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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07/21/93TAPE #1124 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JULY 21, 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, July 21, 1993, at 5:50 p.m., with Council President Eileen Fitz presiding. Council members present were Richard Neville, Lynn Horton, C.R. "Tiny" Collins, Morrie Dawkins, Lon Overson, and Russ Johnson. Council members Al Colvin and Hank Waibel were absent. Also present were Assistant City Attorney Jim McNamara and City Treasurer Rich Hanna The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Chaplain Mills of Ridgemont Senior Citizen Center and Belmont Terrace. Council President Fitz apologized for the delay in starting the meeting and announced there would be an executive session immediately following the meeting regarding labor negotiations. CONSENT AGENUA A. Minutes of Meeting -- June 30, 1993 #AB93-138 B. Minutes of Meeting -- July 7, 1993 #AB93-139 #0019 M/S/C/U(Horton/Neville) to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. CLAIMS/WARRANT REGISTERS Vouchers audited and certified by the auditing officer as regui'red 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. #0034 M/S/C/U(Johnson/Dawkins) July 21, 1993, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: Payroll for the period ending 7/15/93 in amount of $591,247.85. #0045 COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Collins read a prepared statement and announced he will not seek re - election. Mr. Collins stated his hope that several people will run for this position. TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 2 of 11 #0192 Mr. Dawkins stated the City and City Council will miss Mr. Collins. #0208 Mr. Johnson stated the good news in Mr. Collins comments are that the challenges are not insurmountable. #0238 Ms. Horton stated she attended the groundbreaking ceremonies of the YMCA expansion and wished them good luck and full speed ahead. #0255 Mr. Neville explained his absence last week stating he and his family were at Lake Cushman enjoying themselves. #0267 Mr. Overson stated this is a sad day for the shipyard and will not be easy for sometime. He extended best wishes to those who have been impacted and expressed hope that the shipyard will continue to be a powerful organization in the community and the Navy. Mr. Overson stated Council will miss Mr. Collins. #0312 Mayor Mentor stated with Mr. Collins not seeking re - election, 1/3 of the Council will be replaced. Mayor Mentor named a number of recent and upcoming events in the City. YMCA expansion groundbreaking; Golf Tournament to raise funds for Harrison Memorial Hospital; Burger King raised funds for the Kitsap Literacy Council; annual Concerts on the Boardwalk on Thursday evenings. Mayor Mentor read a proclamation proclaiming the month of July as Parks and Recreation month. Vicki Vanneman, Parks and Recreation Director, accepted the proclamation. Ms. Vanneman introduced two part - time Parks Department employees Kim Logan and Bill Wade. Ms. Logan is currently a student at Evergreen Community College and has been with the Parks Department four years. She is overseeing community recreation programs this summer. Mr. Wade is a new with the Parks Department and is Director of the Special Populations Day Camp this summer, which is a six week day camp for disabled kids. Ms. Logan briefly discussed the Tuesday evening "Concerts in the Park" and "Playground Express" program, and upcoming carnival at Sheridan Recreation Center on July 30th. Mr. Wade distributed handouts to Councilmembers and briefly discussed the "Sparky Summer Camp" and other programs. #0555 PUBLIC RECOGNITION Don Larson, 135 Rainier Ave., stated there is a new granite block on the Boardwalk, Underwater USA, from Bloomingsburg, PA. Underwater USA believes there is potential on the waterfront for an underwater park. Mr. Larson has talked with TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 3 of 11 Bruce Higgins, the man behind the Edmonds underwater park, and Mr. Higgins feels the first step is the need of consensus of the local community. Mr. Larson stated he has spoken with Parks Department personnel, they like the idea but are concerned with liability. Mr. Larson feels they can get around that issue and move forward because of the new state law recently passed, substitute senate bill 5332 for underwater parks. The problem is funding from all levels. Mr. Larson feels if they can get the consensus of the community, there is an organization which can work with the community doing underwater surveys. Mr. Larson stated he would like to know if they can proceed. His telephone number is 373 - 5367. #0645 Don Atkinson, Main Street Association, stated they could not attend last week's meeting as they were committed to taking a group to Tillicum Village on the Harbour Tours boat. Mr. Atkinson reminded everyone of the Thursday evening Concerts on the Boardwalk. This Thursday is the Bremerton Brass Brigade. These concerts are taped and rebroadcast on Channel 12 the following Tuesday evening. Mr. Atkinson stated a fund is being established at Seafirst Bank for donations on Paul Goheen's behalf. Mr. Goheen, publisher of Wednesday Magazine, has had two serious surgeries for cancer. There will also be a fundraising event in mid September; the date will be announced later. Mr. Atkinson stated the Harbour Tours are listed in the white pages of the telephone book, but they can call Main Street for the number. #0737 Del Knauss stated he is vice - chairman of a citizen's group known at VOTE - Voice of the Electors. He announced the launching of a petition drive which will change Bremerton to a manager form of government. Mr. Knauss read the text of their petition pursuant to the provisions of RCW 35a - 02 - 060 that the electors of City government direct the legislative body to submit to the voters that the City reorganize as a non-charter code City and adopt the manager form of government as authorized by RCW 35a - 13 under the non - charter code classification. He stated they are taking this action as they feel it is for the good of Bremerton and all citizens. Anyone who wants more information, wants to sign the petition or circulate a petition can call Mr. Knauss at 377 - 4425 or Larry Stone at 792 - 9359. #0808 6A - APPROVAL OF INITIAL HIRING RATE FOR DANIEL J. MILLER, PROJECT MANAGER, #AB93 - 140 Recruitment of candidates for the position of Project Manager was conducted in April and May. Thirty - five applications were received and eight were invited for personal interview on June TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 4 of 11 18. Candidates were evaluated by a panel consisting of Randy Witt, City Engineer, Vicki Vanneman, Parks & Recreation Director, and Richard Feek, Commissioner, Bremerton Port Authority. The panel felt that Mr. Miller possessed best combination of training and experience for the position, and wouldbe an excellent selection. Mr. Miller is a graduate of California State University, San Diego with a degree in Planning and Development and Public Administration. He has worked as Project/Construction Manager for twelve years with the Sverdrup Corporation in Walnut Creek, California. Prior to the current position with Sverdrup, he worked for two years as a Field Engineer with Pacific Gas and Electric Company in Fresno, California. Mr. Miller is a Licensed "B" Building Contractor in the State of California. Mr. Miller's current salary with Sverdrup Corporation is $4,700 per month. He has agreed to a starting salary with Bremerton of $4,087. Mayor Mentor stated there was an excellent response to this position. Mr. Miller has excellent qualifications and Mayor Mentor feels he will do a great job. Public Comment - none M/S/C/U(Johnson/Collins) to authorize a hiring step of Rate 5 of Band 6 ($4,087/month) pursuant to the Management and Professional Staff Salary Plan BMC 2.50,032(a) for Daniel J. Miller, Project Manager effective August 23, 1993. #0901 6B - APPROVAL OF CLASSIFICATION SPECIFICATIONS FOR NON - UNION MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL POSITIONS OF: FIRE CHIEF, ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF, AND SENIOR ENGINEER, #AB93 - 141 Revised Classification specifications for the position of Fire Chief and new Classification Specifications for Assistant Fire Chief and Senior Engineer have been prepared and posted by the Civil Service Office. Appeals were received on the Fire Chief and Assistant Fire Chief specifications, and were subsequently resolved on 6/22/93. No appeals were received on the Senior Engineer specifications. No disputes exist with any labor organization on the exclusion of all three classifications from bargaining units. These specifications are now presented to the City Council for formal approval. It will be necessary to add the Assistant Fire Chief and Senior Engineer positions to the Management and Professional Staff Compensation Program, and this action will be presented to the Council in a separate agenda bill. #1152 TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 5 of 11 Caroline Marshall, Personnel Director, stated this is the second group of job descriptions presented to Council. This agenda bill has two new position descriptions; Assistant Fire Chief and Senior Engineer, which has resulted from the City's reorganization. Public Comment - none Ms. Horton stated her disagreement with the Sr. Engineer being exempt from Civil Service. Mr. Overson agreed with Ms. Horton and stated the Sr. Engineer functions sometimes could be unpopular with management, and Civil Service protection might give that person some insulation from being pressured into doing things that person shouldn't do. He stated he is pleased to have the recommended signatures and dates on the contract. Mr. Johnson stated for the record, this was discussed at Fiscal and Budget; they were concerned with the contract specifications for the Sr. Engineer. allowing for the approval of contract change orders and specifications, etc. He stated there are times when emergencies are necessary, but under normal circumstances Council will not be by passed. Mr. Collins stated the Sr. Engineer is at will and at will to the Mayor and Director of Public Works, who is also a qualified professional engineer. Mr. Collins has a high regard for the professional group. This position is of an administrator or supervisor, and is exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act and should be excluded from Civil Service. M/S/C(Dawkins/Collins) to approve classification specifications for: 1) Fire Chief (revises and replaces specifications for Fire Chief dated January 1987); 2) Assistant Fire Chief - New Classification Specifications (Specifications for Deputy Fire Chief dated October 1987 are eliminated); and 3) Senior Engineer - New Classification Specifications. Also, authorize replacement of old specifications with revised specifications as an attachment to the employment contract with the Fire Chief. Motion passed as follows: Affirmative - Neville, Fitz, Collins, Dawkins, Johnson. Opposed - Horton 7A - ORDINANCE NO. 4424 (SECOND READING) ADOPTING FIRE CODE AND ALARM ORDINANCE AND FALSE ALARM ORDINANCE, #AB93 - 132 Scott Rappleye, Provisional Fire Marshall, was available to answer questions. TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page B of 11 Public Comment - none. M/S/C/U(Horton/Johnson) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4424 on second reading adopting the 1991 Uniform Fire Code to ensure public safety in all structures, amending Title 18 of the Bremerton Municipal Code. 7B - ORDINANCE NO. 4425 (SECOND READING) AMENDING PARKING ENFORCEMENT REGULATIONS, #AB93 - 133 Public opinion - none. #1252 M/S/C(Collins/Neville) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4425 on second reading amending the parking enforcement provisions and amending BMC 10.11,010 and 10.11.030. Motion passed as follows: Affirmative - Overson, Neville, Fitz, Collins, Dawkins, Johnson. Opposed - Horton 7C - ORDINANCE NO. 4426 (SECOND READING) AMENDING TIME OF PARKING ENFORCEMENT, #AB93 - 134 Public opinion - none. #1289 Mr. Johnson felt the issue of holidays was not totally cleared up after first reading. Debra Goodell, Parking Supervisor, discussed a memo from the City Attorney which states the reference to holidays was corrected to refer to BMC 2.02,020. Mr. Johnson specifically wanted an answer to how this is addressed in the ordinance when holidays fall on Saturday and Sunday. Referring to BMC 2.02,020, Mr. Overson stated when a holidays falls on Sunday, Monday is considered the legal holidays; when the holiday falls on Saturday, Friday is considered the legal holiday. M/S/C/U(Johnson/Dawkins) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4426 on second reading amending the times of enforcement for residential and commercial parking zone restrictions, and amending BMC Section 10.08,030. #1497 7D - ORDINANCE NO. 4427 (SECOND READING) AMENDING PARKING REGULATIONS FOR DISABLED PARKING, #AB93 - 135 Paul Stout stated being disabled, he is interested in this ordinance. Mr. Stout stated he has seen regulations pertaining to disabled parking in other states he would like to see addressed in Bremerton. Violation of one who has these privileges can be revoked as well as receiving fines. He discussed people who use these spots without a state issued placecard and stated in Oregon it is a $500 fine with possible impound. He only heard talk of placing time limits on TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 7 of 11 disabled spots and felt the City should do as other cities where a placecard allows a person to park anywhere and without time restraints. Mr. Stout also felt there are not enough disabled parking spaces in Bremerton. #1626 Ms. Goodell stated the fines in this ordinance have been raised from $15 to $50. This ordinance places a time limit on disable spots because prior to this ordinance, clearly marked disabled spots were being used all day by people with disabled placecards. This didn't leave disabled spots open for those who need them for short term parking. Ms. Goodell stated Bremerton has more disabled spots per block than most other cities. Mr. Overson recommended the City Attorney take these comments under advisement for potential change in the future if they see the need. M/S/C/U(Horton/Collins) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4427 on second reading amending regulations for free parking for disabled persons, and amending BMC Chapter 10.10 and 10.08. 7E - ORDINANCE NO. 4428 (SECOND READING) ANNEXING APPROXIMATELY 10.64 ACRES KNOWN AS THE BREMERTON SCHOOL DISTRICT CROWN HILL ELEMENTARY SITE. WHICH LIES EAST OF ROCKY POINT ROAD AND WEST OF BERTHA AVENUE, INTO THE CITY OF BREMERTON AND FIXING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ANNEXATION, #AB93 - 136 PUblic opinion - none. #1790 M/S/C(Collins/Horton) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4428 on second reading annexing approximately 10.64 acres known as the Bremerton School District Crown Hill Elementary Site, which lies east of Rocky Point Road and west of Bertha Avenue, into the City of Bremerton and fixing the effective date of annexation. Motion passed as follows: Affirmative - Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz, Collins, Johnson Abstain - Dawkins #1835 7F - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) AMENDING THE MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF COMPENSATION PROGRAM TO ADD ASSISTANT FIRE CHIEF AND SENIOR ENGINEER, #AB93 - 142 Two new classifications have been added to the Management and Professional Staff group: Assistant Fire Chief in the Fire Department and Senior Engineer in the Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works and Utilities. The new titles need to be added to Section 2.50.020 of the Bremerton Municipal Code to provide that the Management and Professional TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 8 of 11 Staff Compensation Program shall be applicable to the new classifications. Pursuant to Section 2.050.030 SALARY PLAN (a) each position included in the Salary Plan shall be assigned to a Salary Band. Band recommendations are based upon external market comparisons and internal differential considerations. Public Comment - none M/S/C/U(Horton/Neville) motion to approve ordinance on first reading amending Chapter 2.50.020(a) Applicability. Adding to the listing contained under the heading "MANAGEMENT AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF" the titles: Assistant Fire Chief and Senior Engineer; Also, motion to.assign the Assistant Fire Chief to Band 4 of the Management and Professional Staff Salary Plan and assign the Senior Engineer to Band 6 of the Management and Professional Staff Salary Plan. #1931 7G - ORDINANCE NO. 4429 (EMERGENCY READING) AUTHORIZING THE SALE OF $3.4 MILLION LTGO BONDS, ACCEPTING THE PURCHASE OFFER OF SEAFIRST BANK AND STATING THE URGENCY OF PASSAGE, #AB93 - 143 This ordinance authorizes the sale of $3,400,000 of Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds to Seafirst Bank and accepts the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase offer. Proceeds of the bonds will be used for the following projects: Overwater Park Mitigation $ 400,000 Regional Sports Complex Construction $1,000,000 Public Works Complex Construction $2,000,000 Mr. Hanna stated like all Bond Ordinance, this is brought before Council with emergency passage language to obtain the best possible rate on the bonds from the bidding banks, in this case Seafirst. It allows for immediate implementation of the ordinance, minimizes the market risk to which the bank is exposing itself by extending the purchase offer, thereby allowing the City to obtain the best rate onethe money on behalf of the taxpayers. Roy McGinnis requested clarification of what the funds will be used for. $ 400,000 mitigation for Overwater Park $1,000,000 partial funding, regional sports complex $2,000,000 public works complex construction Mr. Johnson stated when the bond issue came before Fiscal and Budget, it was a much larger request; between $8 and $10 million. Fiscal and Budget felt this should be scaled back and they were successful in getting administration to remove some projects from the list. For this Fiscal Year, they TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 9 of 11 needed to get a feel for how much it would cost. There's an obligation on the part of the City to invest that money during certain periods of time. Mr. Johnson stated a fourth project soon to be under discussion is the golf course expansion. Since the golf course is a revenue generating source, Fiscal and Budget felt this project should be funded with a revenue bond. It was the opinion of Fiscal and Budget that all projects requesting funds would be done and it was the will of the Council to do that. Mr. Overson stated this breaks into three pieces. The bond itself. Mr. Overson feels Bremerton has one of the best Treasurers in the entire state so this is probably the best bond anyone can get. That is why the unanimous support from Council is requested and justified. Mr. Overson stated Fiscal and Budget has done a super job working this through. The document speaks to their good input. Mr. Overson stated the projects to be done are where it gets difficult. Fiscal and Budget has performed a great deal of analysis to come up with the amounts of funding. On the public works complex construction, Council has been closely involved. Mr. Overson felt they can say that is going to come in. Regarding the sports complex, Mr. Overson stated he would like some more certification that the $1 million is going to provide something for our citizens. He stated his under - standing that they cannot. validate that. It's going to be tough to go beyond this amount of funding when combined with the rest, so Council must keep staff on their toes to insure that they make this amount fit. Mr. Overson stated the third part is the payment. $280,000 a year for 20 years is a lot of money. Mr. Overson discussed the necessity of going to a vote of the people last year for $450,000 for one year to fund an important police activity because there was not money in the budget. Mr. Overson stated $280,000 a year for 20 years only starts the City's problems. He felt it would be inappropriate to say there will be level funding in Bremerton for the next few years. Mr. Dawkins stated he understands what Mr. Overson is talking about, but there are some things that have to be paid. The overwater park mitigation is done and must be paid. The regional sports complex has had work parties, it will be a tight budget, but he felt there would be people willing to volunteer and there will be help from many people. The public works complex must be built. It is a tough choice, but Mr. Dawkins feels they must go ahead with these projects. He stated you cannot ask for a better time to borrow money and TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 10 of 11 most people would like to borrow home mortgages at these rates. Ms. Horton stated she will support passage of this ordinance, however, she doesn't want to pit the sports complex against the golf course expansion. She felt it needs to be stated very clearly that both the sports complex and the golf course expansion need to be built. Ms. Horton stated the golf course is a revenue generator in the long term and if this City doesn't go forward with the expansion, 20 years from now the City will be very sorry. Twenty years from now the two golf courses and the piece of waterfront property will be legacy for the Parks Department. Ms. Horton wants it understood they will do both projects and both in the near term. The City will have to pay back those bonds at $280,000 a year for 20 years, but Ms. Horton doesn't want this payback to jeopardize the golf course expansion. Ms. Horton stated one upsetting aspect is passing a budget and then hearing from staff they won't know if there is enough money until bids are in. She feels whatever projects they undertake, it must fit the City's budget. They were over budget on the boardwalk, they had a faulty number in the beginning and the sports complex has gone from $2 million to $2.9 million. Those are things that make the taxpayers unhappy. Ms. Horton feels they owe it to the taxpayers that when they undertake a project, they set a budget and than adhere to that budget, even if that means scaling back on the project. They have to eradicate the idea that if the project doesn't fit the budget, they'll scrape up the money from somewhere. Ms. Horton reiterated she will support this, but wants to emphasis they will do both the sports complex and golf course expansion and will stay within the budget on both. Mr. Collins stated they are putting apples and oranges in the same sack when they talk about spending this kind of money for these kinds of things, but can't pay for police officers. Mr. Collins emphasized there is money they have which cannot be used for police officers. Two funds are real estate excise tax and money from hotel/motel. There are specific things these monies can be used for. Real estate excise tax can be used only for capital project and improvements. The sports complex comes under that category. Mr. Collins stated they've been stagnant for many years and have had a deterioration, and he feels they need to move ahead. Mr. Collins felt the City cannot entice companies and people to locate here unless there are things for them to do. The educational system at the lower levels is good, and a community college which is outstanding. When people consider locating in a City these are things they look for and recreation is another. Mr. TAPE #1124 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes July 21, 1993 Page 11 of 11 Collins feels the sports complex needs'to be built and stated there is a big difference in the engineering estimate and the contractual cost and he feels they must accept that. M/S/C/U(Johnson/Dawkins) motion to pass Ordinance No. 4429 on an emergency basis. Mr. Hanna thanked Council and recognized this was not an easy vote. He stated Seafirst has offered to purchase the entire bond issue and by passage that offer has been accepted. Additionally, Seafirst is reserving 20% of the bond issue to be retailed through the local branch. Any members of the community who have an interest in investing in their community need only talk with - their local Seafirst Bank. However, that offer is not extended to elected officials. Mr. Hanna stated two years ago they made the same offer on GO Bonds and they were sold out within two or three days. They are a serial bond issue with maturity beginning as early as 1994 and extending as late as 2012. With no further business meeting adjourned to session at 7:15 p.m. RICH HANNA, City Treasurer EILEEN FITZ, Council President City of Bremerton KL/E/eh cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault executive