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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/28/93TAPE #1102 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES APRIL 28, 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, April 28, 1993, at 5:30 p.m., with Council President Eileen Fitz presiding. Council members present were Lon Overson, Richard Neville, Lynn Horton, C. R. "Tiny" Collins, Morrie Dawkins, Al Colvin and Russ Johnson. Councilman Hank Waibel was absent. Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and City Clerk Kathleen McCluskey. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Reverend David Biles of St. Luke's Methodist Church. President Fitz announced following the Council meeting, Council would hold an Executive Session on "labor negotiations" and a Study Session on "Design Update Report - Public Works Complex". CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes of Meeting - April 14, 1993, #AB93-076 B. Bid Award Recommendation Structure Demolition - Kiwanis Field, Awarded To Olympia Construction in the amount of $19,740.00 #0036 M/S/C/U(Horton/Colvin) to approve 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. #0049 M/S/C/U(Colvin/Dawkins) April 28, 1993, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 165824 through 165826 in the total amount of $280,176.46. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Johnson reported Brem - Air Disposal Inc., has published a Recycling And Yard Waste Collection Service Calendar, which should be helpful for determining recycling pick up days. TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 2 of 16 Copies of this calendar can be obtained from Brem - Air as well as the City Council Office. Mrs. Horton pointed out the "circled" dates on the calendar designate when city - wide yard waste collection will take place. There is another key for recycling pick up in west Bremerton - it coincides with the shipyard's pay day week. Mr. Colvin reported he shared a very good experience with some young people, who will make a report later on during this meeting. Mr. Dawkins stated he enjoyed hearing young voices in the audience during the Pledge Of Allegiance. Mr. Collins reported during the winter time we have experienced "smoke" air pollution problems that caused complete shut down of all wood burning in the County. It was because of some efforts of Kitsap County Commissioner Win Granlund and he that Kitsap County was set aside from the rest of the air pollution area, which includes King, Snohomish, Pierce and Kitsap Counties. At the present time, the determination as to whether there is a "burn ban" in Kitsap County is based on information from a monitor station at Meadowdale, which is located down in a valley. For almost a 11/2 years he has been trying to get a second monitoring station in Kitsap County so that a broader view of levels of air pollution could be charted. On Monday, April 27, the City and Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency (PSAPC) struck an agreement that will locate a second station at the old pump station at Gorst. This second monitoring station will provide for two completely separate monitoring areas that will give the people at PSAPCA a better idea of what the actual air pollution problem is in Kitsap County. Hopefully, it will help keep from changing our way of life. Mr. Overson questioned if that monitor would also pick up the particles or just the air content? Mr. Collins started the monitoring should pick up just about everything. Mr. Neville thanked Brem - Air, Lions Club, and City of Bremerton for the opportunity to use their facilities for the spring clean up. In reference to the reduced landfill dumping fees during the clean up, the reduced costs covered only mattresses, chairs and couches. Other types of discarded items were charged the full dumping fees. He noted the regular dumping fees are substantial. Some of his neighbors complained to him about some houses that have substantial amounts of garbage piled around them. He personally contacted the residents in those homes and told them of the good opportunity available to them during the clean up activity, TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 3 of 16 which they chose not to respond to. Now that the spring clean up effort is over, he would like to see the City become more aggressive and go after the people who refused to take advantage of the opportunity the City provided for them. He reported he was a member of the interview panel for the Kure, Japan Sister City Program. He found it refreshing to see the quality of students that come forward for this program. Mr. Horton announced the Bremerton Senior Center will hold an Open House on May 14, 1993, 10:00 AM to 3:00 P.M.. As part of that event, there will be a Rose Garden dedication, senior singers as well as youth singers from View Ridge School. Over the past weekend she attended a Youth Violence Prevention Conference, held in Port Orchard, sponsored by ESD # 113. One of the break out sessions she participated in was a 10-Step Gang Prevention Program, lead by Rocky Wallace, who is a South Kitsap Middle School Intervention Officer. He talked about a program established in Yakima and currently running in four elementary schools in that area. The cost of that program is $47,000 per year/per school. That program consists of after school activities for youth and meals or snacks. In looking at statistics for those schools prior to and after the program, there were 180 separate incidents of trespass/vandalism or assaults in the area. The year following implementation of the program that statistic dropped to 60. Even more dramatic, before the program there were 72 assaults and after the program it dropped to 10. Statistics were also given that it costs $55,000 to house one youth in a Juvenile Detention Center for one year. Mrs. Horton noted the community of Mountlake Terrace has a similar program and she hoped there would be some source of funding to bring about the implementation of such a program in Bremerton. She would like to have Rocky Wallace speak to the City Council at a joint session with the Parks Commission and the Bremerton School Board and see if some sort of arrangement could be worked out to provide activities at various schools after school hours. Lastly, she wished her daughter Leslie a "Happy Birthday". Mrs. Fitz reported she also attended the same seminar as Mrs. Horton. On Friday evening she attended a pre-session to the Youth Violence Prevention Conference sponsored by Blacks In Government. She noted there were youth participants at the conference. Brainstorming sessions were held on what is causing the problems and what are some solutions. She believes they agreed that the number one problem with young people is the break down in families. Some of the best ideas given at the conference came from the young participants. Through the concerted effort by youth In Belfair and Bainbridge Island they were able to gather support to TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 4 of 16 establish a teen center. Teenagers are helping to run those centers in conjunction with an adult advisory board, which is working very well. She stressed the importance of including youth in whatever program is established in Bremerton. At one of the break out sessions she attended the Police Chief from Alderwood Manor described a program established in his community called "Neutral Zone", which is a recreational program on Friday and Saturday nights, 10:00 PM to 2:00 AM, held in a grade school. Through this program several items were identified as very critical: (1) free food, (2) activities; (3) place to sit, talk or listen to music. This program also offers classes, such as filling out job applications, writing resumes, health issues, drug and alcohol issues. This program is manned by 20 volunteers on site with one paid person, who acts as director, and one Sheriff who is stationed at the door. The Neutral Zone is a place where gang members and other young people from all over Seattle, Alderwood Manor, Everett, Lynnwood, can go and have a good time without getting into trouble or feeling threatened/unsafe. Things not allowed are: fighting, gang signing, sagging pants, etc. This program has been averaging 165 young people every Friday and Saturday night. There have been only two incidences where the facility had to be closed down, one being too many youth (365 youth wanted in). When the environment becomes too tense, a yellow helium balloon is put up and that means "everyone back off" and a red balloon means the facility has to close. The ages of youth participating in this program are 10 - 18. An incident was related that a 9 year old youth wanted in but was refused due to his age. Instead of going home, that 9 year old stood outside of the facility until 11:30 P.M., when they finally let him in. Mrs. Fitz stressed we, as a community, are going to have to resolve the problems that we are having by providing places with activities for young people to become involved. A study of crime activity in the Alderwood Manor area was made following implementation of the Neutral Zone and the year prior to the program there were 75 juvenile arrests and the year following start of the program that number had been reduced to 40. She emphasized that members of the community will probably be asked, in the future, to participate in some way, i.e., providing food, serving as a volunteer, etc. Following the seminar on Saturday, a group had already found a place to start a recreational center and the youth "passed a hat" to collect funds to have some seed money for publishing a brochure and they have resource people to assist them. She believes movement will be made in all parts of the County and in the City of Bremerton to provide youth activity facilities. TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 5 of 16 PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Louis Mentor reported he was on vacation all of last week. He announced the Parks Department is sponsoring a new program for young people 12 - 18 years old, called "Learn To Shoot Pool", held on Tuesdays, May 4 through June 8, 4:00 - 5:30 P.M., at the Senior Center. Cost for this program is $18.00. On June 1, three new basketball courts will be put in place in the west Bremerton area (located on some unused tennis courts), and summer league play will be implemented. Mayor Mentor read the following Proclamation: (1) West Bremerton Garden Club - May 6, 1993, Symphony Of Services In West Bremerton. Lovie Nichols, President of the West Bremerton Garden Club and Betty Creekmore accepted the Proclamation and invited everyone to the Club's celebration of their 56th anniversary on May 13. Mayor Mentor reported on the following activities: (1) Christmas In April program was very successful. (2) Multiple Sclerosis Walk - A - Thon was held at Evergreen Park last week. (3) Sunday Farmers Market starts May 2, 10:00 - 4:00 P.M, on the boardwalk. (4) Today, he attended a Scout Breakfast - an annual fund raising event in Kitsap County. (5) Premier of a Public Information Program - to air beginning May 5 on the Bremerton Community Access Channel (Channel 12), with Bernadette of KITZ acting as host and featuring current City issues. New shows will be produced twice monthly and will be shown on Wednesdays at 12:30 P.M. and Thursdays 11:30 AM and 6:30 P.M. The first program topic has to do with Limited Improvement Districts (L.i.D). Mayor Mentor was saddened to report Takeshi Niioka of Kure, Japan has passed away. Mr. Niioka was instrumental in the City of Bremerton and City of Kure, Japan's joining together to form a Sister City relationship. He was known for his commitment to this program and gracious hosting of American exchange students as well as local residents and Bremerton Central Lions Club members associated with the Sister City Exchange Program. He also reported the passing of Sylvia Shires, who was well known in the City and in the nursing profession for many years. Mrs. Beckwith introduced a group of "home schooled" children TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 6 of 16 and thanked Councilman Andy Par3FDa, Hayward Avenue, explained recently he received an invitation to attend an event where Mayor Mentor would make a formal announcement that he would run for reelection for the position of Mayor. Mr. Parypa returned the invitation to the Mayor and inscribed the following: "fool me once is your fault, fool me twice that is my fault", and he asked "what have you done for the neighborhoods? And, he included the note that the problem of junk and cars on sidewalks continues to exist. As a response to those comments on the returned invitation, Mayor Mentor sent him a letter, on City letterhead, outlining things that he had accomplished during his term of office. Mr. Parypa admitted Mayor Mentor had done some good things for the City and he hoped he continues, but he also wished he would have included how much money he has cost the taxpayers during his term of office, i.e. 4th Street Building is a good example. Me emphasized as far back as 1987 he was arguing that the City was in violation with RCW's relating to vehicles that blocked sidewalks. At that time, he also brought up the fact that City ordinances state that the abutting landowner, if sued or if the City is sued because of injuries as a result of damage to sidewalks or parking strips, would pay all of the cost for themselves and to the City. It was finally determined that Mr. Parypa was correct and changes were made to the ordinance, but were not backed up with enforcement. On September 23, 1987, he specifically asked the City Attorney, Ian Sievers, to identify himself and tell him whether or not the abutting landowner would be held responsible. He has in his position a copy of a tape where he was assured that if something happened to the City certainly they would not hold the abutting landowner responsible. He stated he would "bet his life" if the City was sued because of damage to sidewalks or parking strips caused by parked vehicles, they would not pick up his cost. The point he wished to make was to ask the Mayor to take a tour of the City area and see how many vehicles are blocking pedestrian traffic. Me is aware there are other serious concerns in the City, such as gangs, violence, domestic violence, etc., but he believes it is important that City ordinances be backed up with enforcement or that they be repealed. He also questioned where are the signs that were suppose to be posted on parking strips identifying allowable parking or no parking? Mayor who participated in a "City Tour", Colvin, Police Chief Del McNeal, Fire Chief Mick McKinley, Lori Jones, Fire Prevention Specialist, Vicki Vanneman, Director Parks & Recreation, Mike Schroader and Joe Drouin of the Turner Joy, and Council staff Merilynn Erhart and Lori Smith for providing their group with a very active and fun filled day. TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 7 of 16 Mentor included in his letter to Mr. Parypa that if he had a complaint about parking on sidewalks he should contact the Code Compliance Officer in the Building Department. In Mr. Parypa's opinion, that person has nothing to do with parking on sidewalks. Lovie Nichols, 1203 Bayview Drive, reported she participated in the Bremerton clean up event on Saturday, April 24. She requested the City provide a dumpster for a clean up effort in her neighborhood. If they are not granted their request, they will request the City to allow them to bring their rubbish and place it on the sidewalk in the City for pick up. Mr. Johnson questioned for clarification if Ms. Nichols was requesting the City to provide a dumpster in the County? Mrs. Nichols stated it is County area, however the City owns the sewer plant located a short distance from her residence. President Fits requested Ms. McCluskey contact Ms. Nichols on this request. Chuck Laubach, Chairman Farmers Market Association, announced the Farmers Market is starting on Sunday, May 2. He thanked the Mayor and City Council for their support of the market's activity as well as the Parks Department for allowing the market to be located on the boardwalk plus their support. He emphasized the fact that several members on the Association's board are market vendors. He also thanked the Bremerton Central Lions Club for their supporting a produce stand at the Market. He reported Theresa Romaine has been hired as the new Market Master. Mayor Mentor stated he receives many phone calls and letters from citizens, which he tries to answer personally. Because the City does not have personnel to patrol every street to look for violators of City ordinances, he does encourage citizens to convey their concerns to the Code Compliance Officer whose job it is to investigate and bring about a result if appropriate. Don Atkinson, Executive Director Bremerton Main Street Association, stated Main Street is pleased to be the umbrella organization for the Farmers Market. He announced the Heart & Sole Classic, which is a combination run and walk on behalf of the Heart Association, will be held May 1, 9:00 A.M., at the south end of the boardwalk. There will be a 3.6 mile and 5K course and everyone is welcome to participate in this event. also, an event is being put together for May 15 that is intended to focus attention on the waterfront, kicking off the first full of tourist activities in the downtown area. Roy McInnis,'2711 Maple Street, stated he was pleased to hear TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 8 of 16 that there is hope that some type of youth activities will be implemented for the youth in Bremerton. He came before Council about two years ago and mentioned the need for some type of activity for youth. He is a Sunday School teacher of teenagers and they are willing and ready to support youth activities in the City. Glenn Jarstad, 2823 Hefner Street, stated he was sorry to hear about the passing away of Mr. Niioka, who was a very strong supporter of the Sister City Program and showed great kindness to everyone from Bremerton who visited Kure, Japan. He reported there are two million fish at the Gorst Creek Hatchery and it is anticipated they will be released within a week. Two Marine Biology classes from Olympic Collage have observed the hatchery operation. The algae and waste from 2 million fish is handled through adding live bacteria to the water. One problem occurring at the hatchery was the intrusion of a sea otter into the fish pens. In reference to parking, it has been a real problem and is not an easy situation. He believed if there were standard roads throughout Bremerton there would be less parking problems. When some streets are only 18 feet wide and people want to park on their street it becomes a real problem. When people are parked on the sidewalk in areas of correct road right-of- ways he believed they should be ticketed. He referenced concerns about young people having activities, he noted they had experienced this same type of problem in years past and community programs were provided. The response to those programs was great, bringing 400-500 youth together for activities, but the only way such a program can be continually successful is to get the youth involved in leadership of the program so they "carry the ball". President Fitz noted that because the Neutral Zone program has drawn so many young people, they are going to open at 8:00 P.M. and will offer opportunities, from 8:00 - 10:00 P.M, for help with homework, classes on writing checks/keeping a budget/living skills. Because they found youth congregating earlier than the program started and after talking with some of the youth, it was determined that kids want some place to go for the whole evening and they want some structure in their life. 6A - ORDINANCE #4412 (SECOND READING) ADOPTING A COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION (CTR) PLANFOR THE CITY OF BREMERTON PURSUANTTO RCW 70.94 AND 1992 WASHINGTON STATE COMMUTE TRIP REDUCTION TASK FORCE GUIDELINES ANDADOPTING ANEW CHAPTER TO TITLE 10 OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE, ~AB93-074 Public comment - none. #1910 #1961 i TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993- Page 9 of 16 M/S/C/U(Johnson/Colvin) to pass Ordinance #4412, on second reading, adopting a Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Plan for the City of Bremerton pursuant to RCW 70.94 and 1992 Washington State Commute Trip Reduction Task Force Guidelines and adopting a new chapter to Title 10 of the Bremerton Municipal Code. 6B - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) REPEALING CITY JAIL REGULATIONS, #AB93-078 After several months of negotiating, the City entered into a contract with Kitsap County for incarceration of City prisoners in of 1986. Operation of City jail was discontinued in 1989. Chapter 2.66 of the Bremerton Municipal Code establishes cells 3 and 5 as segregated special detention facilities in the City jail and these regulations have no continued application. If the City jail were remodeled or rebuilt to meet jail standards, these special detention facilities would have to be redesignated by the City Council at that time. Public comment - none. M/S/C/U(Horton/Neville) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, repealing regulations establishing special detention facilities and repealing Bremerton Municipal Code Chapter 2.66. 6C - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) REPEALING SUPERSEDES DISASTER RESPONSE REGULATIONS, ~AB93-079 Phyllis Mann, Assistant Director for Kitsap County Emergency Management, has reviewed BMC Chapter 2.24, Civil Defense, and has confirmed that this Chapter has been entirely supplanted by the City's adoption and participation in the Kitsap County Emergency Management Organization under BMC 2.26 as a system for disaster response. Chapter 2.24 should have been repealed when Chapter 2.26 was adopted in 1986. Kathleen McCluske~, City Clerk, explained that Council will be seeing a number of ordinances like this systematically as they review the Bremerton Municipal Code book and repealing old, out-of-date ordinances. Mr. Neville questioned if review of the BMC was done on a set schedule? Ms. McCluske~ stated there is no specific schedule, however, Departments have been asked to review their sections of the code that most pertain to their department and review them. Mr. Neville questioned the last time such a review had taken place and how many man- hours it involves? Ms. McCluskev stated on a structure basis it has probably been a #2094 TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 10 of 16 number of years, and is a very time consuming task. Public comment - none. M/S/C/U(Horton/Dawkins) to approve Ordinance, first reading, repealing laws establishing an emergency response organization and repealing Bremerton Municipal Code Chapter 2.24. 7A PUBLIC HEARING -~DHOC]tDVISORY COMMITTEE REPORT - "REVIEW CITY CHARTER AND FORM OF ~OVERNMENT", #AB93-020 On April 14, 1993, the Ad Hoc Citizen Advisory Committee presented their report on their "Review Of The City Charter And Form Of Government" as an INFORMATION ITEM.. Through the public hearing process, the citizens of Bremerton will have an opportunity to respond to the Ad Hoc Committee's report. Larry Stone stated the Ad Hoc Citizen Advisory Committee has recommended that the City Council adopt a revised charter and at the same time they change the classification of the City from First Class City to a Charter Code City. There are some preparatory steps to do that: (1) involves a charter ordinance provision limiting terms in office to two consecutive terms in office; (2) calls for an ordinance or charter provision limiting campaign contributions; (3) calls for ordinance or charter provision requiring performance audits; (4) ordinance or charter provision requiring City filing of Public Disclosure Forms. It also recommended that the City be reorganized from the present Mayor/Council form to a Council/Manager form. Committee recommended that Council take the necessary preparatory steps and pass a Resolution For Election on the issue of reclassification and the adoption of the revised charter this election period and then in the first or second quarter of 1995 move the reorganization of the City to a Council/Manager form. Maynard Hoffman stated he knows this Ad Hoc Committee worked hard and long in preparing this proposal, which he supports. He has talked with people in his neighborhood about this report and they too are in favor of it. He hopes the Council will give it very serious consideration. Mr. Stone thanked the TCI Cable Access crew for their assistance in developing the public service announcement on this public hearing. President Fitz stated the Council does want input from the citizens. A decision cannot be made without the citizens of TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 11 of 16 Bremerton letting their wishes be known to the Council. She encouraged citizens to put their comments in a letter to the City Council or to call the Council Office with their opinions on this issue. She hopes to get a few questions on the next water bill mailing. She is sure the Ad Hoc Committee members are in a quandary because they have worked very diligence on this issue. Mr. Colvin thanked the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee for their hard work on this report. Mr. Johnson stated because there are not a lot of people in the audience it might be because the Committee came pretty close to the mark. He has received calls from citizens on the various issues of this proposal. He hoped Council would not delay making a decision for a whole water bill cycle. He did not put much value to responses to the water bill surveys because of the way they are distributed. He noted responses from citizens he has received regarding the form of government have been very strong for a City Manager/Council form of government. In regard to term limits, there is a movement throughout the countryto limit terms, but he was not sure how strongly people feel about that issue. He personally did not care about the limit of terms, as two terms for an average citizen might be long enough. In reference to contribution limits, he thought it was a good idea but it has been the strongest negative from citizen input. People within his District do not support having Council members run "at large" and they prefer having someone from within their area as well as guaranteeing a representative from all areas of the City. They also liked the fact that someone does not have to be rich or have a lot of friends in order to run "city wide" for a Council position. He was not sure what the Ad Hoc Committee had in mind for the "performance audits", as the City already has a strong, independent audit function. He is a strong supporter for performance audits. He saw no problem having Public Disclosure Forms available in the City Clerk's Office. In reference to a Charter Code City, he has never been against going to a revised Code city and he does think there are benefits to do that. He feels the time frames are reasonable and manageable. In general, the reports he received from citizens have been extremely favorable and the only issue in his mind and his constituents is Council members having to run "at large". Mr. Stone stated there are some very serious issues in the committee's recommendation and was appalled that there were not more citizen involvement at this hearing. He believes the recommendations made by the Committee are well thought-out. TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 12 of 16 Mr. Cclvin questioned if running "at large" equated with not running in a District? Mr. Johnson stated yes, running "at large" would require a city-wide campaign, which would include District areas. Mr. Colvin stated he did not want to give the impression that if you run "at large" there will be no District representation. In fact, the way most of these are done is those that run in the Primary Election are voted on in the District, then in the General Election they would run "at large". President Fits stated she did not believe that statement was true - but it could be structured that way. What was explained earlier was that a person would run city- wide in the Primary and General Elections. Cecil McConnell, Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, stated "at large" means Council candidates would not come from a specific District. He pointed out by running "at large" all Council members could come from the same District/neighborhood area, and such a situation happened in the City of Yakima. The reason the Ad Hoc Committee changed its original recommendation from a non- Charter Code to a Charter-Code was so the Council could dictate how Council positions would be run..."at large" or by Districts in a General Election. He stressed a Charter-Code City would give more flexibility to a jurisdiction. Mr. Colvin stated his point was that by retaining the Charter, as described by Mr. McConnell, District representation would be retained. Mr. McConne11 stated that decision would be up to the City Council and the citizens on how they want the Charter to read. And, it is important for citizens of Bremerton to convey their opinion on that point to the City Council. Mr. Colvin stated even though he has been told that district representation tends to be parochial, he does not see Council actually doing that. Mrs. Hotton stated the Charter could be written to have three representatives "at large" from west Bremerton and three from east Bremerton. If the City goes to the Charter Code form of government, such options can be tailored made for the City. Mr. McConne11 pointed out the non-Charter Code would require several ordinances, one being to retain the City's Civil Service. Under the Charter Code form, the City's current Charter could carry the Civil Service System over to the Charter-Code form of government, which would give Bremerton a much better Charter than what is currently in place. Mr. Collins stated because of the lack of citizen response at this hearing and from comments being made, he wondered are the citizens concerned, is the Council concerned or is there a group who is concerned. He believes that it is the citizens who need to say whether they want something changed or not and the only way to insure we are following their directions/wishes is with "Freeholders". Mrs. Hotton stated ! TAPE #1102 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 13 of 16 she bet, if there was a telephone call in system where people could register their opinion, the buttons would be solid red. There are lots of people who faithfully watch Council meetings every week and they know what is going on. Just because those citizens don't come down to Council meetings doesn't mean they don't participate. From her own experience, people are concerned and are interested and echo the same sentiment as what Mr. Johnson has been hearing. Mr. Johnson referenced the campaign contribution levels, pointing out if you go "at large" with the $350.00 limit that means that everyone running for Council either has to have a lot of friends who are willing to donate $350.00 per head or that person has a lot of money. He sees that as eliminating the person who is a bit shy about fund raising but who may be a good candidate as a Council member. Glenn Jarstad, former Bremerton Mayor, Hefner Avenue, stated he, as well as other citizens, do not like the idea of voting for one-ninth of the Council, who make the laws for the entire city. If the City Council wants to maintain a strength and power in the political process, they should participate in different meetings with the knowledge that everyone in the City voted for them to represent them. He believes it would be a rarity that everyone in the City can name the nine Bremerton City Council members. He was pleased to learn that the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee favored city-wide elections. He also believes that people who want to serve in City government will come up with the funding needed fora city-wide election. TAPE #1103 Mr. Jarstad stated he supported a 5-7 member Council and he recommend that they be paid $10,000 per year and that the Mayor should be paid $20,000. He does not support the concept of an "in-house" City Attorney and felt that legal services should be contracted out with a local law firm because it would be more cost effective. Gene Nelson, former Bremerton Mayor, stated his purpose for coming to this hearing was to listen to Mr. Stone convince him why the City of Bremerton needs a City Manager. He commended the Ad Hoc Committee for doing a good job, however, he disagrees with them on several points. He would like to see the City divided up equally into four Legislative Districts and have four Council members run from within those specific districts in the Primary Election and to then run "at large" in the General Election. Then, have one person (Mayoral candidate) run "at large" in the Primary and General Elections. The Mayoral candidate would also serve as a City Council member. He did not see anything wrong with the TAPE #1103 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 14 of 16 current form of government, except for the number of City Council members for this size of city. He disagreed with Mr. Jarstad about having an "in-house" City Attorney and he was the person who promised, if elected Mayor, he would implement an "in-house" City attorney. He doubled the citizens of Bremerton would support cutting the Council membership from 9 to 7 because what he has heard is that they want it reduced significantly. He acknowledged both the Mayor and Council had made progress over the past few years on such projects like the waterfront and should take credit for those accomplishments. But, he did not want minds closed to the possibility that maybe we do need someone professional to handle the City's business. If a City Manager was hired, the City Council would have the power to discharge that person if they felt that person was not managing properly, and it would be cheaper than ending up with a "bad" Mayor for four years. He urged Council to do more indepth investigation as to what the citizens of Bremerton want because he believes they do want a change. Mr. Neville questioned if a City Manager is hired, do we need a full time Mayor and if so what duties would that entail? He supported having a part-time Mayor if a City Manager is hired. Mr. 8tone stated all of the recommendations made by the committee were unanimous except on the issue of full-time Mayor/part-time Mayor. The Committee came to the conclusion that a full time Mayor, considering the evolving/redevelopment of Bremerton and importance of intergovernmental relations, would be justified. He pointed out the City of Lynnwood has a full-time Mayor and a City Manager type person. The City of Tacoma is another example of having a City Manager with a full-time Mayor. Mrs. Horton emphasized the City of Tacoma's Mayor is not paid a full-time salary considering the size of that city. Mr. 8tone stressed the City would not need a full- time Mayor to run the City, but he questioned how important is the City's representation on regional type organizations? Mr. Overson stated having served as a part-time Council member, he could strongly support a full-time Mayor. There isn't enough "part-time" to do all that has to be done. President Fits stated as a part- time Council member she has found it difficult to read all the material that needs to be read in order to make decisions that costs the City lots of dollars. She felt the City would be best served by a full- time Mayor, who would be serving on the Puget Sound Regional Council and other governmental bodies that need to be addressed and then reporting back to the Council. She stated she also could support a smaller Council, however, it may be TAPE #1103 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 15 of 16 very difficult for five Council members to carry out the amount of Committee work required. Mrs. Horton stated one thing that people need to be aware of is a Health Bill in the State Legislature that is probably going to preempt cities from participation in Health District Boards. On May 11-12 there will be a workshop on CENCOM to address its Board structure, which may also bring about change. Mr. Jarstad stated he agreed with comments made that with the level of workload there is no such thing as "part-time" today. He did not think it would be out-of-line to give Council members $1,000 per month, which would be a bargain for their participation and to double that amount for the Mayor. He did not want to be to "cheap" on the Council members or to "high" on the Mayor. He listed the following organizations and projects that need proper attention by the City Council: Puget Sound Regional Council, Puget Sound Air Pollution Control Agency, Kitsap Regional Planning Council, Health Care crisis, integration of Police/Fire and rescue throughout Kitsap County, districting of Water Utility, any many more issues that the City needs to be involved in. He strongly supported having all Council members run "at large" for their positions, which would give them a political base. He would like to see State Legislative representatives elected from Bremerton and felt that having to run "at large" for a municipal position would give the needed experience and exposure for someone to move on up to a legislative position. Mr. McConne11 stated the Code, with a City Manager, provides that the Mayor has a vote and chairs the City Council. If the Mayor serves full-time, as the chair, he has a distinct advantage over the other Council members. The Minority Report from the Ad Hoc Committee reflected that a full-time Mayor would have undue influence as a Council member regardless of the manner that the rest of them were elected. He personally had no problem with a full-time Mayor if there was some way to work around the requirement that person would act as Chair of the Council and would have a vote on Council. Mr. Par]FDa stated he agreed with Mr. Jarstad in that the current Council is not over paid. He would like to see consideration being given to reduce the size of the City Council, who would be full-time, and pay them the money they are worth. He believes that the City Council, being part time, have not had enough time to study issues and have made some bad decisions. He supports having a City Manager, full- time Mayor at a lower wage and reduced number of Council TAPE #1103 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 28, 1993 Page 16 of 16 members, who would be full-time and paid appropriately. With no further business meeting adjourned at 7:42 P.M. E!o~resident City of Bremerton KLM/EF/me cc: Normal.Distribution File/Vault