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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/93TAPE #1083 UNAPPROVED DRAFT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES JANUARY 13, 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, January 13, 1993, at 5:30 p.m., with Council President Lynn Horton presiding. Council members present: Lon Overson, Richard Neville Eileen Fitz, Hank Waibel, C. R. "Tiny"Collins, Morrie Dawkins, A1 Colvin and 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 Horton and Invocation given by Chaplain Doug Olauson of the USS Nimitz. President Hotton announced Council would adjourn to a Study Session immediately following the Council meeting to discuss: "Public Works Complex Schematic Design Phase". And, an additional item has been added to the Agenda: 7A - Change Order #5 - Overwater Park/Beach Mitigation, #AB93-009. President Horton stated as the out going Council President, she wanted to share with the community what this Council is. We are a very diversified and unique body of people. She believe Council is a microcosm of the community and she personally is very proud of this City Council. She emphasized every member on the City Council has a very "positive" to bring to the table and she shared the following as her views of those positives from her position as Council President: Mr. Johnson has the ability to look at things with new and fresh eyes and is a very innovative thinker. Mr. Colvin is the goodwill ambassador of the City Council and probably the City of Bremerton. He personifies goodwill toward everyone and gives the constituency the feeling that someone in City Hall truly cares about them. Mr. Dawkins serves as a "leveler, especially during discussions on land use issues, who reflects a "calm" during long deliberations on issues. Mr. Collins typifies the average constituent and has the ability to see things as that seen by the average person in the community. He brings that prospective to this Council and she felt it was one often times forgotten about by those in government, and is a very valuable asset to the City Council. Mr. Waibel has .the ability, especially on difficult land use issues, to see what the end product should be and then guide Council to that end product. Mrs. Fitz is a person with a great deal of common sense. In bureaucracy, many times good "common sense" is missing and it is refreshing and welcome to TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 2 of 13 have that element on the Council. She also appreciates having another "woman" on the Council and appreciates what Mrs. Fitz brings to Council discussions. Mr. Neville is a man of few words and she, as a chair who is trying to conclude long discussions, appreciates that quality. People tend to listen closely to what Mr. Neville says when he does speak out and that he is a very insightful and fair person. Mr. Overson fits the role of the "Fiscal Ralph Nadar" of the City Council. She believes the public's dollars are very wellguarded by Mr. Overson due to his scrutiny of fiscal documentation provided by the Administration. President Horton thanked City staff and Mayor Mentor for three years of their help and assistance; and of those three years she found them anything but "dull". She extended a special "Thanks" to Mrs. Erhart, who has kept her on the straight and narrow in spite of herself, pretty much on time and an even keel. She found that to be a valuable asset for someone in her position as President. She thanked the people of Bremerton for three years of sharing their concerns/issues. Lastly, she has enjoyed every moment being President of the City Council and given great thought what typifies a Council member. She concluded that a Council member needs to have the patience of Job, the wisdom of Solomon and the hide of a rhinoceros. She thanked each member of the City Council for allowing her to serve as Council President for the past three years. ELECTION OF COUNCIL OFFICERS President Hotton opened nominations for the position of City Council President: Mr. Walbel nominated Eileen Fitz Mr. Overson nominated Russ Johnson. A written ballot was cast with Eileen Fitz receiving the majority vote for Council President. President Fitz took over as presiding Council President. President Fitz opened nominations for the position of Council Vice President: Mr. Colvin nominated Tiny Collins Mrs. Hotton nominated Russ Johnson. A written ballot was cast with Russ Johnson receiving the majority vote for Vice President. President Fitz opened nominations for the position of Mayor Pro Tem: Mr. Collins nominated Mr. Colvin. #0497 M/S/C/U(Horton/Dawkins) to cast a unanimous ballot for Mr. Colvin to serve as Mayor Protem. TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 3 of 13 CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes Of Meeting - December 30, 1992, #AB93-007 #0504 M/S/C/U(Waibel/Horton) 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. #0523 M/S/C/U(Colvin/Dawkins) on January 13, 1992, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 162924, 162926 through 163141, 163172 through 163174 in the total amount of $726,887.32. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Colvin stated he believed Mrs. Horton made an excellent Council President, with lots of zeal and knowledge, and deserves a "Well Done" for her efforts. He emphasized Mrs. Horton will continue as a member of Council as will Councilman Johnson. He received a complaint from a citizen that he has been unable to resolve. The complaint addresses the situation where a family goes on vacation, puts their mail on hold, stops delivery of newspapers but other advertising/newspaper type materials delivered to the home cannot be stopped. What this does is to signal to someone with malintent that a residence is unoccupied, putting the family in jeopardy. He contacted the Post Office, but their response was they could not do anything about that situation; and he was not aware of any City ordinance that would addresses that situation. Therefore, he deferred the concern to the City Attorney for further review. Mr. Dawkins reported recently, when he and his wife took a 3- day trip, they asked their neighbor to pick up their mail until their return. He noted good comes from change and Mrs. Horton did an excellent job as President during her tenure. He received many comments from people in all levels of government of the fine job Mrs. Horton has done as President of the City Council. Mr. Neville thanked Mrs. Horton for excellent leadership during his first year on the Council. Mrs. Horton congratulated Mrs. Fitz on being the newly elected Council President. She reported on the fact that Bremerton Middle School's 8th Grade students scored 11% higher overall TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 4 of 13 this year then. they did last year on their National Achievement Tests. She believed this was a great improvement and shows our School System is doing the job it is suppose to be doing. She noted she is pleased with the education her daughter is receiving. Mr. Waibel stated in response to the Ad Hoc Committee's two unanimous recommendations, one was something that he had been championing for several years that the City Treasurer should report directly to the Mayor. The other recommendation of that Committee had to do with announcing Birthdays during Council meetings and because he attends so many Council related meetings he often is unable to attend birthday functions. Therefore, he extended a "Happy Birthday" to everyone. Mrs. Fitz reported she had received comments from a number of citizens regarding closure of the downtown library. She emphasized, for the benefit of the public, there is no movement going on at this time to close the downtown library. The people who talked with her were concerned that many elderly people use that library, which is across the street from a drug store, which they frequent. She promised one of her constituents that she would mention the names of two ladies who work at the downtown library - Karen and Melinda, who are very helpful. Mr. Johnson stated he did not know how the rumor that the downtown library was to be closed ever got started. There never has been talk about closing the library, however, there have been discussions about the possibility of relocating it in the downtown area. PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Louis Mentor thanked Lynn Horton, Russ Johnson and Morris Dawkins, who served as Council Officers during the past three years he has been Mayor, for services they have provided to the citizens. All nine members of the Council work hard, but the Council officers do have added responsibilities. He agreed with Councilman Horton, the past three years have not been "dull". He congratulated the three newly elected Council officials. He received a phone call from a Mrs. Christianson who wanted to convey to Council that the recycling program is "for the birds". He attended the Puget Sound Transportation Investment Program meeting on Tuesday, with results of that meeting being reported in The Sun. He reported the "Clunker Clean Up" campaign is over resulting in 36 vehicles being towed away and was a cost savings of approximately $3,600 for the citizens. He had to turn down nine requests because they lived outside the City Limits. He expressed sympathy from the City to PSNS over the recent loss of the Officer's Club, a landmark that will be sorely missed. Mayor Mentor introduced TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 5 of 13 Cub Scout Troop #539 from Brownsville, who were observing the City Council and Mayor in action in order to earn a Merit Badge. And, the Mayor read into the record a letter received from the U.S. Department Of The Interior announcing that the entire Puget Sound Naval Shipyard has been declared as a National Historic Landmark. Lastly, he reported Building Permit activity during 1992 amounted to 29 million dollars, which was an increase over 1991 at 26 million. Chaplain Doug Olauson, USS Nimitz, extended an open invitation to attend a Memorial Service for Dr. Martin Luther King on Friday, January 15. He expressed the fact that the USS Nimitz is preparing for a long deployment and in spite of this intense activity it was their desire to take time out to reflect on the contributions made by Dr. King to all of mankind. Betsy Harris, Animal Control, introduced the "Pet-Of-The Week", Sassy, a spade, 4-year old female dog, who is available for immediate adoption. Gordy Byrd, P.O. Box 930, reported on new classes commencing that are sponsored by the Association of Retarded Citizens. He emphasized these classes are open for people who are either mentally or physically disabled. As an update report, as of this date he has collected $17,055.81 towards his shelter for the homeless. Police Chief De1 McNeal reported on progress being made in implementing the drug/gang unit. As of this date, a list of eligible candidates was established at the first of the year, a veteran Police Officer has been rehired as of January 4, background checks and psychology testing have been completed and job offers were made to seven people. Out of that, he came up with three people with experience, one from Detroit/Michigan, one from Orange County/California and one who is an ex-Los Angeles Officer who is currently working at the Kitsap County Jail. These individuals will be hired as of February 1 and will enter the FTO Training Program, pending their passing the Medical Exam and Polygraph Exam. On February 2 the remaining four individual will come on board and they will enter the Police Academy on February 3, which is a three month training program. He has assigned a Sergeant to oversee this program and reconfigured his Narcotics Division placing a couple of people on it to get started. Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, President Kitsap Diving Association, reported Senator Bob Oke will be introducing legislation during this session of the State Legislature to TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 6 of 13 establish underwater parks. The legislation proposes constructing artificial reefs and underwater features to enhance marine life and recreational use of an underwater park. And, it is desired to establish the State Parks as the lead agency for underwater parks, who would conduct environmental reviews for such projects. He emphasized his Dive Club has been working on this issue for two years and the reason they have gotten to this point was to establish an underwater park north of the Turner Joy. 6A - ORDINANCE #4400 (SECOND READING) PROVIDING SALARY AND OTHER BENEFITS FOR THE POSITION OF BENEFITS SPECIALIST AND AMENDING ORDINANCE #4356, #AB93-004 Public comment - none. #1465 M/S/C(Horton/Colvin) to pass Ordinance #4400, on second reading, providing salary and other benefits of the position of Benefits Specialist and amending Ordinance No. 4356. And, implementation of the new classification shall be upon completion of all administrative procedures necessary to the proper establishment of a new classification. Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson Abstain: Waibel Motion carried. 6B - ORDINANCE (FIRST READING) ADOPTING A SALARY PLAN FOR MANAGEMENT AND PROFE8SIONAL 8TAFF~ AND AMENDING CHAPTER 2.50 OF THE BREMERTON MUNICIPAL CODE, #AB92-008 A salary plan for exempt management and professional staff has been developed and reviewed. New classification specifications for each classification included in the exempt group were written and a total compensation survey was conducted to obtain data on the level of compensation paid by other municipal governments of similar size, demography and financial resources for similar responsibilities. The municipalities used in the survey were: Bellingham, Edmonds, Kennewick, Kirkland, Olympia, Vancouver and Yakima. These municipalities were selected as being similar in size, types of service and similar general fund revenues per capita. The plan provides for eight rates spread 22% from Rate 1 to Rate 8 within each salary band - movement from one rate to the next occurs in annual increments. This program is relatively conservative when compared to that most commonly used by other municipalities -- five year progression spread 25%. The eight-year plan is commensurate with that in use by Bremerton for non-exempt employees included in the Teamster' Labor TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 7 of 13 Agreement with a seven-step; nine-year progression spread 17.5% with an additional 1% added each five years for longevity. Mayor Louis Mentor explained the Managers' Compensation Plan has been worked on approximately four years with the Benefits portion being adopted by Council I 1/2 year ago. Position descriptions have been reviewed by each employee, then reviewed by each Department Head, the Personnel Director and he, as Mayor. The band placement and salaries were developed through research of other jurisdictions that shared similarities with Bremerton. The preliminary placement was done by the managers with additional review and amendment by the Personnel Director and he. During this process, he offered any manager the opportunity to meet with him on this issue and out of 32 managers he met with 11. The managers reached a consensus that the plan was Ok even though not everyone was pleased, but for the good of the plan it must be implemented. He emphasized thousands of hours had gone into the plan through research and review. He urged Council' to adopt the plan, as presented by he and the management staff, and any changes made by Council would be contrary to the consensus reached through the hours of dedication. He reviewed this as a good opportunity to give stability to the managers so that they would be compensated accordingly for doing a good job. Public comment - none. Mrs. Hotton stated the plan was reviewed by Council's Fiscal and Budget Committee and they have recommended some modification in "Exhibit B". Council also has discussed aspects of this plan over a considerable period of time and at this point, although there are some positions in dispute, overall it is a very good document. Since there are some positions in dispute, Council discussed the need to obtaining an outside consultant some time in 1993 to fine tune the plan for the 1994 Budget process. #1740 M/S/C(Horton/Johnson) to approve Ordinance, on first reading, adopting a salary plan for management and professional staff, amending the ordinance to reflect Exhibit B, which is Council's Fiscal and Budget Committee's recommended plan, instead of Exhibit A and amending Chapter 2.50 of the Bremerton Municipal Code. Additionally, to authorize the Mayor to secure an outside consultant to review the plan and make recommendations by July 31, 1993, for inclusion in the 1994 Budget process. The extent of the consultant fee would be to fine tune the existing plan and to look at those TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 8 of 13 positions that are in dispute and make recommendations from that outside viewpoint. Mrs. Hotton urged Council to adopt this plan unanimously. Mr. Waibel stated Council had received a number of modifications to the placement on the bands based on individual negotiations and in his opinion that is not the way to set the bands. He did not believe the placements were defensible and would not support the proposal. Mr. Collins stated he would support this proposal if Council accepted Exhibit A as the bands due to the fact it is the proposal put together by the staff. If Exhibit A was used, he would feel more comfortable with the consultant coming in and building something. Mr. Johnson stated he would support the recommendation of the Fiscal and Budget Committee. He noted the Committee did have a lengthy meeting on this issue and openly discussed all the recommended changes in the presence of Mayor Mentor, the Personnel Director and members of the management staff. When he left that meeting, he felt there was consensus across the board. Some of the changes' made were made following information provided at a later date than when the Personnel Director developed the plan. An example of that is the City Auditor's position. He did not personally agree with all of the suggested changes by Fiscal and Budget, however, a consensus was reached. He was not clear about Mr. Waibel's comment that "individual negotiations" took place. He did receive a memo the day after that Fiscal and Budget Committee meeting that stated such negotiations did not take place. He urged Council's support to approve the proposal using Exhibit B. Mr. Dawkins stated he believed staff had waited long enough and felt as long as fine tuning would be done later, he urged Council to give their approval. Mr. Overson stated Exhibit B was not contested when it was presented and was supportable by the staff and City Council irrespective of people's concern. Mr. Colvin pointed out passing of the Ordinance would not preclude some of the items outlined in Mr. Johnson's letter from being considered. Vote on motion: In Favor: Overson, Neville, Horton, Fitz, Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 9 of 13 Opposed: Waibel Motion carried. Mayor Mentor thanked the City Council for taking this action even though he did not agree with Fiscal and Budget Committee's recommendation. However, everyone agreed the · important issue was to get the plan adopted. 7A - CHANGE ORDER NO. 5 TO OVERWATER PARK/BEACH MITIGATION, #AB93-009 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and State Department Of Fisheries require mitigation as a condition of their permits relating to construction of the Overwater Park. The City has received an estimate from the contractor, Quigg Brothers-McDonald Inc., to add this final phase of the project based on a unit price for materials excavated and placed totaling $146,500.00. Under the Corps mitigation condition, this project must be contracted by January 15th, started by February 15 and completed by March 15, 1993. The attached change order will allow continued compliance with this permit condition. The Army Corps and Fisheries Hydraulics permits for this project are expected to be issued within the next month to allow work to commence February 15th. Mayor Mentor stated he would standby and answer any questions Council may have on this issue. He explained this does not include any Permit fees, Engineering plans and covers 6nly the actual cost of construction. He believed the City was very close in getting a decision rendered by the Corps of Engineers, Department Of Fisheries, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Department of Ecology (DOE) and National Fisheries, etc. He urged Council to approve this item as presented. Mr. Johnson questioned if the City had, in hand, communication from the Corps of Engineers stating this is all that we have to do to mitigate and it is acceptable? Mayor Mentor stated the City does not have such a document. The City will not spend funds on any plans until that agreement is reached with the Corps. This proposal is just for construction of the project if the Permit is approved. Mr. Johnson questioned when will the Corps approve the Permit? Mayor Mentor stated he hopes to have a meeting with the various State agencies and the Corps early in the week of January 19. Mr. Johnson stated he did not feel comfortable approving expending $146,000 for something that may not be acceptable. Mayor Mentor emphasized TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 10 of 13 the proposal would be contingent upon the City receiving the Permit. Mr. Johnson pointed out the Corps could issue the Permit and than say "oh, by the way, we want you do to more". Mayor Mentor assured Council the proposed contract would not be entered into until the Permit and final project is approved by the Corps. He wholeheartedly agreed with Mr. Johnson's .position and that was the way he would proceed. The reason why this proposal is before Council before having that Permit and assurance was due to the January 15 deadline to get this project out to contract. Mr. Johnson questioned how could the City make the final project "air tight" so that if the City spends the requested funds the Corps of Engineers could not extract additional funding from the City on this project? Ian Sievers, City Attorney, stated any agreement with the Corps will be in writing, however, currently it is not defined in the Corps' Permit. The City has reached the stage where there is a conceptual design and the Corps will approve it. That would then allow the City to proceed with structural design. The Corps will also issue their own additional or modified Hydraulics Permit to allow construction of the project on site. He reminded Council the original Corps Permit also allows the City to reduce the amount of security posted at the point they approve this project. Mr. Johnson stated that was why he was concerned due to the Corps knowing the City had $460,000 posted and the proposed project is being project at only $160,000. Mr. Sievers explained this proposal is being presented that "it is the mitigation", not a part of that mitigation. He agreed with Mayor Mentor that the City is close to an agreement with the various jurisdictions. In recognition of Mr. Johnson's concern, he suggested adding the following language to the Change Order: "add Item #4 under the section titled "The Contract is changed as follows - This contract is contingent upon successful issuance of re~ulatory permits within 30 days of this Change Order". He recommended that wording for two reasons: (1) so that none of the agencies are offended that the City is going forward without their final approval; (2) to not be penalized by the contractor if the City cannot give a Start Work Order within 30 days. Mr. Johnson stated he wanted to go beyond the permit and wants something from the Corps that states: "this permit satisfies all of the City's mitigation responsibilities". Mr. Waibel questioned if such language could be added as part of Mr. Sievers' recommended change? Mr. 8ievers pointed out the Change Order addresses the contractor, not the corps. Mr. Overson emphasized the importance of having adequate notification in the Change Order in the event the proposal is not acceptable to the Corps, the Change Order would not be implemented. Mr. 8ievers stated the City would not accept some permit from the Corps for this project unless it TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 11 of 13 satisfied the prior condition on the Boardwalk Permit. Mrs. Hotton stated it seemed to her that the maker of the motion could include Mr. Sievers recommended change to include an "Item #4" but to also state that the contract would not be entered into until the City received written documentation from the Army Corps that this mitigation plan fulfills all requirements for the Boardwalk mitigation. Mr. Waibel noted the cover sheet of the Agenda Bill reflects an amount of $146,500, however, the actual Change Order reflects an amount of $157,927.00. Mr. Sievers explained the amount listed on the Change Order includes Sales Tax. He pointed out the past figures listed on the project were recently audited by the City Treasurer and should be accurate. Mr. Colvin questioned if there was the possibility of the Department Of Fisheries invoking jurisdiction. Mr. Sievers stated as noted on the cover sheet of the Agenda Bill, the Department Of Fisheries had jurisdiction over the boardwalk and did issue their own Hydraulics Permit, which does reference mitigation too. Therefore, the City is having to satisfy that condition of their permit. This project will require their own Hydraulic Permit and again the City intends that Permit to satisfy their prior condition, similar to the Corps Permit. Mr. Overson stated he believed the $157,000 figure would not be the total cost as well. He pointed out that the contractor had identified additional funds (approx. $3,500) would be needed as well as additional funding for design, amounting to as much as $20,000. Mayor Mentor stated he believed the $20,000 figure would be a maximum and hoped that some of the engineering design work could be done in-house. Additionally, there will be Permit fees. Mr. Overson pointed out potentially Council could be looking at a cost of up to $170,000. Mr. Sievers pointed out the property owner near the boardwalk had been very generous to the City allowing his property to be used for storage for the boardwalk project. Therefore, he doubted the City would have any problem gaining access onto that site for the contractor and he doubted that it would cost the City $3,500. Mr. Overson emphasized recently that property owner had voiced concern that their openness had been used and possibly abused so they may be looking for some kind of remuneration. Mr. Dawkins pointed out the proposed project would encompass mobilization of 1,950 tons of crushed rock and loose riprap. TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 12 of 13 Mayor Mentor suggested including wording that states: "contract will not be exercised unless all Permits are received and contingencies removed from the project". Mr. Overson stated when the Recreational Pier was built it was determined that there was contamination in that area. He questioned if the rubble to be removed would have to be treated as "hazardous" materials? Mayor Mentor stated that was another story...on the one hand the City couldn't get State funding to build a fishing pier because the water/fish were contaminated and on the other hand the shadow from the boardwalk retarded fish from growing. At this point, the City is trying to carry out what it is being told to do. Travis Baker, Reported/The Sun, requested that the proposed project be described in further detail. Mayor Mentor stated the project would be located on the waterfront between Second Street pump station along the beach northward to approximately 100 feet past the end of the boardwalk. The bank area would be cut out thereby making a "sharper" bank and increase the flat surface area on the beach where the food for the fish can grow. This project would add approximately .2 acres of feeding area, which, according to consultants from FishPro, would be more than adequate to make up for any losses that have occurred as a result of the shadow on the water. Mr. Johnson questioned if the City had taken any soil samples or core tests to make sure there is no hazardous materials in the areas where materials are to be removed? Mayor Mentor stated yes, the City had made such tests. However, no one can be totally positive until excavation takes place. #2757 M/S/C/U(Johnson/Horton) to pass Change Order #5 - Overwater Park Beach Mitigation subject to the constraint that the contract will not be executed unless Permits have been received from the Corps Of Engineers and written assurances received from the Corps of Engineers and anyone else who has to sign off and says this satisfies all mitigation responsibilities for the boardwalk; and Item #4 as proposed by the City Attorney and clear up any discrepancy on the money issue from Mr. Waibel's comments noting it included Sales Tax. TAPE #1083 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 13, 1993 Page 13 of 13 With no further business meeting adjourned at 7:02 P.M. KATHLEEN L. Y, City Clerk EILEEN FITZ, Coi~c~President City of Bremerton KLM/EF/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault