,
Planning Department, Building Department and Community
Development Department, who have been so helpful to them on
this project.
Mr. Colvin reminded everyone that the District # 1 Coalition
Meeting will be held Thursday, October 21, 7:00 P.M., at the
Sheridan Park Recreation Center. He noted the main discussion
at that meeting will be "Proposition # 1, the pros and cons.
He will be in attendance at that meeting, however, he will not
make any comments, either pro or con, on that issue.
Mr. Waibel reminded everyone to vote on Tuesday, November 2.
Mr. Neville thanked his neighbor and the Bremerton Fire
Department for their quick response in putting out a car fire,
at his residence, that irrupted on Friday. He reminded
everyone of the All-City Halloween Party on Sunday, 6:00 -
8:30 P.M.
Mr. Overson reminded everyone to VOTE on Tuesday, November 2.
He noted Councilman Collins represents the City at Puget Sound
Air Pollution Control Agency (PSAPCA) meetings and asked that
he give an update report on what is happening at PSAPCA in the
near future.
Mrs. Fitz reported on Monday, October 25, she attended a
meeting of the Siting Committee for the work release facility
that is proposed for the Kitsap County area. She acknowledged
that most of the people attending that meeting were
angry/unhappy with what was being considered by the Department
of Corrections. Discussions covered the possible siting of a
work release facility in the north end of the County and
people from that area voiced their opposition to such a
proposal. She was please to report that the "Eagles Building"
located on 6th and Washington, was no longer considered a
viable site. Another Site Committee meeting is scheduled in
about two weeks, which she will be attend.
PUBLIC RECOGNITION
Mayor Louis Mentor read a Proclamation proclaiming October 27,
1993, as National Unfunded Mandates Day, a day in which
government leaders at all levels will alert their citizens to
the financial burdens imposed on them by unfunded mandates.
Mayor Mentor announced the Knights Of Columbus will hold a
Spaghetti Festival on October 31, 1:00 - 8:00 P.M., with
proceeds from that event benefitting the Olympic Peninsula
Kidney Center. On November 6, a Flea Market event will be
held at the Sheridan Park Recreation Center, with proceeds
benefitting the Pendergast Regional Sports Complex. On
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Sunday, October 24, he participated in the celebration of the
50th Anniversary of the Sinclair Missionary Baptist Church.
And, Kitsap Mental Health Agency held an Open House on Friday,
October 22, at their new constructed facility. On Thursday,
October 21, he bagged groceries for the American Cancer
Society. Lastly, he reminded everyone to VOTE on Tuesday.
Ruth Davies, 1511 Park Avenue, stated she listen to the
Council, about three weeks ago, when they acted on the
settlement of the lawsuit that related to the clean water and
piping. At that meeting, she heard one Council member after
another say that it was the fault of everyone except the
elected officials and the residents of Bremerton. That the
blame rested on the tree huggers, ecologist, environmentalist,
the County, etc., but she exclaimed that situation has existed
for 30 years and should have been taken care of during that
period of time. Council may not have been the ones to take
care of it, but the people who have lived in this city,
including some members on the Council, for well over 10 years
have known that the problem existed and funds were collected
to correct the problem between 1950-1979. There was also a
chance to participate in free funding for a gigantic,
beautiful sewage treatment plant, but that funding was lost.
During those many years she was the only person who came
before City government about what was being done to correct
the problem. She emphasized no one on the Council had a right
to point a finger at environmentalist, the State or anyone
else. People in this City are responsible for the problems
they have with the sewage treatment plant and the fact that it
was not taken care of. The surface things were taken care of
and nothing else. She emphasized what Council stated was not
true and the residents on Park Avenue have waited and they
still have only received a piece of plastic across the
manholes, two manhole covers shortened and made smaller and as
far as they know they may never get the piping corrected.
Residents of Park Avenue have waited and waited, paid and then
paid again and are still living with the stench in their face.
She stated she is not voting for or against Initiatives 601
and 602 because of someone mandating something, she is voting
because she keeps paying for something that she does not
receive and she has lost faith in government.
Zack Orchard, Allyn, stated he has been parking in the City's
parking garage for over a year and in the last four months his
truck has been broken into three times. A little over a week
ago he talked with Mayor Mentor, who said he would look into
the matter. He was not pleased to report that today his truck
was broken into again...and what does the Mayor say..that he
is looking into it. He questioned the Mayor what did "looking
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into" mean? The Mayor's response to Zack was "this is the
first time anyone told me anything wrong is going on in the
parking garage". Mr. Orchard stated every police officer he
has talked with indicated to him that there are major problems
going on in the garage. He questioned why wasn't the Mayor
made aware of the problems in the City's parking garage when
he is paying for a security guard to walk around on patrol.
He noted he never sees the person who is suppose. to be
providing the security. Up to this point, he has lost over
$400.00.
Gordy Byrd, P.O. Box 930, thanked the Council for their quick
response in providing him with a copy of a new ordinance
addressing dangerous weapons. He displayed tee shirts that he
has available for a minimum of $10.00 donation. Funds raised
from the sale of the tee shirts will go towards his shelter
for the homeless. He will be contacting corporations to see
if they will purchase tee shirts and then donate them to be
given out to homeless people.
Ed Pietras, 128 Bloomington, member and director of the
Knights Of Columbus, announced the Knights Of Columbus will
hold their annual Spaghetti Festival on October 31, 1:00 -
8:00 P.M. This fund raising event will benefit the Olympic
Peninsula Kidney Center. He related that Angelo Arena is a
kidney dialysis patient who has been hooked up to a dialysis
machine over 1,000 times. Mr. Arena serves as Patient
Representative and has helped new patients that come to the
Kidney Center.
Annie (Bringlo) Neudorf, Kitsap County Solid Waste Division,
announced she had some good news for the City. She was aware
that Bremerton was wanting to receive some of the benefits
from Department Of Ecology grant money that is funneled
through the County for solid waste programs. They were faced
with an end to their funding in 1993 and she managed to bring
some influence in Olympia and received a few thousand dollars
of funding so that they can start their commercial waste
study, which is an auditing program in 1993. This program
will commence as soon as they hire someone to take on this
responsibility and they will be starting the study in the City
of Bremerton. Bremerton will be used to design a whole
program for the County because of its commercial nature as
well as multi-family units.
The Service Level Ordinance for the unincorporated portion of
the County has passed and it is very similar to the kind of
service the City is getting. They are looking forward to
whatever contractor we end up with so that all these new
programs can get started now that the Service Level Ordinance
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has passed. The County will be having difficulty with the
Washington Utilities And Transportation Commission (WUTC), and
she wanted the City Council to be aware of what is ahead of
them. The WUTC sets the rates for the certified haulers in
areas-not in any of the cities and not Navy property. She
emphasized the County has nothing to do with rate setting and
often when they testify at rate setting hearings, they can
tell the WUCT Commissioners are hearing very little of what
they are saying. The County will be working harder on the
kind of impact they bring to those hearings because the
Service Level Ordinance includes some exemptions for seniors,
low income, handicapped and people who are already doing a
good job recycling at drop stations. The County Board of
Commissioners are very serious about having their exemption
program and the contractor Brem-Air and the Brem-Air group
have agreed with everything included in the Service Level
Ordinance, including the exemption program. Of course, it
will be difficult for them to deliver a service unless WUTC
sets the tariff for that portion of the ordinance service.
She understands they'will have quite a battle with that State
agency and she imagines it will be reported in the local news
media. The County is tired of having a State agency tell them
what kind of services are desired in Kitsap County and she
imagined the City has had similar experiences.
She emphasized there will be things about old landfills and
other things that the County and City may not agree on in the
future, but the programs delivering services to the community,
whether the citizens live in the City limits or outside, will
go along uninterrupted along with good education.
Mr. Johnson questioned if the Service Level Ordinance that was
passed include any mandatory areas in the urban parts of the
County? Mrs. Neudorf explained the way the Service Level
Ordinance reads, everyone who has solid waste service will
automatically have recycling service unless they apply not to
have it and they qualify. Hopefully, if WUTC sets the tariff
to include that program where people can opt out that will be
so. Mr. Johnson stated did he understand correctly that some
of the service areas require mandatory garbage? Mrs. Neudorf
stated no, mandatory garbage service is not included in this
Service Level Ordinance at this time. They did not want to
"fire up both barrels of the shotgun at once". Mr. Johnson
questioned if "the shell is in the chamber"? Mrs. Neudorf
stated it is through the County Solid Waste Plan. At this
point the emphasis is being placed on the curbside and drop
station recycling plus all the multi-family and commercial
programs that the County needs to work with the City to
initiate. Unfortunately, illegal dumping in the County is not
lessening, but continuing to increase and the Health District
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has told her that they don't have enough inspectors to take
care of the problem. It is obvious that problem must be
addressed and she believes it is the next issue that needed to
be acted Upon.
Shannon Cook, 256 Burwell, Apt. 202, expressed how beautiful
the 4th Street project is becoming.
8A - CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING; TRANSFER OF BREM-AIR DISPOSAL,
INC. CONTRACT TO ENVIROFIL, INC., #AB93-207
Pursuant to Section 8.13 of the contract, Brem-Air Disposal,
Inc. is requesting transfer of the contract to Envirofil, Inc.
A staff report, along with documentation provided by
Envirofil, Inc. has previously been provided to the Mayor and
City Council.
Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, reported since last week the
Council has been supplied with two pieces of supplemental
information, the form 10K and a report from Scott Daniels of
the Bremerton/Kitsap County Health District.
President Fitz stated last week Council held a public hearing
on this issue, and at that time public input was closed and
the discussion restricted to the City Council members. The
issue was tabled for one week at the end of that hearing. She
will open the discussion for public input at this meeting only
to those people who were not at the hearing on October 20.
Ruth Davies, 1511 Park Avenue, pointed out during last weeks
hearing the question kept coming up why was the City's cost of
garbage collection service higher than the County's service.
She questioned if the City Council doesn't know, then who does
know, after all isn't the City Council involved in
negotiations of the contract? To try and answer that question
herself, she looked at her last garbage collection bill and
found that the City charges 24.4% in City tax. She questioned
why do garbage bills stay high .... she believes that the City
benefits in more taxes the higher the fees. The City also
collects property taxes from Brem-Air because they are located
within the City. She pointed out Brem-Air makes a lot of
money for the City of Bremerton. She was not pleased that
several Council members were very rude and sharp with members
of Envirofil's management team. In conclusion, she believes
the City Council can do something about lowering garbage rates
if they so desire by lowering the tax.
Vicki Bushnell, 2910 Marine Drive, stated she is a master
recycling and could speak at great length on conservation
measures. At the previous hearing, an individual commented on
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how unhappy he was about how the household hazardous waste
roundup is handled. She has volunteered for several of those
events and she felt the most recent pickup was handled very
well.
Comment was also made at the previous hearing that some of the
household hazardous waste items ended up in the landfill
following the pickup, which is not true. She explained that
many times people come to those pickups with items that are
not appropriate for disposal through that process. In many
cases, people are turned away from the household hazardous
waste collection points because of what they brought was
actually garbage, such as empty paint cans. Also stated was
why can't we take our hazardous waste some place every weekend
rather than waiting once a year. The last hazardous waste
roundup was suppose to be the last one in this area because a
new facility is being built as a drop off point, however, the
public will have to pay for that service. She did not think
it was appropriate to berate the City for this because it was
not a Bremerton City problem since Burlington Environmental
was in charge of the household hazardous waste pickup and it
is manned by volunteers from the master recycler group, who
acts as a labor pool for Kitsap County Solid Waste Department.
In reference to prior comments about the lack of education
materials for recycling, she felt that was probably true. The
idea of having volunteers go into the schools to teach
children about environmental issues was suggested at the
previous hearing and she wanted to notify the public that such
a program already existed in all of the School Districts in
Kitsap County. Besides having volunteers assisting in the
classrooms, books, coloring books and other educational
materials come from the Department Of Ecology (DOE); and some
of the School Districts have paid personnel who teach children
about recycling and environmental issues. She hopes that
Envirofil will work on improving public education and she
believes the people in Bremerton do want to recycle correctly.
Several people mentioned, at the previous hearing, why
couldn't local people buy the garbage company in stead of a
company from Texas. Ms. Bushnell stated if she had 20 million
dollars she'd buy it. If someone in Bremerton had the money
and the expertise to buy the garbage company that would be
fine, but right now there are people who have the money and
credentials to purchase Brem-Air and she felt they should have
the chance to complete the sale.
Mr. Johnson stated he takes his hat off to the master
recyclers and the volunteers who assist on the household
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hazardous waste pickup. The comments he heard about the
hazardous pickup was that they were so accustomed in the past
to having services available in Bremerton over a weekend,
which they liked. But, due to scheduling Bremerton did not
have a weekend day and those not available during that short
weekday period missed out on the local deposit site. In
reference to the County's new program for "commercial
auditing", he questioned if Envirofil or Peninsula Recycling
would be willing to work with that program? Sam Humphreys,
Envirofil, stated he did not know much about that program at
this point, however, his company supports strong recycling
education. Mr. Johnson stated Council received good news from
the Health District following their checking on references
given by Envirofil. However, information was obtained
regarding the Illinois landfill site, owned by Envirofil, that
it was a super fund site due to past practices and that the
State of Illinois is allowing Envirofil to continue
landfilling in an unlined landfill. It concerned him that a
super fund unlined landfill would put potential liability in
pretty high dollar figures. He questioned what is there to
protect the Brem-Air stock and Brem-Air solid waste operation
in Kitsap County from getting pulled into bankruptcy should
someone take action against this landfill in Illinois? Mr.
Humphreys explained the Illinois site that Envirofil acquired
had in 1977 a problem with some minor groundwater
contamination and throughout the 1980's there were several
tests conducted, but never pursued much by either Illinois EPA
or the Federal EPA and no action other than that testing has
been taken. They did, prior to this management team coming to
Envirofil, look closely at that site and it had very minor
problems compared to other landfill sites in Illinois. Most
of the landfills they looked into were on the super fund watch
list. He explained the landfill owned by Envirofil is on a
watch list for potential additional action in the future if it
was determined that groundwater contamination presented any
risk to the health of the public. The Illinois and Federal
EPA both looked at the site a number of times and it is their
feeling they consider the problems that site has had for a
long time would be manageable and not to be one that will
result in remedial action or any costly action in the future.
They are comfortable with that site and the issues it
presents. Mr. Johnson stated following the stock sale and
organization structure, he questioned if Mr. Humphreys
intended to keep a separate corporation or merge/convert the
stock all into Envirofil? He was looking for what protects
what exists as the Brem-Air company today being part of the
corporate structure. Mr. Humphreys explain Brem-Air Disposal
Inc., will remain as a separate corporate entity. And,
without some action to pierce the corporate veil a problem at
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a separate subsidiary, for example, would not affect the
financial condition of Brem-Air Disposal Inc.. Mr. Johnson
questioned if that was the way Envirofil run the other sites?
Mr. Humphreys stated they are all independent subsidiaries.
Mr. Johnson stated a few years ago the State Legislature
passed some legislation that said the City had to implement
some kind of a fee structure that would set aside money for
closing of the landfill at some future date and the money was
to go into an escrow account somewhere. He did not see in the
Art Anderson audit or other documentation any reference to
that account. He was concerned that we identify where that
money is located, if it is properly set aside and will be
available when the landfill is closed. Mr. Humphreys stated
there is money set aside in a Brem-Air account. Envirofil's
financial statements only covered the companies they have
acquired to date. Brem-Air has a trust account established
for closure and a separate account covering post-closure and
those accounts will transfer intact. Mr. Johnson questioned
how could we ensure that the amount of money in the account,
at the time of transfer, is all the money that is suppose to
be there? Mr. Humphreys explained it is a regulated amount
set annually. Mr. Johnson stated the City set the rate for
collection, however, Council had never seen an accounting of
those funds. He questioned if the transfer procedure assures
proper handling of those funds? Mr. Humphreys stated the
transfer procedure involves the transfer, in mass, of the two
funds, one for closure and one for post closure, which they
understand to be in the amounts required by the regulations.
He was not sure how better to address that except to say if
the amounts are not deposited into those funds, he believed
there is a negative or potentially negative affect on the
permit. Mr. Johnson questioned if City staff recently checked
or had access to validate whether or not all the money is in
the account? Kathleen McCluskey, City Clerk, stated no. Mr.
Johnson stated maybe the City should require Brem-Air to
verify that the funding is all there. Ms. McCluskey stated
the City had not received anything from Brem-Air that would
show where that pass-through money was credited since it was
approved in 1987, or how it was dispersed. Scott Daniels,
Bremerton/Kitsap County Health District, stated the Health
District does require, under the landfill's annual operating
permit, that funds be in place for closure and post closure.
He verified those funds are in place today and they are
updated annually. The way it works is that you figure how
much life is left at the site and then a certain amount is put
aside every year for the life of the site to pay for the
ultimate closure and post closure costs. So, the total amount
of dollars for the closure and post closure are not in the
account now, but is added in annually until the site closes.
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Mr. Johnson stated he recalled approving payment of 90 cents
per household for some period of time. Mr. Daniels stated he
knows those funds are in place and have already been used in
the past three years for closure activates. The closure at
the landfill goes in phases as each cell closes, so it is not
just one lump sum. Mr. Johnson questioned if the Health
District had checked to verify those expenditures were made
for things according to the WACs. Mr. Daniels stated yes.
Mr. Johnson noted Envlrofil is doing a lot of financial
transactions and one thing he didnit see or maybe it was not
requested was a summary how that would change their balance
sheet from what was included in the 10K package. Mr. Humphreys
stated he did have a summary...the net shareholders equity,
which is basically the value of the assets over the value of
the liabilities have roughly doubled since the 10K. Mr.
Johnson questioned what about debt and other stuff? Mr.
Humphreys stated there will be some debt incurred in this
transaction, but even following the debt net shareholders
equity will be twice the amount as that shown in the 10K.
Mr. Colvin questioned who mandates the closure and post
closure funds for the landfill? Mr. Humphreys stated that is
a complicated question...under the new Subtitle D requirements
of the Federal RECRA Act, which is imposing landfill
requirements that are new and approved and in addition to what
is currently in place, there are financial assurance
requirements that are very substantial and those will be
imposed on all owners of solid waste disposal facilities when
those criteria are affectire in each State. Each state has
the opportunity to develop their own Subtitle D program,
present it to the Federal EPA and get their blessing and then
the State moves forward with its own Subtitle D program. In
the State of Washington there is a Subtitle D program, which
is close to final form. Generally, there is the looming
Subtitle D for closure and post closure financial assurance
but in advance of that this State and the permit which applies
to Olympic View Sanitary Landfill requires this post closure
reserve in advance of the Subtitle D regulations. Mr. Daniels
stated the State Subtitle D program has been finalized now,
but is not out of the Stateis code office. Mr. Colvin
questioned who audits that program? Mr. Daniels stated the
State and Health District audit that program. Mr. Colvin
questioned if that information was public and if so, where
could it be obtained? Mr. Daniels stated that information was
available at the Health District office. Mrs. Horton
questioned how often is that accounted audited and when was
the last time it was audited? Mr. Daniels stated when you say
audit...they talk it over with Department Of Ecology (DOE) and
the Utilities Trade Commission (UTC) on an annual basis. Mrs.
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Horton thanked Mr. Daniels for the questionnaire/background
check he completed at Council's request. She in no way meant
to offend anyone from Envirofil at the previous hearing and
apologized if she did, however, she stressed "we don't know
you and a lot of times things are said and taken at face
value, but what you get may be different from what is said".
This is a big deal for all of Kitsap County, not just
Bremerton and Council takes this responsibility very
seriously. The County has no control or authority to
investigate this transaction and the City has the sole
responsibility to that for the entire County. She questioned
if the Bank of Boston aware of the existing lawsuits pending
on the old landfills? Mr. HumDhreys stated yes. Mrs. Horton
questioned if Envirofil was planning to provide a transfer
site somewhere around the corporate limits of Bremerton rather
than going out to the existing transfer site? Mr. Humphreys
stated that has not been determined at this point. It was a
little early to make that determination and was the kind of
thing they will be looking at in their review of what is
actually taking place business wise. Mrs. Horton questioned
when could Council anticipate Envirofil will be looking into
that issue? Mr. Humphreys stated shortly after closing of the
transfer. Mrs. Horton stated she wanted some assurances over
rates. When Council held the Study Session with Envirofil
representatives, the statement was made that more than likely
the landfill is subsidizing the County hauling rates more than
the City rates. Let us say hypothetically for the moment that
the landfill rates are where they should be and the City is in
fact subsidizing the County hauling rates, will Envirofil sit
down and in good faith negotiate lower City rates if those are
the things that are discovered? Mr. Humphreys stated yes, if
they get in and find that the County rates are where they
should be, for whatever reason, they will be willing to sit
down as soon as they find out what they need to find out to
intelligently discuss those questions and in good faith figure
out why there is a disparity and address it. Mrs. Horton
questioned even if it meant lowering City rates they would sit
down and discuss that issue? Mr. Humphreys stated yes...they
know so little about the situation at this point, but they
must investigate why there is a different rate in the County.
He pointed out County rates are set by the UTC, and is not as
simple a question as one might think. Mrs. Horton questioned
when would that discussion take place? Mr. Humphreys stated
as soon after the closing as they inform themselves of the
County and City issues within the first quarter following
closing.
Mr. Overson questioned if Mr. Humphreys had received a copy of
a letter from a Bremerton citizen that listed approximately 25
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questions relating to garbage service? Mr. Humphreys stated
he received that letter approximately one hour prior to this
meeting. Mr. Overson stated some of the questions he has are
similar to those contained in that letter. One of those
questions is what is the Mayor's position on this proposal.
Up to this point the Mayor has not provided any recommendation
in writing or verbally to the City Council and has had more of
an opportunity to study the documentation. He asked the City
Clerk to relate back to the Mayor that Mr. Overson would like
his input and the basis of that input on this issue before
Council makes a final decision. He questioned if Mr.
Humphreys was aware of the July 1993 Readers' Digest article
that talked of some concerns on landfills. The title of that
article is "Will This Man Trash Your City Or Your Town"? He
pointed out some of the Council members have read that article
and it has made then nervous. The article points out how
various companies around this nation in the past few years
essentially ruined some good landfill operations by not
following the laws. We trust that Envirofil's management team
are far better people than those identified in that magazine
article. He will be looking for some validations that
Envirofil was not of a similar style to those described in
that article. One of the main avenues for determining that
Envirofil will be taking good care of the City is to determine
in some way that they will stay in the area. Mr. Humphreys
stated they plan to be in the Bremerton area for a long time.
He offered up the information that the City might consider the
Civil Judicial process naming out-of-state/out-of-county
property owner, which creates an attractive nuisance and
serves as a harbor for vandals.
Mr. Neville stated he appreciated Envirofil for contacting the
Teamsters Union on behalf of the Brem-Air employees. He
understands Mr. Humphreys informed them that they will
continue with the Union contract as is, the employees would
not lose seniority, vacation time, and salary rates would stay
at the current level. He found that to be commendable in
light of the fact that does not usually happen when something
is being bought out. Also, during the Council Study Session,
Envirofil representatives stated they would like to buy their
supplies from local businesses, such as tires, truck parts,
etc. He felt that helped in Envirofil's creditability,
however, as it was stated earlier, the City Council is the
final say over the transfer of ownership and take this
responsibility seriously. In his opinion, Envirofil is
showing a sign of good faith.
Mr. Colvin stated he believes quality of service provided the
residents of Bremerton was more important than where
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Envirofil's management team lives. He believes that the fact
the Bank of Boston loaned Envirofil 20 million dollars says
something for their company.
Mr. Johnson stated he was at the point where he did not see
the need for a lot of new information. Personally, he wants
an opportunity to digest the materials just received. He
recommended tabling this for one week, which would allow the
inclusion of some information discussed at this meeting to be
incorporated into the resolution. Following is a list of
information that he would like included in Council's packet in
addition to what was already included:
(1) Some kind of commitment that Envirofil will work with the
City and County to do whatever they can to get proper rate
structures for seniors and to do away with as much of the
disparity between the City and County rates, realizing there
are some policy differences.
(2) That the resolution include some direction to City staff
that Council wants to review any pending action six months
later, that would be May 1994, to go in an audit and make sure
progress was being made and all agreements were met.
(3) Some kind of reporting on the landfill closure/post
closure funds that there is the correct amount of money in the
funds now and the City knows the baseline when it transfers to
Envirofil.
Mr. Johnson questioned if the City Attorney had anything to
add to his list, such as stock transfer and keeping the
company separate? Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated he
thought it may be important for Envirofil to stipulate that
they do intend to respect the two corporate entities and not
co-mingle or to cause a breach in corporate veil, which could
create some problems for Brem-Air. Mr. Johnson reiterated
that Council had already talked about the disparity of rates
and the fact the City feels like they have been misrepresented
or poorly treated in the past and that was still an issue that
needs to be resolved. He felt assurances had been given that
Envirofil will work to that end.
Mr. Colvin questioned how Envirofil representatives felt about
Mr. Johnson's proposed tabling of this item? Mr. Humphreys
stated they had hoped to have been able to workout all of
those questions at this time and he did not know if the
procedural rules allowed Council to amend resolutions orally
or to have them read into the record certain assurances, which
he believed they have done during this meeting, but could
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repeat them if necessary. Mr. Johnson pointed out the
importance of having the correct information in the resolution
due to the fact that later on that is the document that will
be brought out for any questioning. He did not forsee any
problem with Councilts approving this item, but did want
additional time to do it right. Mr. Humphreys expressed his
concern that this process has taken a lot of their management
time attending simply to the Council matter and they would
hope to be able, at this time if possible, to continue the
discussion and provide the kinds of assurance that Mr. Johnson
is looking for and to take whatever time is needed to
accomplish that task. Envirofil has provided the
City with information over the past two months. He re-
emphasized there are only two issues that need to be
addressed...the management experience of those people
envirofil has engaged and the financial wherewithal, which has
been documented early on in the discussions. They have
elaborated on some issues outside of the two points and still
will do so to the extent that Council deems appropriate. He
would like to continue the meeting to discuss any issues that
Council feels are appropriate. Mr. Johnson stated he had been
through a number of Resolutions that were engineered from the
podium and every one turned out to be less than what was
desired. Mrs. Horton pointed out Council was given a great
deal of information just one hour prior to the Council meeting
and they had already identified statements that were confusing
and needed clarification. She supported Mr. Johnson's
recommendation to have an additional week to digest the
materials handed out. Mr. Johnson stated he wanted to ease
Mr. Humphreys' mind and conveyed that Mr. Humphreys had
provided super support at the meetings and he understood the
cost to Envirofil to have management team members present
during the several meetings. What he is proposing at this
time is collating the information, digesting it and developing
a resolution that is agreeable to all parties. He did not see
the need for a large contingency from Envirofil at the next
Council meeting.
Mr. Overson stated he would need the Mayor's and City staff's
support and felt their recommendation on this issue would be
very meaningful. Until he receives that recommendation, he
felt concerned about making a decision.
Mrs. Fitz questioned how soon would the City Attorney have the
resolution ready to be reviewed by Mr. Humphreys? Mr. Sievers
stated he would like to have Council President Fitz and
Councilman Johnson review the draft to make sure all the
points desired by Council are included. He believed the City
would be prepared to send its draft to Envirofil for their
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review and approval by Friday. President Fitz noted Mr.
Humphreys did mention the legality of changing this
resolution. Mr. Humphreys stated he was looking for an
opportunity, if it existed, to amend it verbally at this
meeting. The documentation containing the "release"
information was provided to the City on Thursday, October 21,
and he was not sure why Council had not received it prior to
this meeting date. Mr. Johnson stated if Council had been
provided that information for review over the weekend, the
recommended.delay would not be necessary.
Mr. Colvin questioned what kind of adverse impact would
delaying this decision for one week have on Envirofil? Mr.
Humphreys stressed besides having his management team standing
by it is just the upheaval of week in and week out of not
being able to plan their activities. Mr. Colvin questioned
what kind of assurance did Mr. Humphreys need to release his
management staff? Mr. Humphreys stated he had hoped to have
a vote by the City Council at this time, which allows them to
move forward on getting the recycling program underway and
study the issues they pledged to study and locate their people
who will be working in Bremerton. Mr. Colvin raised the point
of the possibility that Council could vote that contingent on
not finding anything adverse in the proposal, it would be
considered approved and questioned if that would satisfy Mr.
Humphreys? Mr. Humphreys stated if Council were to approve
the transfer, they could move forward and close the
transaction, and it would depend on the nature of the
contingencies. The concerns raised up to this point were such
that He felt he could provide the assurances Council was
looking for. Mr. Colvin stressed one assurances was the fact
Council did not have an opportunity to digest the materials
they just received prior to the Council meeting.
Mr. Collins stated he felt very deeply for the Envirofil
staff, but he hoped that they understand that acting on this
issue is a "big deal" for the City Council. Because the City
Council is the only entity responsible for looking out for the
welfare of the citizens of Bremerton and Kitsap County in this
instance relating to garbage collection and landfill
operations, he supported delaying the decision for one week.
Mr. Dawkins stated he supported the desires of his fellow
Council members to delay the decision on this item for one
week.
Mr. Sievers stated he felt it was important for the City
Council to see the actual language in the resolution due to
the fact it will contain some important premises upon which
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Council makes its decision to approve the transfer. He also
felt it was important that all the Council members agree on
what those premises are in taking the action; and it would be
difficult without seeing that in writing saying they approve
it and will agree later on why they are approving it.
M/S/C/U(Johnson/Colvin) to continue this item for one week.
6A - INFORMATION ITEM --REPORT ON SAFE STREETS PROGRAM, HENRY
MINCEY, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, #AB93-209
The City Council has requested that Mr. Mincey give an update
report on the Safe Streets Program and to introduce him to the
Bremerton Community.
Henry Mincey, Director of Safe Streets Program, stated he is
well into his second month regarding the Safe Streets
activities for the City of Bremerton. During his first month,
most of his time was spent getting settled and becoming
acquainted, meeting people, and taking in information.
Starting into his second month, he got out into the community
and familiarized himself with the City within its boundaries.
The perception around the problem in the City is pretty much
predictable...when a gang problem hits the community, the
people who first find out about it, traditionally law
enforcement, prosecutors and Courts, generally know what is
happening, however the rest of the community tends to be less
knowledgeable and more into denial that problems exist. He is
hopeful that public awareness can be raised through public
presentations he has been making around the community. An
important part of public awareness is to pay attention to
graffiti because it acts as a bulletin board for gang activity
and stating "we're hear and we're taking over". He
emphasized graffiti is the number one thing that needs to be
removed and made sure that it does not stay intact.
He has met with the Police Department and the gang and
narcotics unit has been real responsive to his request for
information. He was surprised that up until recently the
narcotics activity came from a majority of the population and.
then recently, with the influx of the Acia Crips and Hilltop
Crip gangsters, the. community saw a large increase in
minority, specifically African/American youth, into illegal
drug activity. Finding that out disturbed him, however, it
was also predictable. The African/American community probably
feels a little touchy about that particular situation. One of
the things he is having to deal with is that we have to look
at the problems, they exist and there are a lot of causes for
gang involvement and drug involvement. No one can address all
of the problems at this short notice and are issues that have
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been going on for years. What does need to be done is to deal
with the immediate problem and that is young people joining
gangs and dealing drugs, which eventually leads to violence,
incarceration and unfortunately death. These are the things
he has to do a real good job of saying to the community let's
get working on this, become organized because the seeds are
being planted and taught about these powerful activities.
He emphasized City employees are very important in carrying
out the mandates that the program requires, which is an
awareness level, being a resource within the community. He
requested that the Mayor give him access to different
departments, which he did, and he has already met the managers
and subsequently he will be meeting with the employees
themselves and the response has been very appropriate. If the
City employees and City take the lead around this issue of
organizing awareness, and taking action steps, he believes the
citizens will be more eager to get involved.
TAPE #1146
President Fitz questioned if Mr. Mincey sees City employees,
such as Street crews and Utility trucks reporting back to him
when they sight graffiti in a new place? Mr. Mincey explained
that was part of what he hoped would happen, however, there is
a lot of other intelligence type information that can be
gathered. Most of the employees know that 2-3 people going in
and out of a particular structure, especially if it appears
uninhabitable, probably is not a legitimate activity and that
information should be passed on to the appropriate resource.
He was pleased to learn that the City had already organized a
graffiti team through the Community Service Program in the
Police Department. He developed some flyers that address the
issue of graffiti, which were distributed throughout the
community.
Mrs. Horton stated other communities are using a task force
approach where they are bringing in the Fire Department,
Building Department, Health Districts, etc., from a regulatory
standpoint. She questioned if Mr. Mincey had talked with the
Bremerton/Kitsap County Health District? Mr. Mincey stated
yes, that was one of the reasons why he wanted to speak with
the City Managers and City Attorney, and how that could be
implemented through the City so that the Police would not be
the only resource to close down a particular drug activity.
Mrs. Horton recommended that Mr. Mincey attend a Health Board
meeting because it is an issue that is not generic to the City
of Bremerton. The City has an abatement program that limps
along at best and part of the problem is lack of funding, but
we also need to look at civil procedures for targeting some of
these buildings. She was interested in comments made by Mr.
Humphreys about some of the things other cities have done as
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far as civil suits to take care of abatements. The City of
Bremerton seems to be a little slow or reluctant to go after
landlords through civil processes. If Mr. Mincey could assist
the City in that capacity, she felt it would be very helpful.
Mr. Mincey stated Bremerton should not feel bad about not
seeing a great deal of activity through the abatement program.
When Safe Streets looked into that issue and approach in the
City of Tacoma, they too felt it was a timely process. Out of
all the 1,000 known drug houses that were established in the
early years in Tacoma/Pierce County, after three years only
one had been done by abatement. Mrs. Horton stated maybe
every December the City Council should convey their concerns
to their State Legislators. Cities need help in that arena
and they are probably one of the few entitles that can provide
that help. Mr. Mincey stated one of the things he sees out of
the City Attorney's office is some education to property
owners about the possibility of what can happen depending upon
their role. He realizes there are a lot of components
involved in property owners/rental properties and their
tenants, but he felt strongly that they need to be made aware
that they do have a responsibility to ensure that drug or gang
activity does not become a mainstay of their property. Mrs.
Horton stated she felt many property owners would welcome that
input. She asked Mr. Mincey to provide any suggestions or
recommendations he might have in that regard to Council so
that they could be incorporated into the packet that is
prepared for the State Legislators when they meet with Council
in December. Mr. Mincey stressed the importance of Council
members sharing their ideas or concerns with him. Such input
would assist him in carrying out his duties and it will help
the citizens of Bremerton understand that their elected
officials do care about them.
Mr. Overson stated he had been in touch with some neighborhood
watch groups and learned that Mr. Mincey has dealt very well
with them and getting good positive feedback. He encouraged
Mr. Mincey to let the Council know if they can assist him in
any way.
Mr. Johnson extended a "welcome aboard" to Mr. Mincey. He
noted one thing that staff usually doesn't do is to take
advantage of the City Council members and in Mr. Mincey's
case, where he is trying to reach the community, each Council
member within their districts probably know of informal group
meetings who would benefit from having Mr. Mincey talk to
them. He emphasized Council has an "open door" policy and he
encouraged him to use it. He questioned if Mr. Mincey could
teach the Council how to write graffiti? Mr. Mincey stated
challenge graffiti is an escalation of an already bad
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situation. When one notices graffiti patterns change and then
see challenge graffiti, that should be a red flag to the
community. Challenge graffiti could bring drive-by shootings,
retaliation, or that someone will be injured. Mr. Johnson
suggested the use of public access television for assisting
the public to understand what kind of message is being
conveyed through graffiti. Mr. Mincey stated one of the best
resources for knowing what graffiti actually says is through
the gang task force.
Mr. Colvin extended his welcome to Mr. Mincey and noted his
appreciation of Mr. Mincey's invitation to the Council to
provide input to him. He questioned how Mr. Mincey finds the
community...very responsive or otherwise? Mr. Mincey stated
he has experienced a "hot" and "cold" responses depending on
the nature of the stress of a particular neighborhood. If
there are heavy drug and gang activities going on in a
neighborhood, then the resident's feelings are on edge and
they are very aware of it and they want action now. He
understands that kind of response and expects it depending on
the circumstances. Once some techniques are given and some
options on how to follow through and access the system to work
in their behalf, then you'll see people calming down.
However, there are other neighborhoods that still think the
problem is not theirs to be dealt with, unfortunately, in that
circumstance it becomes a hard sell. He emphasized there is
no such thing as a gang proof-drug proof neighborhood that is
already established, so people need to be aware. Mr. Colvin
questioned if there have been effort to identify drug houses
in Bremerton? Mr. Mincey stated when he talked with residents
in the neighborhoods, they were quick to name suspected places
of illegal drug activity. So far he has come up with about
eight locations. He does get a definite adamant suggestion
that there are three that really need to be looked at. He
believes the Police Department are doing what they should be
doing to address that. Being new to the community, he is
aware that the City of Bremerton and Kitsap County are
experiencing jurisdictional game playing. Mr. Colvin
questioned what can people within a community do to fight this
problem or should they help? Mr. Mincey stated one of the
things he suggests is to not be a "lone ranger" when faced
with a challenge within the neighborhood. People should not
put themselves at risk when there other neighbors who need to
get involved. Mr. Colvin questioned if Mr. Mincey advocated
telephone calls to his office or the Police Department when
there is suspected drug dealing going on in the neighborhoods?
Mr. Mincey stated the gang task force has a recording iine for
both gang activity and narcotics information; and his office
is also set up to receive such information. He prefers that
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he not become a link to the Police Department through
information. What he wants is to be close to the community
and assist them in getting organized as to how to deal with
situations within their neighborhoods. Mr. Colvin questioned
if Mr. Mincey was getting good cooperation from the Police
Department and their manager? Mr. Mincey stated having been
a uniformed police officer, he understands how Police
Departments operate and once the operational mechanism is sped
up and they become more familiar with his operations, he
expects to see a lot more opening and responsiveness from not
only them but himself as well.
Mr. Collins also extended a "welcome" to Mr. Mincey and a
"thank you" for the handout he published on graffiti. That
information was spread around his neighborhood to raise the
awareness of increased incidents of graffiti. He would also
like to learn to read graffiti. Mr. Mincey stated he tried to
keep up with all the latest graffiti writings, however, it
evolves so fast it is very difficult keeping up with it. He
does know that when he sees it that it is negative and it
should be removed. Mr. Collins referenced a recent newspaper
article about "taggers" and what the County had done in
picking up a group of "taggers". He asked for definitions of
"taggers" and "graffiti" Mr. Mincey stated he could only
relate to Mr. Collins what he has read about "taggers", and
that it is a form of self-expression that is done through
destruction of someone's property. Gang graffiti is very
specific statement of claim of ownership and control. If a
gang member sees some graffiti on a structure his inclination
would be to challenge it with more graffiti, which creates a
loop of a risk to the community. He stressed the community
should not take lightly the spreading of graffiti through the
area. In incidents of drive by shootings, it makes the
parents and Police feel very bad that they did not heed the
warnings that were given in the graffiti written on the
structure. Mr. Collins questioned if the best thing to do
then would be to cover up the graffiti as soon as possible?
Mr. Mincey stated yes, especially if it is new graffiti. He
noted the Police like to photograph graffiti writing, which
they then use in their intelligence surveillance.
Mrs. Horton stated Mr. Mincey talked about denial in certain
neighborhoods and cautioned us to not fool ourselves that it
can come in our neighborhoods. She believes it would be a
wonderful idea if Mr. Mincey developed a commercial spot for
the community access channel, and say just that and inform the
public where he could be reached and what service he could
provide to them. Over the past year, she has recognized there
are a lot of areas in Bremerton that are in denial, there are
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a lot of areas not in denial because they are immersed in drug
and gang problems. About 11/2 years ago she visited Los
Angeles and was absolutely shocked at where and how much
graffiti existed. It looked like the people in those areas
had just given up and she hoped that we never ever reach that
point in this community. That message of not giving up has to
go out into the community over and over and over until this
whole community believes it will come if they don't pay
attention. Mr. Mincey agreed with Mrs. Horton and he will
follow up on her suggestion about the public access channel
commercial. He re-emphasized the importance of reporting
locations of graffiti and he cautioned that people do become
conditioned and will pass by it without registering the fact
that it must be reported and removed. One of the statements
he hears most often is "if I paint over the graffiti I might
get retaliation". He has not heard of any cases of
retaliation for painting over graffiti. What he would say is
to not be "crazy or put yourself at risk", get a group or call
the number provided to have the City Community Service workers
do the paint over. He also stated that there was no guarantee
that graffiti would not again appear on that same site and
what the public must do is to paint over it again.
President Fitz invited Mr. Mincey back to Council in a month
or so to give an update on his activities.
7A - ORDINANCE NO. 4436 (SECOND READING) LEVYING PROPERTY
TAXES FOR COLLECTION IN 1994, #AB93-204
State law requires that the City levy property taxes through
passage of an ordinance. Figures in the attached ordinance
are based on the preliminary assessment roll. They will be
adjusted upon acceptance of the final assessment roll by the
County.
Mr. Overson asked for Mr. Sievers' response to Section 58 of
the City Charter relative to what is being proposed. Ian
Sievers, City Attorney, stated he did review that sections of
the charter with the City Treasurer, who wrote a response.
The Charter definition refers to a cap on mills that may be
set against property within the City for any and all purposes.
The City's current millage rate is well below the designated
cap. Millage is defined as the number of mills per dollar
valuation and the City's current millage is something on the
order of $3.00+. Mr. Overson pointed out the proposed millage
is $3.499800. The Charter sets the restriction at 15 mills
for all purposes and he questioned how does one interpret 15
mills? Mr. Sievers stated the interpretation of that section
is the cap would be at $15.00 per thousand dollars of
valuation.
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Public comment - none.
M/S/C(Waibel/Johnson) to pass Ordinance No. 4436 on second
reading, levying Municipal Taxes against all the taxable
property within the City Limits of Bremerton for the year 1994
and approving the assessment roll made by the Assessor of
Kitsap County, therefore to be collected in the year 1994.
Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Waibel, Fitz,
Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson
Abstain: Horton
Motion carried.
With no further business meeting adjourned at 8:24 P.M.
KATHLEEN L. McCLUSKEY, City Clerk
EILEEN FITZ, Council President
City of Bremerton
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