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HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/21/93TAPE #1101 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES HAY -S I #0033 #0050 APRIL 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, April 21, 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, Morrie Dawkins, A1 Colvin, Russ Johnson Also present were City Attorney Ian Sievers and Deputy City Clerk Gil Johnson. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Fitz and Invocation given by Reverend David Zaske of First United Methodist Church. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes Of Meeting - April 7, 1993 #AB93-073 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Colvin) 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) April 21, 1993, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 165628 through 165783 in the total amount of $331,003.16; and Regular Payroll for the period ending April 15, 1993, in the amount of $526,754.11. COUNCIL MEMBERREPORTS Mr. Overson stated it was good to be back after being away. Mr. Neville extended a "thank you" to all of the slow pitch teams that participated in a tournament held this past weekend. The tournament was a fund raising event for the Pendergast Regional Sports Complex. He also extended a "thank you" to all of the City employees working on the Spring Clean Up at Evergreen Park. Mrs. Horton announced the Parks and Recreation Department has a new program "Learn To Shoot Pool" for kids ages 12-18. TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 2 of 12 Classes will be held on Tuesday, May 4 - June 8, 4:00 - 5:30 PM, at the Senior Center. The cost for this program is $18.00 for eight hours of play and lessons. The person teaching this program is an accomplished pool player with over 40 years of experience. On April 15 she attend District #1's Neighborhood Coalition meeting where she became an official constituent of that District. She noted now she knows who to go do to when she has a concern - Mr. Colvin, District #1's Council member. Mr. Dawkins reported the Christmas In April program took place this past weekend and lots of people volunteered their time to making five homeowners very happy. He invited Mrs. Johnson, one of the recipients of this program, to speak to the Bremerton Central Lions Club today about what took place at her residence. Because this program has such merit to the citizens, he wishes more houses could be included in the program or maybe doing it twice a year. Mr. Colvin congratulated Mr. Dawkins on his part in the Christmas In April activities. He noted Mrs. Johnson's presentation to the Lions Club was a tearful experience. He thanked Mary Fields, Dan Milovich and Bob Koch for their service on the Planning Commission. He also thanked Mrs. Horton for assisting him during District #1's Neighborhood Coalition meeting on April 15. Mr. Johnson stated in response to the Parks' Department announcement there might be "trouble in River City" and we might want to keep in touch with Professor Hill and might consider a boys band next year. Mrs. Fitz stated because this is an election year, she wanted to share some information about the City Council so that anyone thinking about running for a Council position would have a better understanding of what it entails. She noted each member of the City Council serves on several Committees, i.e. Fiscal and Budget Committee and Operations Committee. The Fiscal and Budget Committee deals mainly with money issues and the Operation Committee deals with issues relating to operation of the City. These committees meet weekly. Council holds a Study Session the first Monday of each month where issues are discussed that may be coming forth in the future or an issue that Council feels it needs additional information. Study sessions are held in the Council office Conference Room and are open to the public. Council members also serve on the Cable Advisory Committee and Growth Management Committee. She announced the Ad Hoc Citizen Advisory Committee will be making a presentation at a Public Hearing, at the April 28 TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 3 of 12 City Council meeting, on their report following a review of the City's Charter and form of government. Copies of the Committee's report are available at the public libraries and in the City Council Office. Also, a segment of the April 14th presentation by the AD Hoc Committee has been programmed so that it could be replayed for public viewing. Mrs. Horton thanked the Cable Access crew for their effort in putting that segmented program together following the Council meeting of April 14th. PUBLIC RECOGNITION A1 Colvin, Mayor Protem, read the following Proclamations: 1) April 25 - May 1, 1993, Northwest Washington Safe Boating Week. Carl Wilhelm, Power Squadron, accepted the proclamation and briefly reviewed the importance of being safety conscious when boating or enjoying water activities. 2) May 2, 1993, celebration of Loyalty Day. Bob 8auter, RET Sgt. Major, accepted the Proclamation on behalf of all Veterans Of Foreign Wars. Bob Sauter, RET Sgt. Major, announced the Korean War Memorial in Olympia will be dedicated on July 24, 1993. He noted that as of this date, the City of Bremerton had not participated in helping to fund this project and hoped funds could be identified for that purpose. He emphasized of the 473 Washington's native sons, 15 of them died in Korea and they were from the City of Bremerton. Additional information will be provided on the Dedication ceremony at a future date. Beverly Woods, Executive Director Bremerton Area Chamber Of Commerce, handed out a brand new magazine titled: "BREMERTON", a community profile and membership directory. This publication will be used as an advertising tool promoting the Bremerton area. She'noted the publication was funded through advertising by Chamber members. Glenn Jarstad, 2823 Hefner, stated he had offered to host a group of Russian High School wrestling students on his fishing boat. During that anticipated visit he was going to share with them some historical information that the greatest friends the American GI soldiers had during WWII were the Russian soldiers, who had Russian currency that looked like U.S. dollar bills. The only difference in the dollar bills was a + and -, the Russians using the "-" and the American dollar had the "+". The Russian government told their soldiers they could not bring any of that currency with them when they returned to Russia and the only thing they could do was to buy from theAmerican soldiers, which was free trade at TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 4 of 12 its greatest. He noted there was more money sent home from the European theater than the entire military payroll in Europe. Had the opportunity presented itself, he was going to thank the students for the good deed their government did for the American GI's. He was upset over a recent newspaper article about the arguments by the County Commissioners and the cities. He felt the news article painted a picture that the cities were undemocratic and forced people to join the City through annexation. He doubled that the reporters researched the issue because State law offers two ways for people to become part of a City, they can vote or they have the 75% petition method. He pointed out when the Parkwood East project was proposed, the City of Bremerton extended them, under a contract, service to their sewers. When the County received a Federal grant to build a sewer treatment plant at Brownsville, they came to Bremerton and asked if Bremerton would renegotiate with Parkwood East so they could service them through the County's sewer system. The City agreed to that request even though the City could have retained serving that area and extended the City's boundaryto include Parkwood East. He becomes very upset when groups are formed based on "hate Bremerton" attitudes, when in fact the City has the capability of providing better services to areas that closely border City boundaries. Terrie Dupree, Cambrian Avenue, expressed concern over litter strewn on the ground and on the street in her neighborhood. She asked that people be considerate and not throw cans, bottles, car parts, empty food containers on streets and sidewalks, particularly in her neighborhood. Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, President of Washington Scuba Alliance, reported on the following items: 1. Department of Ecology's is promotion "Count Down To Earth Day" for the month of April, and their Environmental Action Guide. 2. Underwater and shoreline clean up of Dyes Inlet will take place on April 23, 10:00 A.M., starting at the Silverdale Waterfront Park public dock. This event is coordinated with the U.S. Navy at Bangor and the Central Kitsap Schools. Volunteers from the general public for this event are welcome. 3. Underwater and shoreline clean up of Sinclair Inlet will take place on April 24, 11:30 A.M., at the First Street Dock in downtown Bremerton. Volunteers from the general public for this event are welcome. 4. Underwater Park Substitute Senate Bill #5332 passed the TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 5 of 12 House 94 to 4, was returned to the Senate due to the amendment and passed 47-0, the next step being the Governor's response. 5. Coast Weeks Journal - a schedule of water related events throughout the fall. Mr. Collins questioned clarification of a comment made by Mr. Larson about the placement of a dumpster on a property located at Sheldon Blvd., and Pacific Avenue - would that dumpster be placed on private property? Mr. Larson stated it might - he did discuss that with the Health Department and Department of Ecology. Mr. Collins suggested Mr. Larson check in the legality of placing something on private property Mr. Colvin thanked Mr. Larson for his enthusiastic community involvement. He questioned if Mr. Larson had contacted the Chamber of Commerce regarding the several activities he just described for Council? Mr. Larson stated yes, he has provided the Chamber of Commerce Office with publicity materials for those activities. 6A - ORDINANCE NO. 4411 (SECOND READING) ANNEXING APPROX. 20 ACRES KNOWN AS THE PORT OF BREMERTON ANNEXATION AREA AND FIXING THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF ANNEXATION, #AB93-071 Public comment - none. Councilman Collins stepped out of Council Chambers at 6:10 P.M. #1229 M/S/C(Waibel/Dawkins) to pass ordinance No. 4411 annexing approximately 20 acres known as the Port of Bremerton Annexation Area which lies south of the City of Bremerton Biosolids Application site and northwest of the Bremerton Airport and fixing the effective date of annexation. Vote on motion: In Favor: Neville, Horton, Waibel, Fitz, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson Abstain: Overson Motion carried. 6B - ORDINANCE (FIRST 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 The Washington State Legislature passed the Commute Trip Reduction Law mandating certain local governments to adopt local commute trip reduction ordinances by January 31, 1993. The cities located in Kitsap County and Kitsap Transit TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 6 of 12 developed a Commute Trip Reduction Ordinance which all Kitsap jurisdictions would use. On February 3, 1993, City Council approved the Commute Trip Reduction draft ordinance and directed the City Attorney to prepare a codified ordinance. The proposed ordinance is the codified ordinance. Bob Ferguson, Transportation Management Planner for Kitsap Transit, stated Kitsap Transit is responsible for administering Commute Trip Reduction laws within Kitsap County. This new law requires that all major employers, in eight major counties, reduce the number of single occupant vehicle (SOY) commute trips made to the employers work site. This law is aimed at reducing air pollution, traffic congestion and energy use. The law requires jurisdictions to establish a Commute Trip Reduction zone and within that zone establish an average SOV commute trip rate. With assistance from the Puget Sound Regional Council and using Census data and computer modeling, it was determined that Kitsap County is one commute trip reduction zone and the SOV commute rate is 85%. In other words, 85% of all commuters in Kitsap County drive alone to work. This 85% SOV commute rate is the base year figure and according to the law by 1995 all major employers must have a SOV commute rate of 15% less than the base year figure; 1997 -25% less and 1999-35% less. To meet the goals of the Commute Trip Reduction law, every major employer must have a SOV rate of 72% by the year 1995, 64% by 1997 and 55% by 1999. Over the past month, all major employers in Kitsap County have been surveying their employees to determine the employers' SOV commute rate. The results of those surveys, prepared by the University of Washington, revealed that most employers in Kitsap County have a SOV commute rate of 80% or more. However, Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) has a SOV commute rate of 37%. Only 30% of the employees who work at PSNS drive alone to work. Based on research by Mr. Ferguson, PSNS's SOV commute rate could be the lowest in the nation. The Shipyard and the City of Bremerton deserve tremendous praise for their efforts to reduce parking within the Shipyard and restricting parking within residential areas surrounding the Shipyard. Mr. Ferquson pointed out 36% of the Shipyard's employees commute in carpools or vanpools, and 16% of those employees use Kitsap Transit. Based on quick figuring the SOY commute rate of 37%, the shipyard is preventing almost one million pounds of pollution from entering the local air source. He has already received calls from planners from other areas asking how did PSNS get such a low SOV commute rate. Looking at the facts, he believes there are three major reasons for PSNS's low rate: (1) City of Bremerton residential parking TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 7 of 12 policy; (2) Shipyards aggressive parking policy; (3) Kitsap Transit's Vanpool and Worker-Driver Program. As a result of the City of Bremerton, PSNS and Kitsap Transit working together, PSNS is exempt from the Commute Trip Reduction law requirements for the years 1995, 1997 and 1999. He emphasized achievement of commute trip reduction should not go unrecognized. Councilman Collins returned to the City Council Chambers at 6:17 P.M. Mr. Overson noted the City's parking policy, which was not popular, was largely established by the Parking Committee, which was chaired by Council member Lynn Horton. He noted PSNS has aggressively approached the parking issue and is a success they needed to feel proud of. He believes the present PSNS retirements that are coming about will further reduce the SOY commute rate because many of them are the higher echelon managers who had to drive due to their work schedules. Mrs. Hotton stated Kitsap Transit does have an excellent Vanpool Worker-Worker Driver program and when she became Council President three years ago, the Shipyard was contemplating eliminating the parking for those buses. It took a concerted effort on the part of the City and Kitsap Transit to turn that around and finally the Shipyard saw the wisdom of utilization of those buses. Public comment - none. Mr. Ferguson stated in comparison, the people at the Bangor Base have an 81% SOV commute trip rate. Mr. Waibel stated as has already been indicated, the City's policy on parking was not a popular policy, and in fact generated probably 90% of City Council time for over a year in terms of responding to and trying to make it work. This commuter reduction is not necessarily going to be popular, but we do have to do it. Mr. Overson questioned the results of the survey taken by the City? Mr. Ferguson stated the City of Bremerton has 81% SOV commute trip rate. Mr. Colvin questioned if Mr. Ferguson had any suggestions to help the City reduce its high rate of SOV use? Mr. Ferguson stated one suggestion is to use "ride mass" services at Kitsap Transit and for the City to look at where their own employees park. He questioned if the City subsidized parking for employees? Mr. Johnson stated yes, and he did not like that fact. Mr. Ferguson emphasized "parking" TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 8 of 12 is the driver for trip reduction as well as the "guaranteed ride home", which helps for those who choose carpooling. Mr. Colvin questioned the impact of ,'park-And-Ride Lots" located at the outskirts of the City? Mr. Ferguson stated park-and- ride lots have proven to be effective. Mr. Colvin pointed out many people do not like park-and-ride lots because of safety reasons. Mr. Ferguson stated efforts are being made to address the problem of lighting at park-and-ride lots. Mr. Johnson stated in response to his earlier remark on "employee parking", when he first came on Council the City provided some open parking spaces in the City Hall parking lot for public use. Now, that same parking space is utilized by City employees as well as expanding employee parking in the upper floors of the City Parking Garage. He feels there is a need to get "control" on such parking and it fits into the commute trip reduction business. He emphasized the impact of growth management is to preserve the quality of life that we have and doing things to decrease traffic, encourage close and easy access to employment centers, etc. He expressed a "thank you" to Kitsap Transit for a their good work and pointed out the amicable situation between county governmental bodies agreeing to have Kitsap Transit act as lead agency on implementation of the Commute Trip Reduction law. Mr. Ferguson stated in regards to employers in Kitsap County, next week they begin their Employee Transportation Coordinator training. He was pleased to report that Johnson Controlled World Services at Bangor has asked to host that training in their facility and they have already filled two scheduled training sessions. Mrs. Fits stated she talked with Mr. Hayes, of Kitsap Transit, last week about the fact that some people live out a ways and would like to ride their bike one way and take the bus home the other way. She questioned if facilities will be provided for bicycles on buses? Mr. Fer~uson reported Kitsap Transit are installing state-of-the -art bicycle racks on all their buses and they will encourage that kind of commuting. They will be also encouraging major employers to provide bicycle storage facilities, such as bike garages. Mr. Waibel emphasized Council's action at this time is to pass an ordinance that will regulate all employers, including the City, who must develop its own plan to reduce SOV commute trips. Mr. Overson questioned if any funding came with this requirement? Mr. Ferguson stated yes, the City has been presented with $30,000 to help develop a Trip Reduction Plan #1794 TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 9 of 12 and to review City Parking Ordinances and how parking relates to commute trip reduction. Mr. Overson noted that information was not included in the Agenda Bill and questioned if the $30,000 had been budgeted? Mrs. Hotton reminded Mr. Overson that Council budgeted those funds (1993 Budget) in the Engineering Department to help fund a Civil Engineer position to help develop that plan. Mr. Fernson reported the City of Bremerton has two representatives from the Engineering Department attending the Employee Transportation Coordinator training. M/S/C/U(Waibel/Horton) to approve ordinance on first 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. 7A - PUBLIC HEARING: APPEAL OF PLANNING COI~ISSlON DECISION TO UPHOLD THE DIRECTOR OF CO!~UNITY DEVELOPMENT APPROVAL OF A SHORELINE SUBSTKNTIAL DEVELOPMENT PEI~IT TO RECONSTRUCT A PIER~ APPELLANT: WYCOFF NEI~HBOREOOD WATCH, PHIL OLWELL~ LOCATION: 25TH STREET ~ SNYDER AVENUE, #AB93-075 On March 16, 1993, the Planning Commission upheld the Director of Community Development decision and adopted The Analysis and Decision of the Director to approve a shoreline substantial development permit to allow the reconstruction of a pier located at the former Unocal bulk fuel plant at 25th Street and Snyder Avenue. The Shoreline Permit is being appealed by the Wycoff Neighborhood Watch Group on the grounds stated in their Letter of Appeal (Exhibit I). The City Council, when hearing an appeal, shall either: 1) Affirm the decision under review; 2) Reverse the decision under review; 3) Modify in whole or part the decision under review; or 4) Remand the matter back to the approving authority for further consideration. Such action shall be decided by a majority vote of the members present. That vote may be taken at the same or any subsequent meeting. Councilman Morrie Dawkins stepped down from hearing this issue due to a conflict of interest. President Fits asked the "Appearance Of Fairness/Conflict Of Interest" question with all remaining Council members being seated. TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 10 of 12 Jack Allingham, Current Planning Division, explained this is an appeal of a Shoreline Substantial Development Permit to reconstruct a pier, which is located adjacent to a property at the terminus of Snyder Avenue and 25Th Street. The site was the previous location of the Unocal fuel facility. The pier was used to unload fuel from barges on to a tank farmthat use to be located on the site. The site is now zoned Single Family (2), a residential zoning. The site has a Urban Residential Shoreline designation and water access and moorage facilities, piers and docks are permitted uses within the Urban Residential Shoreline designation. Because this is a permitted use, the decision is an Administrative decision and was issued by the Director Of Community Development. That decision was appealed to the Bremerton Planning Commission and is now being appealed to the City Council for reasons stated in the letter of appeal. Mrs. Hotton stated this issue came before the Planning Commission on March 16 and the person mainly responsible for the writing of the appeal, Phil Olwell, was in a serious accident and was in the hospital the day before the hearing. People who were able to attend the Planning Commission hearing asked for a continuance, however, the Planning Commission chose not to grant that continuance and went ahead with the hearing and subsequently approved by the Planning Commission. Because of that action, Mr. Olwell is appealing that action to the City Council. She believes as part of a fair and open process, Mr. Olwell's testimony should have been taken into consideration. One of the things the City gets criticized for all the time is the "appearance of a fair and open process". She believes that by having the Planning Commission not continue that item as requested, the City suffered a severe appearance of fairness on the part of the neighborhood watch group. When looking at development, the City needs to look at forming partnerships...with the developer and that partnership takes into account what is expected of that developer to provide to the City. She also believes partnerships need to be formed with the neighborhoods because we can have all the developers lined up to revitalize/redevelop Bremerton, but without their buy-in and to know that they received a fair hearing and were informed from the beginning, we will never get this community redeveloped. She strongly supported sending this issue backs before the Planning Commission. Even though the City may have been technically right, the Planning Commission's action did not make it right. Mr. Waibel expressed concern over duplication of materials included in the Council Agenda packet and asked that any future Agenda item submittal include only pertinent #2101 TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 11 of 12 information. He also emphasized the importance of having the Planning Commission's action clearly stated in the Planning Commission minutes. He pointed out the inadequately stated Planning Commission's action on this item as reflected in the Planning Commission's minutes of their March 16, 1993, meeting. He also could not figure out how anyone accepted a statement that "they did not see any fish" as a statement of what kind of fish were part of the environment. Very seldom are fish seen unless their are caught. He did not think that statement belonged on any statement about the environmental impact. M/S/C/U(Horton/Neville) to remand this issue back to the Planning Commission. Mr. Colvin questioned for clarification if the only issue before Council is whether or not to remand the item back to the Planning Commission? Ian 8ievers, City Attorney, stated that was correct and the remand is based on a procedural decision and not on the merits of the issue. Mr. Johnson stated he fully supports the motion. Many times he has observed the "little guy" raising his hand to point something out and sometimes that recognition is not there. He did not know how this issue will work out, however, he believes everyone deserves a full and open hearing. Mr. Hotton stated she is concerned about a fair and open process for a proponent, on either side of an issue, who was caught in an emergency situation where they could not attend a scheduled hearing. Mr. Johnson stated in looking back over his time on the Council, there have been 3-4 times when Council adjusted the Agenda due to circumstances affecting the interested parties. Motion carried unanimously. Phil 01well, Appellant of the appeal, thanked the City Council for their decision and stated he believes this is the first step in a new process with redevelopment, developers and citizen concerns that are organized to deal with these issues. He also wanted it known that he asked the Council to look into the Planning Commission's by-laws as to why they do not have guidelines for continuances in cases such as his. As of this date, he has not heard back if efforts are underway to correct that policy issue. He emphasized he wanted the Planning Commission to schedule the remanded item according to their regular planning calendar and he was not asking for TAPE #1101 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes April 21, 1993 Page 12 of 12 preferential treat on that scheduling. With no further business meeting adjourned at 6:38 " Y, City Clerk EILEEN FITZ, cil President City of Bremerton KLM/EF/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault