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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/15/92 JAN 19g CITY COUNCIL FLEETING MINUTES JANUARY 15, 1992 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 15, 1992, at 5:30 p.m., with Council President Lynn Horton presiding. Council members present: Lon Overson, Wayne Estes, Eileen Fitz, Hank Waibel, C. R. "Tiny"Collins, Morrie Dawkins, A1 Colvin and Russ Johnson. Also present were Acting City Attorney Leila Mills and City Clerk Kathleen McCluskey. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council President Horton and Invocation given by Reverend David Biles of St. Luke's Methodist Church. President Horton announced the Study Session, scheduled following the Council meeting, on Municipal Court, was canceled and rescheduled for Wednesday, January 22. And, the advertised Executive Session on "personnel" would be heard as a "Study Session" issue. CONSENT AGENDA A. Minutes Of Meeting - December 30, 1991, %AB92-009 %0033 M/S/C/U(Waibel/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) on January 15, 1991, the Council does approve for payment those vouchers included and further described as follows: 141992, 141994, 141995, 141996, 142354 through 142357, 142539 through 142748, 142750 through 142752 in the total amount $1,240,568.18. COUNCIL MEMBER REPORTS Mr. Johnson reported the completion and opening of the AMPM Mini-Mart at 6th and Naval. He had been watching the progress of construction on this project and felt everything promised by that corporation happened and hoped the mini-mart and surrounding neighbors would become good friends. In regard to solid waste, when the City negotiated the new solid waste contract one of the factors used was to make sure the Bremerton area received less costly garbage service than in TAPE ~986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 2 of 11 Seattle. This date, the Seattle City Council was presented proposals, from all Seattle Utilities, which include an 18-20% increase in solid waste rates as well as lights, storm water, etc. Mr. Colvin noted during Public Recognition two representatives from NARF would be speaking about their "volunteer tax service". He announced Mr. Walker Wilson and Mr. David Lewis Jr., will accept the Martin Luther King Proclamation that will be issued by Mayor Mentor. In connection with the Martin Luther King's observance he quoted the following: "May strength and courage abundant be given to all who work for a world of reason and understanding, that the good that lies in every man's heart may by day be magnified and that men will come to see more clearly not that which divides them but that which unites them that each hour will may bring us closer to final victory, not nation over nation but man over his own evils and weaknesses". Mr. Collins reported he recently visited the local recycling center and was pleased to see so many people using that facility. He believes the citizens of Bremerton are~receptive to recycling. Mr. Overson welcomed a new downtown business - Weefolk Empire, 619 4th Avenue. Mr. Estes reported he received quite a lot of "flak" over parking issues and wanted the public to know that parking was under the Mayor's jurisdiction. He urged citizens, who had such concerns, to contact the Mayor's office directly. He also urged citizens to have patience and give the downtown parking validation program an opportunity to work. Mr. Waibel stated he received a lot of sympathy during his bout with the flu and now has empathy for others after having experienced it. Mrs. Horton reported she received a flyer and letter from a group of High School students and their advisor inviting the Council and general public to a Gospel Rama 1992 at Bremerton High School Performing Arts Center on January 25, 7:00 PM. Admission - Free. This program is designed to bring the community of Bremerton together in harmony and will feature many of the area's choral groups as well as musically inclined performers. Today she attend the Kitsap Regional Planning Council meeting. Future meetings of this group will take place on the first Wednesday of each meeting. In conjunction with the one hour parking in the retail area, she knows there TAPE 9986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 3 of 11 are people who are unhappy about the new restrictions, but she has also heard from many of the downtown business and their response is very favorable. She doubted the City would ever be rid of all its parking problems unless the automobile was outlawed! PUBLIC RECOGNITION Mayor Mentor announced on January 20, 1992, at 12:00 P.M., the Ebenezer AME Church located at 9th and Park will celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Films about Dr. King's life will be shown every two hours beginning at 2:00 P.M. A church service will be held from 12:00 - 1:00 P.M. Lunch will be served on a first- come- first- serve basis and all are welcome and there is no charge. Mayor Mentor read a Proclamation recognizing the significant contribution Martin Luther King made towards bringing a new and higher dimension of dignity to the Black experience and accumulated political power for blacks beyond any they had every possess in their history in the United States. And, he proclaimed Monday, January 20, 1992, as MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR. DAY in the City of Bremerton. Mayor Mentor noted that Mr. David Lewis had been recommended by A1 Colvin to receive this proclamation. Mr. Lewis had served for many years as Secretary of the Bremerton Branch of the NAACP and has been a long time advocate of good citizenship. Mr. Lewis promoted active participation in civic affairs to improve community relations and the quality of life. He is also an advocate of citizens registering to vote and be info£med of civic social issues. David Lewis Jr., standing in for his father David Lewis who was ill, accepted the proclamation. He noted his father is recovering from a bout with cancer and had he been able to attend this meeting, he would have expressed his appreciation for the City's acknowledging his endeavors over the past years. Walker Wilson stated he was sure David Lewis · appreciates the comments made by Mayor Mentor. He related some background of the kinds of involvement Mr. Lewis had in years past. He also encouraged public participation at the black-eyed pea dinner at the Ebenezer Church. Mayor Mentor stated in reference to a comment made by a gentleman at the last Council meeting that related to the type of rebar being used in the overwater park project, the steel being used is as described in the contract. He noted a more in depth report on this issue would be provided by the City Engineer Dave Baker later on in this meeting. In reference to the Pre-Release Prison facility proposal, he felt there was some confusion as to where such a facility might be located and provided a map showing where the Department of Corrections TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 4 of 11 was considering placing such a facility. He explained about 1 1/2 year ago he appointed a committee of 12 citizens to look into a prison site. This group visited several existing prison sites and it was determined at that time that there was not a suitable site available in the Bremerton area. Then, about six months ago, at the request of a Council member, he took another look at two other sites, which the Department of Corrections decided were not appropriate. Next, in June, 1991, a letter was sent to Council Present Horton, from the Department of Corrections, requesting a list of 10 people who - would consider working on an Advisory Committee. To his knowledge the Council President did responded with several suggested names of Bremerton residents. He' stated he was against placement of such a facility at the proposed site near the Pope and Talbot property. Joyce Libsack and Lucille Ki~d explained the volunteer "Income Tax Counseling For The Elderly" program, which is sponsored under American Association Of Retired Persons (AARP) together with the Internal Revenue, along with the assistance of NARF, (National Association Of Retired Federal employees). This program will be available at the Sheridan Community Park Center starting February 3, Mondays and Fridays from 12:00 PoM. to 4:00 P.M., with the exception of Washington's Birthday holiday. This service is given at no charge and is not limited exclusively to the elderly. The NARF organization does not accept any payment for this service, however, AARP does reimburse the counselors for mileage and incidental expenses. Mr. Collins questioned if they had extra forms available? Ms. Libsack explained they have all a master list of all necessary forms. Betsy Harris, Animal Control Officer, showed off another puppy, a male cocker spaniel/pekinese mix, about 3-months old and announced he was available for adoption. Betsy also announced they have a beautiful 2-year old Siberian Husky (black/white) that is also available for adoption, along with the "pointer" they featured last week. Cost of adoption fee is $5.00. Rob Schnidler, President Of Kitsap Physician Service (KPS), expressed concern over some information give out by the Fire Department to the City Council during a Study Session that related to collection of ambulance fees. The information intimated that Kitsap Physician Service was slow in responding to billing on ambulance charges. Mr. Schnidler gave a brief review of the history of Kitsap Physician Service within the community. When the City Fire Department decided to go into TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 5 of 11 the ambulance billing business, KPS provided some services to the City helping to set up that system and provided provider services support to the billing department as well as providing their electronic claims submission activity to the City so the City could bill all their insurance claims through KPS to any insurance in United States. As of this date, KPS had not received any calls from the Fire Department relating to "slow pay" or any other reason. Mr. Schnidler provided a handout showing the total billings received ($11,050.00); billings disallowed (1,827.87); allowed by KPS ($9,222.13); and patient responsibility (deductible/coinsurance) ($325.00); paid by primary insurance ($4,700.00); and those paid by KPS ($4,197.13). President Horton assured Mr. Schnidler that the staff report presented to Council on this issue did not come in the form of a "problem", rather it was simply explaining demographics of who pays for the service rendered, i.e., Medicare, private carrier or the individuals themselves. If the news article portrayed that the information was in the fo£m of a complaint, she assured him that was not correct. Mr. Johnson pointed out that in the report given by the Fire Department personnel, the State of Washington was the agency that was the "bad guy" in responding to billings. Mr. Schnidler stated he had informed City personnel when they first thought of undertaking the ALS Ambulance Service that the State of Washington will never pay the full amount of charges. They decide how much they will pay and the City would have to write off the difference. In most cases that amounts to 50 cents on the dollar and if the City wants to collect the full amount of charges then those uncollected costs need to be shifted to other payers, like KPS, and they end up carrying the load for what Medicaid does not pay. Mr. Johnson emphasized that KPS has been one of the best business interests in the City and one of the City's shinning stars and he was pleased to be working locally with an insurance provider. President Horton related several complimentary comments made about KPS at the time the City's contract with KPS was approved. Don Larson, 135 Rainier Avenue, President of Kitsap Dive Shop, reported the Vancouver Maritime Museum contacted him concerning the Kitsap Diving Association's proposal for an underwater park in Bremerton using old US Navy inactive ships. James P Delgado, Executive Director of the Vancouver Maritime Museum, has extensive experience diving in areas where inactive ships had been used for creating an underwater park and strongly supported such a proposal for Bremerton. Recently, Mr. Larson attended a meeting of the National Oceanic Hemispheric Administration (NOHA) and learned they are considering two marine sanctuaries for Washington State, one TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 6 of 11 in the San Juan Islands and one on the outer coast of Washington. 6A - BREMERTON OVERWATER PARK UPDATE, ~AB92-012 Dave Baker, City Engineer, reported Monthly Report %3 was distributed to Council last week. He emphasized the project is on schedule and the reinforced concrete deck planking from the First Street Dock to in front of the pump station on Second street is in place. The concrete retaining walls that go between the overwater structure and the parking lot are pretty much in place, so that portion of the dock is looking very much like a boardwalk. The 18" piling, which will be driven from the pump station at the end of 2nd Street to the Turner Joy, are in Seattle being painted and fitted with driving shoes and scheduled for delivery to Bremerton the week of January 20. Pile driving will begin as soon as those piling arrive. In response to a concern expressed by a gentlemen who claimed that the reinforcing bar was not epoxy coated, he was correct in that it was not epoxy coated. His question and concern is a good concern and the decision was consciously made not to use epoxy coated bar for two main reasons: (1) expense - epoxy coated rebar is considerably more expensive than regular reinforcing bar; (2) the "jury is still out" with regard to the professional people on whether epoxy coated rebar does the job that it should do. He pointed out epoxy coating is a coating that goes over the outside of the reinforcing bar. Mr. Baker described a situation where a reinforcing bar in a beam provided the "tensile strength". It has not been proven that the epoxy covering will allow the concrete to adhere properly to the reinforcing bar. If there is epoxy coating, then the deformations on the bar are not anywhere near as prominent so there is a tendency, possibility and concern in the engineering world that epoxy coated bars are not necessarily what they are cracked up to be. The second concern that the gentlemen commented on was the fact that water seeps into and destroy those bars - the beam being referred to here is a mass concrete beam (2 1/2 inches minimum) of concrete cover outside of all of the bars in those beams. In response to the concern about water seeping into that crack or joint - there is no joint, but there is a cold construction joint, which will have an epoxy coating. Secondly, that joint is three feet above the high water line, and it will get splashed and sprayed with salt water, but is not submerged in the water. President Horton questioned Portico's recommendation on that issue? Mr. Baker stated Portico did not make the recommendation, the concrete reinforcing was designed by DCI D'Amato - consulting engineering firm. President morton questioned if their TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 7 of 11 recommendation included wording stating not to go for the epoxy coating? Mr. Baker stated yes. President Horton stated according to her calculations, the project should have expended approximately $825,000 and the December cash flow chart indicates a figure of approximately $400,000, and she questioned if there was a reason for the $400,000 figure? Mr. Baker stated the contract did not get started as early as hoped and as the report mentions the spending is about one month behind that which was predicted. President Horton noted then Council could anticipate a larger figure spent next month. Mr. Baker stated it would probably be equal to the anticipated month prior. Mr. Overson noted concrete has a porous nature, particularly before it is cured and salt water has adverse affect on metal rebar and that was why the epoxy coating was developed. He was quite interested that the decision was made particularly in a salt-water environment. He believed there may be some influence on the expected life of the product. He hoped that they haven't taken some cost measures, efficiently or economy measures in the concrete that would adversely affect the decision to save money by not using the epoxy coated rebar. He noted apparently the City is getting $186,000 worth of inspections from a host of people who can certify that this structure will stand for 30-40 years. He questioned if the city was getting any certification of such a life span? Mr. Baker stated no, the inspection the City is receiving today says that the construction underway is being constructed as it is specified. Mr. Estes questioned what will take care of the expansion and contraction of the concrete? Mr. Baker stated there are expansion and contraction joints built in the structure from one end to the other. Mr. Estes questioned if they could be viewed from the outside? Mr. Baker stated the expansion joints will be visible when it is finished. Mr. Waibel stated when he made the comment he did not want an old out-dated and misleading diagram of the project area what he expected was a replacement. Mr. Baker stated there will be a new one. Mr. Waibel stated in terms of specifications he questioned what did the City expect to be the life span without having to totally reconstruct this two million structure. Mr. Baker stated he did not know as he was not involved in this project at the initial design stage. He assumed the City would be looking at a "50" year life. Don Pratt, Director of Community Development, stated during the planning of the project there was a term used and "a value engineering analysis" performed that dete=mined present day cost versus life expectancy and balance maintenance in with TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page S of 11 that. There is documentation of the value analysis that was done and can be provided at a later date. President Horton questioned if he knew the life expectancy of the structure? Mr. Pratt stated not at this time, however, there was a specific City review and discussion of it before the specifications were written. Mr. oveNson stated the project was moving rapidly and was larger than he had expected and recommended that everyone take a look at it as it progresses. He questioned if there was a date when access to the Turner Joy would be possible from the boardwalk? Mr. Baker stated he would hold to not before May 5. President Horton questioned if Mr. Baker could come back next month with the "longevity" factor of the project? Mr. Baker stated yes. 8A - ORDINANCE NO. 4355 (SECOND READING) CONDEMNATION OF PROPERTY~ ~AB92-006 Public comment - none. #1978 M/S/C/U(Johnson/Estes) to pass Ordinance %4355, on second reading, relating to the expenditure of general funds with which to pay the cost of acquiring land through condemnation, the land to be used for the purpose of constructing the City's public works complex. 8B - AUTHORIZATION TO SIGN PROFESSIONAL SERVICES CONTRACTR WITH BREMERTONMAIN STREET ASSOCIATION, KITSAP COUNTY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL AND BREMERTON/KITSAP COUNTY VISITOR AND CONVENTION BUREAU FOR 1992, ~AB92-011 Council authorization is required for contract signature. Public comment - none. Mr. Overson stated he felt the Main Street contract should have more specifics in it and Council's intent was demonstrated that they hoped a more definable product could be provided. Mr. Colvin noted Council was aware the contract was to be drawn up and questioned why Council had not given input at that time? Mr. Overson noted Council had given input. President Horton stated it was Council's intention that Mr. Osguthorp, the City's downtown Planner, review and actually work up the scope of work. Mr. Colvin questioned if Mr. Osguthorp reviewed the contract? President Horton stated he did subsequently review it, however, when it was submitted two weeks ago to be placed on the Agenda she called Mr. Osguthorp to ask some questions and at that time he indicated he had not seen that document. Mr. Colvin questioned if Mr. Osguthorp TAPE #986 city Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 9 of 11 had a problem with the contract as written? Presi4ent Horton stated when she talked with Mr. Osguthorp in November about some ideas for the Main Street contract, he indicated he did have some ideas. Subsequently, Mr. Pratt stated that he and Mr. Osguthorp concurred in the proposed agreement, however, she still felt Mr. Osguthorp had some good ideas as far as things he would like to see included in that scope of work. Mr. Johnson stated he would support this proposal, however, he did have concerns with items on the Main Street scope of work. He felt there were already enough Parking Committees and he was not sure he wanted a downtown "theme" design for downtown. He emphasized he would be looking at the end of the year for a tangible that they didn't have at this time this year. He did think, like in the case of the EDC, there are some specific things specified as an end product. He noted there are some dedicated people in the Main Street organization and if they cooperate with the City and other entities he felt everything would work out. President Horton stated she was concerned that Main street's scope of work was a little looser than the others, and if in fact the economy remains as flat as it is at this point, she felt the public had every right to ask what has Main Street, EDC and VCB done this past year, what was expected of them and did they deliver that product. If the scopes of work are "squishy" and hard to identify a deliverable, Council may find it hard to justify, in November of this year, to further fund those organizations at the level they have been funded, or at all. She would preferred having a tighter scope of work. Mr. Dawkins questioned if it would be possible to have Mr. Osguthorp sit as an advisory on the VCB, EDC and Main Street boards? Don Pratt, Director Of Community Development, stated Mr. Osguthorp is heavily involved with Main Street, he meets · with them every time there is a board meeting and he also meets with several other groups. There is not a separation of purpose nor is there an ignorance on his part for what Main Street is doing. He considers Main Street to be the preeminent downtown constituency group that he needs to know where they are going and they need to know where he is going and he is managing that political relationship. EDC is somewhat different in that he does not have a very close relationship with them and the responsibility for monitoring them was under Mr. Pratt's jurisdiction. When downtown issues come up, Mr. Osguthorp is brought into the discussion and that is how they manage that relationship. Planning is most jealous of Mr. Osguthorp's time right now and not interested in his becoming involved with other parts of the City. TAPE #986 City Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 10 of 11 Dawkins questioned if the City had enough input into these organizations? Mr. Pratt stated yes, Mr. Osguthorp has completed a search of who the key constituents groups are in the downtown. Mr. Overson stated when Mr. Osguthorp first came to Bremerton one of his primary goals, at that time, was to develop a Retail Marketing Plan. He questioned if there was an easy explanation how that is now a Main Street Goal? Mr. Pratt stated Mr. Osguthorp understands that the production of a Retail Marketing Plan is his responsibility to get it done. Our hope is that he'll be able to help organize, equip and motivate a group of people to do the work with him acting as a consultant. We feel confident that Main Street is the group that needs to do that and will be taking on that responsibility. The relationship and schedule have not been completely defined and agreed to yet and that was the primary reason the Mayor felt strongly that we not mandate that in the contract at this time, but hold Mr. Osguthorp responsible for getting it underway. Mr. Overson stated that then leaves some fussiness in the contract because it is Main Street's product and he did not feel that was fair if Mr. Osguthorp did all the work. Mr. Pratt stated they feel strongly that the important thing is that it get done and they did not want to confuse the contract unilaterally with who should be doing it right now. They are anxious for Mr. Osguthorp to get involved and give recommendations to the Mayor and then Council. #2116 M/S/C(Waibel/Collins) City Council approve the contracts for Professional Services with Bremerton Main Street, Kitsap County Economic Development Council, and Bremerton/Kitsap County Visitor and Convention Bureau Vote: In Favor: Waibel, Collins, Dawkins, Colvin, Johnson, Overson, Estes, Fitz Opposed: Horton TAPE #986 city Council Reg. Mtg. Minutes January 15, 1992 Page 11 of 11 With no further business meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m. KATHLEEN L. McCLUSKEY, City Clerk HORTON, Council President City of Bremerton KLM/LH/me cc: Normal Distribution File/Vault