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HomeMy WebLinkAbout09/08/93TAPE #1134 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES SEPTEMBER 8, 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, September 8, 1993, at 5:30 P.M., with Council President Eileen Fitz presiding. Council members present were Lon Overson Richard Neville, Lynn Horton, Hank Waibel, C.R. "Tiny" Collins, Al Colvin, Morrie Dawkins, Russ Johnson. 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 Roger Hennigan of Apostolic Life Tabernacle. #0040 CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting -- August 18, 1993 #AB93-179 B. Minutes of Meeting -- August 25, 1993 #AB93-180 C. Minutes of Meeting -- September 1, 1993 #AB93-181 #0022 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. M/S/C/U(Colvin/Dawkins) September 8, 1993, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 169255 through 169330 in the total amount of $405,558.58; and Regular Payroll for the period ending August 31, 1993, in the amount of $678,921.70. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Johnson stated he was expecting to receive some newsletter type materials from National League Of City (NLC) and Association Of Washington (AWC), relating to federal programs supporting law enforcement and also in the cable regulation field. Upon checking with AWC, he learned that when the State Legislature is not in session, cities only receive one copy of newsletter type bulletins. He asked the City Clerk to please TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 2 of 11 make sure Council receives a copy of future AWC publications. He also learned that the reason he had not seen any correspondence or newsletter from NLC was due to the fact that the City had not renewed its membership in that organization. He asked the City Clerk to initiate the process of rejoining NLC. He felt that it would be beneficial to the City to have a current membership in the NLC due to the new administration at the Federal level and the need for that "pipeline" of information. In reference to the upcoming Cable TV hearing on September 22, he felt three things would be appropriate for that hearing: (1) any complaints on past and current operations; (2) any comments concerning the transition from the old cable access regulations to the new; (3) any desires, concerns, hopes for in future refranchising negotiations. President Fitz stated she was looking to Mr. Johnson to come up with a proposed forum for the' public hearing on the cable issue. Mr. Johnson stated he would meet with Councilman Neville, Jack Riggs, chair of the Cable Advisory committee, the City Clerk and Gil Johnson, who is City staff representative, to develop an agenda for that hearing. Mr. Colvin reported over the past two weeks he visited sunny California. While there, he toured the cities of Los Angeles and Carson. He was impressed with the City of Carson's City Hall building that offered individual offices for City Council members. He also talked with Carson officials about their waste disposal service, which allowed for pick up of all kinds of waste at an average cost of $12.00/ per month/per household. He hoped the City could provide such a service to help keep our City clean. He was ashamed of the amount of litter strewn around the City. He noted California was suffering from Proposition 13 and it was now # 50 in financial worth. He alerted all veterans to look into who they designated as their beneficiary on their Veterans life insurance. His sister - in - law's husband recently passed away and when she tried to collect his veterans insurance she learned that he had never changed the beneficiary from his aunt, now deceased, and his brother, who would be the recipient of the insurance funds. He announced on September 16, 7:00 - 9:00 P.M., there will be a District # 1 Coalition Meeting. Ron Hough of the Planning Department will make a presentation at that meeting on "Visions Of The Future" - centering on east Bremerton. He encouraged citizens living in east Bremerton to make a strong effort to attend that meeting. Mr. Dawkins pointed out "summer" had finally arrived. Mr. Waibel reported his daughter Holly is attending the new TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 3 of 11 Bremerton Middle School and recently he had an opportunity to tour the new school, which is one of the most recent built and one of the most modern on the west coast. He was impressed with the layout and centralized resources provided for students. Mrs. Horton reported her daughter informed her that students have 4 minutes between classes in her school. Today she attended the Kitsap Regional Planning Council meeting covering CENCOM, Kitsap Health District and Kitsap Transit. The work load for that meeting was rather light, however, one issue that was discussed had to do with the future of CENCOM and the fact that their current system is overloaded and somewhat outdated and in 3-4 years when the FCC reforms the spectrum it will be obsolete. Their discussions centered on a game plan how to proceed to provide an upgraded CENCOM system and working on time frames and funding to accomplish that effort. She emphasized this will be a very costly program, however, if it is not done it will affect Kitsap County very adversely. Last week she attended a Washington Transit Association meeting in Spokane and one of the things talked about at that meeting was the movement by some individuals in the Legislature to look at the make up of Transit Boards and the possibility of going toward a METRO type Transit Board where the board is voted on by the people rather than having elected officials serve on that board. Currently, all Kitsap County Mayors, the County Commissioners and two Council members from Bremerton sit on the Kitsap Transit Board. She believes that the current system works fairly well at our level in our community, however, that might not happen in other areas around the state. If anyone has any input on such a proposed change, she suggested calling Kitsap Transit or the City Council office. Mr. Overson reminded Mr. Colvin that Proposition 13 had a purpose and that was to tell the legislators to bring spending within control. Another thing that has happened in California is reduced economy and he emphasized that is also happening in Bremerton. He believes Washington State Legislators need to wake up and start being smart or he believes this area will be in worse trouble than California. Mrs. Fitz reminded everyone school is open so please drive carefully. She noted there are over 1,000 students in the school where she works, which has created very crowded hallways. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Louis Mentor was pleased to report that an estimated TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 4 of 11 45,000 people attended the.two -day Blackberry Festival this past weekend. The weather cooperated beautifully and the event drew people from all over the United States. A comment was made to him by some people from Palm Springs, California, that if they had a gathering of people as large as those attending the Blackberry Festival it would be a riot. Many boaters came in and enjoyed the festival events. A group of Boeing boaters are booked into the Marina for the next two years so they can enjoy future festival activities. He acknowledged the efforts by the Parks Department, Street Department, Electronics Division and Police Department. He also noted the wonderful coverage of the festival by The Sun, who co - sponsored that event. He emphasized the important role of the Corporate sponsors is helping fund the free entertainment provided for the public. The Nenimo group participated in the International Bathtub races held during the festival. Me reported the Horlock Ferry services provided free transportation for both days of the festival event. Free parking was also provided for the festival at the Middle School in East Bremerton and Olympic College with Kitsap Transit providing shuttle bus services every 15 minutes between the two park - and - ride lots and downtown. He expressed his "thanks" to everyone who helped make the 1993 Blackberry Festival such an outstanding success. He reminded everyone that the Literacy Council will hold a banquet on September 9 and the Aids Walk and Sunday Farmers' Market will take place on September 10 on the boardwalk at 10:00 AM. Lastly, he reported a hazardous waste clean up is taking place in the County this month with Bremerton's scheduled pickup taking place on September 8th and 9th at Olympic College, 12:00 noon to 6:00 P.M. Robert Boddie, 4402-C Arsenal Way, POWER, thanked everyone who attended the POWER meeting held September 2. At that meeting, they had a very powerful and moving speaker, Clarence Scott. He would very much like to see Mr. Scott brought into Bremerton Schools to share his message through his work study book that could be used in the School District. He believes the target areas for Mr. Scott's presentation would be the Middle School and Jr. High School students. He also thanked .Eleanor Smith, reporter from The Sun, who has covered POWER's stories and meetings. The next POWER community meeting is scheduled for October 7, 7:00 P.M., at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church. The guest speaker at the October 7th meeting will be Henry Mincey, Safe streets Coordinator. He announced the community basketball program will start back up on September 17. He thanked US West Communications for providing a Multi - Cultural Diversity Training Program for the City's Drug and Gang Task Force and Police Department in October. He TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 5 of 11 questioned the City - why are there no people of color working on the 4th Street Construction project? He was not sure who was responsible for that project or if there are labor jobs available for people of color. That issue was brought to his attention by citizens and was something that he also recently observed. POWER will hold their Board meeting on September 9. He emphasized POWER is here to stay and he and Mr. Forte can be reached by calling 792-0637. POWER is accepting donations from the public - P.O. Box. 2511, Bremerton, WA 98310. Erika Eklof, 1993-1994 Armed Forces Queen, stated on behalf of the Bremerton Armed Forces Festival Association and the Bremerton Area Chamber of Commerce, she presented a self- portrait to the City Council and City of Bremerton. She gave a brief rundown of various parades she and her court participated in as well as future events coming up in the new year. Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, reminded everyone that the Month of September is Coastweeks events and copies of the new Coastweeks Journal may be obtained by calling 1-800-424-4EPA. A local Coastweeks activity of a continuous slide show on marine life is scheduled for September 11 (10:00 AM to 5:00 P.M.) at the Kitsap Regional Library. On September 18 a clean up of Sinclair Inlet is planned, starting at the First Street Dock. He was pleased to announce a 41 foot Coast Guard Patrol Boat will be on display at the clean up event as well as a Coast Guard Helicopter sea rescue demonstration, depending upon any unplanned emergencies. He reported he did talk with Mayor Mentor about the availability of a Medic I vehicle at the First Street dock on September 18. He also reported local merchants are donating pop and pizza for the volunteers following the clean up activity. Key Bank is donating stickers and a booklet called "Fairy-tales" for children, and Kitsap County Department Of Community Development is making a button making machine available for the clean up event as well. Lastly, he thanked the City Council for their interest in discussing underwater parks. Gordy Byrd, P.O.Box 930, reported he enjoyed the Blackberry Festival - and during the two day event he collected more donations for his shelter for the homeless than at any other time. It saddened him to report that he lost an envelope containing $165.00 on a Kitsap Transit bus. He put out a plea to the person who may have found his envelope full of money to please contact him at his address. He announced he has tee shirts available for a $10.00 donation for his shelter. As of this date his "shelter" fund consists of $15,536.33. TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 6 of 11 Shannon Cook, 256 Burwell Apt. 202, reported she and her husband enjoyed all of the activities and events at the Blackberry Festival. She emphasized how much she and her husband love living in this community. Don Atkinson, Executive Director, Bremerton Main Street Association, stated Main Street was pleased to sponsor the 4th annual Blackberry Festival. He reported the crowds were estimated to be over 40,000 for the two day event. He sent in a Letter To The Editor commending the community for conduct of the crowd during that event. It was amazing to him to be able to report that there were no incidents and people came out to enjoy themselves and partake of the entertainment and activities offered. He announced a fund raising event for Paul Goheen is scheduled for September 16. Mr. Goheen is recovering from cancer surgery. On September 16 a dinner will be staged at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church and $15.00 tickets to that event are available through Yesterday's Deli in downtown Bremerton and at Little P.I. in east Bremerton and at various points around the County. On Saturday, September 18, a Constitution Day Luncheon, as a part of the Martin Luther King Memorial Scholarship Fund, will be held at the Quality In Best Western (Bayview). The theme for that event is "Building Bridges Not Walls", and the principal speaker is Governor Mike Lowery. Tickets for this event are available at the Kitsap Mall Information desk ($15.00). At that luncheon Appreciation Certificates will be presented to the Bremerton Central Lions Club, Rotary Club of Port Orchard, Naval Hospital and the Knights Of Columbus for their on going support of the Martin Luther King Scholarship Fund. Mr. Atkinson announced a new "Olympic College" fund is being established for students specifically to attend Olympic College. The basic scholarship will continue to be available to students to attend any school of their choice. Also, a "Bridge Builder" award will be given at the luncheon. President Fitz questioned if the Turner Joy did well attracting people during the festival days? Mr. atkinson stated the Turner Joy, Harbor Tours, merchants in the downtown area and Farmers' Market vendors all did very well during the festival event. He was pleased to report that the Farmers' Market had it best ever two days even though they were moved up to Second Street. He anticipates another big day on the boardwalk this next Sunday along with the AID's WALK that is also scheduled on that day. 6A - RESOLUTION NO. 2436, TO SUBMIT TO THE VOTERS AT THE NOVEMBER ELECTION THE PROPOSITION PROVIDING FOR REORGANIZATION TO A NON - CHARTER CODE CITY WITH A COUNCIL - MANAGER PLAN OF GOVERNMENT, #AB93-182 TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 7 of 11 A petition to reorganize city government to a non-charter code city and to adopt a council - manager plan of government has been signed by a number equal to at least ten percent (10%) of the votes cast at the last general municipal election, as certified by the County Auditor. RCW 35A.02.060 requires that upon the filing of a certificate of sufficiency of the petition, the legislative body shall cause such proposal to be submitted to the voters at the next general municipal election. The ballot title for the proposition shall be prepared by the City Attorney. Mr. Johnson pointed out Council's duty at this time is to identify that a certificate of sufficiency has been issued by the County Auditor that there were enough signatures on the citizens initiative to place an item on the ballot relating to a change in form of government for the City of Bremerton. Mr. Colvin questioned clarification from the City Attorney on the action before Council on this item? Ian Sievers, City Attorney, explained State law assigns a role to the Legislative body, in this case the City Council, in the process of changing to a Code City. The facts for making a decision in this case are fairly simple since a General Election is already scheduled and a Special Election does not have to be set by Council. He pointed out the City did receive a Certificate of Sufficiency from the County Auditor so he felt Council should be satisfied that has been filed and to simply forward on, through Council action, to the County Auditor to place this issue on the ballot. Again, he stressed Council would not be Commenting one way or the other on what Council members think of the issue any more than the County Auditor's comments verifying the signatures on the initiative. Mr. Collins stated there are some on going things that are required, such as a Notice of Election. He questioned if the City or the citizens groups would be responsible for such notification? Mr. Sievers explained that would be the responsibility of either the County Auditor or the City, not the citizens. The City undertakes the Notice of Election as part of the election process and is a public expense. Mr. Collins stated he believed there was language in RCW 35A that requires informing the people the intent of the ballot measure prior to its being voted on. He questioned who will be responsible for informing the public on that issue? President Fitz stated she will be seeking volunteers to develop the Pro TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 8 of 11 and Con statements for the Voters Pamphlet on the ballot measure. Hopefully, by next week Council will have some names of individuals who will write those statements. Mr. Colvin asked for clarification on what the ballot measure will actually accomplish? President Fitz stated the ballot measure is the result of an initiative petition signed by citizens of Bremerton to change the form of government from a Mayor/Council form to a Manager/Council form of government under RCW 35A. Mr. Colvin questioned the number of Council members and would they be elected by Districts or at - large? President Fitz explained the Council members would be elected at - large. Mr. Sievers stated the simple reclassification reorganization as contained in the petition would entail a seven member Council and election of all Council members would be at - large. And, the Mayor/Council President position would be selected by the Council members. Mrs. Horton stated it was her understanding that under this form the Mayor would also be elected at - large by the citizens. Mr. Sievers pointed out the Mayor would be one of the at-large elected Council members but that position would be selected by the Council members themselves. Mrs. Horton stated she thought that if election of Council members was by District, the Council would select the Mayor, however, it Council members were elected at - large, then the voters would vote on the Mayor. Mr. Sievers explained the only way the "Mayor" may run as Mayor is if they are all at - large. Mrs. Horton pointed out Mr. Sievers stated the Mayor would be selected by the Council members. Mr. Sievers explained a separate process would have to be approved again through a ballot measure asking the electors whether they want Council Position # 1 to be elected as Mayor. That issue is not before the electors at this election, therefore, the Mayor will be one of the Council members elected at - large and selected by the Council members themselves. Mrs. Horton stated that was not what Mr. Sievers stated the last time this issue came before Council. She questioned if this is the last definitive interpretation? President Fitz stated she believed there was talk prior to filing of the petition that one of the ways the Mayor could be elected, but under RCW 35A the Mayor will be selected from among the seven elected at - large Council members. Mr. Sievers explained discussion on an elected at- large Mayor was one of those extra details that was being considered in one of the many resolutions that were before Council, but which were canceled out once the petition was filed. Mr. Overson stated that was the way he understood the issue. Because the City would be run by a professional Manager, then the Mayoral responsibility has a different prospective. Mr. Sievers provided Council with a memo identifying the purpose behind the resolution, however, there TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 9 of 11 is a page included that is not referred to at any point - this page gives language for inclusion on the ballot. Mr. Sievers stated he is accepting comments from anyone wanting to comment on the ballot title prior to its actually being filed with the County Auditor. He sent the proposed ballot title to the proponents to solicit their comments as well. Mr. Overson questioned if Mr. Sievers was saying that Council would not have another opportunity to review the ballot title? Mr. Sievers stated he would like to receive comments by the end of this week or early next week. Mr. Overson questioned if Council would then be asked to approve it for submittal to the County? Mr. Sievers explained he would forward it directly to the County due to the fact it is a separately assigned duty of the City Attorney on all ballot issues. Mr. Colvin stated he received a letter from Municipal Research on the ballot measure in response to several questions he raised. Copies of that letter were distributed to Mr. Sievers and his fellow Council members prior to the Council meeting. He asked Mr. Sievers to comment on Municipal Research comments that Council members could be elected by District in the Primary Election and at-large in the General Election. Mr. Sievers stated the main thrust of Municipal Research's letter talks about a Charter Code city instead of a non - Charter Code city and it mentions you can allow for District election of Council members, which is true under either Charter or Non- charter Code city. That was something that could have been considered, however, with the petition establishing a certain way of electing Council people, we were not able to place those other options on the ballot. He did not disagree that under a Charter or Non - charter Code city you can elect Council members by District. Mr. Colvin pointed out a Manager for the City is allowable under both a Charter and Non - charter Code city. President Fitz emphasized what is before Council is a ballot measure that was signed by the citizens. Council considered many things during previous discussions, but the measure before Council is a straight RCW 35A. Larry Stone, Chairman of VOTE, 1824 So. Marine Drive, stated those who are responsible for putting this measure before Council would have preferred to have this issue come up in 1995 when they had hoped the important matter of changing the form of government could be kept out of the passions and rhetoric of a Mayoral race. Through their many discussions, there have been frequent references to the urgent need for the electorate to be informed on these issues. He assured Council that VOTE is committed to the limitations they may have physically and financially to expand the understanding of everyone as to the intricacies of Title 35A, Optional TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 10 of 11 Municipal Code (Non - charter Code city classification). VOTE is assuming the burden of educating the voters on this issue. Cecil McConnell, Almira Drive, stated for clarification that the Pro statement for the Voters Pamphlet will be written by the VOTE committee, who proposed the change. In reference to the confusion over how Council members are elected, he pointed out the confusion arose from the two ordinances that they attempted to get passed by Council which would have accomplished what Mrs. Horton felt was the way Council members and the Mayor would be elected. But, because those ordinances were not passed, according to RCW 35A, they have to be done by the people of a Code city. At this time, Bremerton is not a Code city, so if this proposal passes then the people of the City can denote districts, that Position # 1 would be designated as Mayor on an at - large election, as well as several other things. Reverend Roger Hennigan, 114 Olympic Drive, stated he is concerned about the City and being the head of his local Church he was curious about the need for a change in government. He has been in Bremerton for 3 1/2 years and is not aware of everything bad nor does he know everything that is good. However, the two previous public speakers spoke in favor of the change and now he is wondering why is the change necessary. He agreed that the issue is confusing and he believes the public is not informed well enough to make a decision about such a change. President Fitz pointed out approximately 1,200 citizens, who felt the need for a change in government, signed a petition initiative to do so. The City Council, as the Legislative body, has the obligation to see that this measure is placed on the ballot. She hoped there would be a lot of public interest and that several forum type meetings will be held to hear both the pro and con statements in regard to this measure. And, that the local newspapers will cover the issue in depth so that the citizens can be informed. Members of VOTE have stated they will write the Pro Statement for the Voters Pamphlet and she hopes people will volunteer to write the Con Statement, so that both sides can be heard. What Council is asked to do at this time is to just pass on the wishes of the people who signed the petition on to the County Auditor. #1741 M/S/C(Johnson/Overson) to approve passage of the proposed Resolution No. 2436. Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz, Dawkins, Johnson Opposed: Waibel, Collins TAPE #1134 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes September 8, 1993 Page 11 of 11 Motion carried. Abstain: Colvin With no further business meeting adjourned at 6:38 P.M. KATHLEEN L. McCLUSKEY, City Clerk EILEEN FITZ, Council President City of Bremerton KLM/EF/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault