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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06/02/48 9t June 2, 1948 Regular meeting of the City Co~u~cil of the City of Bremerton, Washington held in the ~ayor's office at the City Hall on Wednesday Jtu~e 2, 1948 at ten o'clock A.M. Nayor Keen presiding with the following being present: Commissioner Haddon, Co~nissioner Gorst, the City Attorney and the City Treasurer. Motion by ~.~r. Keen and L.~rs. tIaddon to approve the minutes of the previous reg- ular meeting as written, carried. The City Clerk announced this as the date for the opening of bids for oil burn- ers, tanks, etc., for the Capital Hill and ~anette Fire Stations, and four bids had been received. On motion by Mr. Keen and Mr. Gorst Clerk opened and read bids as follows: Service Fuel Company, Bremerton, with a certified check for ~80.00 and a total bid of ~1600.00 less '.ii$O.O0 if schedule "six" is used and less i~20.00 if it is pos- ~ible to use the oil lines that are now installed in the Capital Hill Station. Due~den-l.~cCloud, Bremerton, with a certified che :k for ~}8~.00 and a total bid of ~];1472.00. St~a~dard Plumbing and Heating, Bremerton, with ac ertified check for i~75.00 and a total bid of .i~14:~0.00. Lent~s, Bremerton, with a certified check for ~7~.~ and a total bid of ~1469. ~otion by ~ir. Kean and Mr. Gorst to refer the bids to the City Clerk and Pur- chasing Agent, the City Engineer and the Fire Chief for study and tabulation, car- ried. ~,~rs. Vela Smith appeared before the City CoLuuci]_ to request that some action be taken by the City toward the extermination of caterpillars. Mayor Keen advised Mrs. Smith that the subject of caterpillars had been under discussion by the Council for some time now and even though the City, by law, could take action, it woul¢~ be aS a last resort because of the tremendous cost to the property owners and the Council had hoped each property own er would take the nec- essary steps for extermination. Following a lengthy discussion 'the City Attorney was instructed to call Nr. ~,~artln at Olympia and the City would be guided by his directions. The City Attorney, after placing long distance calls, reported that ~r. },'~artin had been unavailable but he had finally located a ~r. Kirk in Seattle and had been advised by Mr. Kirk that the City of Seattle had, last year, attempted to do some- thing about the situation but had met with little or no success and this year the problem had been turned over to the Health Department for handling. It was decided generally by the Cotu~cil that no action would be taken tu~ttl after some publicity had been given the situation in the newspaper in the hope that people would take steps to exterminate the caterpillars on their property. ldr. Merkel, ~irs. Kenneth Buckley, I~Ir. George Callahan and ~Ir. Frank Cohen ap- peared before the Council with a letter regarding a City }ianager form of Govern- merit. The City Clerk read letter from the Citizens Council-~'tanager Committee signed by John C. L~ierkel, Chairman and George S. Callahan, vice-chairman, requesting the City Council to pass a resolution submitting the proposed Charter amendment for the approval or rejection of the electorate at a special election to be held in September 14 and advisin~ that such action by the Council would eliminate the add- itional chore for the Committee of going through the formality of circula.ting pet- itions, and would be personally appreciated by each member of the Committee. Nr. Keen asked what the attendance had been at the meetings of the Citizens Council-Manager meetings, and Mr. ~;~erkel advised that 90 had been the greatest num- ber at any one meeting. Mr. Gorst asked if all members of the committee ar~.residents of the City and Mr. I~erkel replied that one member is not and one has moved outside t2~e City limits in the last month. Mr. Gorst remarked that one thing, he thought it was kind of a general prin- cipal or rule that ~o~u~cils are made up of 7 or 9 members, and was assured by ~lr. Nerkel that there are 7 proposed members for the Council. ~,.Ir. Gorst remarked that he could not see why present members of the Co~nacil should not be eligible ~o accept a City Panager joab, after assuring, those present that he was in ho way interested, personally. Mr. Gorst further remarked that it was his Qpinion that this clause was taking away Constitutional Riggers of anyone. Following a discussion on the eligibility of persons to accept theposition of City ?.~anager, ~,Ir. Callahan advised that an authority on City ~,Ianager form of govern- ment would be asked to advise and ~.~irect the City in selecting someone, and it would mean getting a man with s fresh view point. Nr. Merkel advised one of the reasons for the clause barring anyone who has been an official of the City from the position was to guarantee that either Mr. ~erkel or ~,~r. J~nes Bryan, Jr., would not be acceptable. Hr. Gorst asked why the City ~,~anager could not be fired and was advised he could ask for a public hearing for the purpose of adding an additional guarantee that the problems would be publically aired, and he could be dismissed if cause could be shown. Following a lengthy discussion ~r. Keen expressed the opinion that as a City of the First Class the people should be permitted to decide the kind of government they want, and asked the other Cotuacil members their opinion about ~uether the mat- ter should be put on the ballot or let petitions be circulated, and added that it Jtme 2, 1948 (Cch't) was his fear that if' the City adopted this new plan and it was not good no one would be interested enou~a to change. Mr. [derkel advised him that the a~ual elections were expected to t eke care of that, ~d even he could see where ch~ges may be needed later. Mr. Call,an remarked that he ~uld like to see the Co~cil put it up to the people to show the citizens that they are in ~ison. Mrs. Buck!ey added that if the people rejected the m~ager fora of gov~r~ent it wo~d be a vote of faith in the present commissioners. The City Attorney advised that nothing should be submitted to a vote of the people ~less th* majority of the Council is in favor of doing so, and further ad- vised that they could chang~ the fo~ of the proposal before placing it on the bal- lot ~d added that such a ch~ge should be made by a co~itte~ of free-hold~rs sel- ected by election. Mr. Jonson further added that in the present f o~ the voter has no alternative ~d could only vot~ yes or Mr. Call~l~ advised that he had been a member of the fre~ holders who consid- ered the present form of gover~ent and at that time the co~ittee had considered the m~ager plan but it had been abandoned then. 0n ~,,[ayor Kean~s question as to whether the Cocci1 should com~ly with or reject the request the Attorney replied that the letter deserved a writt~ reply ~d it is up to the Co~cil how it will be answered. ~[r. Merkel anno~ced that no offense will be taken if the Oo~cil does not choose to submit the proposal but rather than have ch~ges made would prefer t o cir- culate petitions, but it would only be f~ir at this time for the Co~cil to indicate their wishes. ~dr. ~ierkel further ~no~ced that this is not a criticism of ~y ployee or any elected official and will not ~ ~y even up to the point of ~lection. ~,'[ayor Keen asked if changes would be made to the Charter ~d was advised by [dr. I~[erkel that this proposal is an mnen~ent to ~e existing charter ~d no basic changes will be made smd pm ceeded to point out the proposed ch~ges. Motion by [,,[r. Ke~ ~d [4rs. Haddon to reject ~e proposal ~d refer to the Com- mitte~ for circulation of petitions ~ong the citizens for signatures carried as follows: Mr. Ke~ Yes. Mrs. Haddon, Yes. Mr. Gorst~ Yes. Tt~e City Clerk anno~ced that due to daylight aaving time and the fact that the mail is ~elivered on standard time bids might not be received in time for a ten o'clock opening and he suggested delaying the opening of bids ~til eleven o'clock Motion by Mr. Keen ~d ~dr. Gorst that for the duration of da~light savin~ time all bids will b e opened at 11 A.E., car~d. Clerk read report of separation for 0rrin Bedard as parking meter teller and janitor helper. Motion by ~,fr. Gorst ~d ~,;rs. Haddon to approve the separation, carried. Clerk read notices of emplo~ent for Ethel Pruitt, meter teller part-time at ~1.00 per hour; Delmer E. Stone, fireman ~/c at ~247.00 per month, Ted Avery, extra- h~lp, cemetery, at ~1.~5 per hour; Francis C. Orady, S~itation helper at ~1.3~ per hour. ~,,~otlon by 1,~rs. Haddon ~d Mr. Ke~ to approve the temporary non-civil servlce appointments of the foregoing, carrled. Clerk read letter from D.I,~. Patterson, Navy Dspartm~nt, Washlngton~ D.C. en- closing bh~ origlnal of th~ n~gotlabed contract for fresh water for the Shlpyard and ~unition Depot. Contents w~r~ noted and ordered ftled. ~he Ctty Clerk r~ad l~tter from the ~uth Kitsap ~h~b~r of Co:~n~rce, Port Orchard, Washington advfsin~,; that on May 20, the Directors of the South Kltsap Chmnb~r of Co~erce want on r~cord favo~lng the removal of ~ Br~merton Garbage D~p and authorized the Health ~d Sanitation Co~itt~e of th8 Chmnb~r to take all necessary steps for lt's removal a~d requesting an opportunity to dlscuss th8 matter wlth th8 Clty Commissioners ~d further requesting that the City .Co~l s~t the dat~ for diseusslon. Mayor Ks~ suggested that w8 submit two or thre~ dates whlch would b8 agreeable to them and a gr~e to meet with them and dlscuss the whole thlng, butit was his opin- ion that thls matter should be approa0hed through th~ Co,by Co~lssion~rs as th~ Clty has taken care of th~lr job. ~Jotlon by Mr. Ke~ ~d L'[rs. Haddan to ack~owl~d~ze r~cefpt of the l~tt~r and give at least three dates for thelr convenlsnc8 and offer to meet in the Clty Hall or any other msetlnf~ place for the ~,equested discussion, carried. Clerk read petltlon slgned by all bh~ owners abuttlng on the all~y in lot 1 of Block 2 or'Decatur Acre Tracts requeating that the alloy be vacated. ~,~otlon by ~,~r. Ke~ ~d l~h~. Gorst to refer th~ petltlon to th~ City Engineer for checklng of location and referring back to th~ Co~cll, carrled. Clork r~ad letter from G.C. Casad, Water oupe~intendent,'%abulating th~ blds for plpe for the Water ~partment ~d reco~endln~~ that the bld of the U~S, and I;'o~ry Company of ,,~29,552.~0 fo~ cement-lined plpe be accepted as it appears to be th~ tow~st and best bid for the Clty. June 2, 1948 (Cch't) ~otion by ~,~r. Gorst and i~r. Kean to concur in the recormmendation of the Water Superintendent and accept the bid of the U.S. Pipe and Foundry Company, carried. Clerk read notice from the National Safety Co~nacil requesting ,notification of ~the current service desired and advising that dues in the amount of ~49.00 are due o Motion by Mr. Gorst and Mrs. Haddon that the bill be allowed, carried. Clerk read letter from Doris Smith, aecretary of the North Side Improvement Club acknowledging receipt of our letter of ~ay 21. Contents were noted and ordered filed. Clerk read letter from E.S. Sevcrance, City Engineer, concerning a change in the g~ade of the alley running from Park Avenue to Pacific Avenue between Fourth Street and Fifth Street, the petition for which had been referred to his office by the Council, and advising that he could not recommend ~the sugo;ested grade change as good engineering and further advising that he did not believe that changing the grade would bring about the result intended. ~,~. Severance further suggested that a legal opinion be given concerning the application of the zoning ordinance to e:~isting buildin6s at this location. ~otion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean to refer the matter to the City Attorney for further action as needed, carried. Clerk read petition, signed by employees in the City Hall, requesting that the office hours be changed, dtaring the summer months, from 9 to 5 to 8 to 4. I~otion by ~Ir. Kean and Mr. Gorst to reject the petition as the office should be open until 5 P.~.~. for the convenience of the public, carried. The City Attorney read Ordinance ,No. 1781, second reading, establishing and fixing the boundaries of voting precincts in the City of Bremerton, d~signating the number of each of said precincts and repealing Ordinance No. 1630 and all other orclinances or parts of ordinances in conflict therewith. Motion by ~gr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to pass the ordinance on final reading, car- ried, all members voting Yes. The City Clerk read Ordinance No. 178~, second reading, vacating a portion of Ninth Street. ~'iotion by ~r. Gorst and Mro Kean to pass the ordinance on final reading and directing the City Clerk to send copies to the City Engineer and the County Aud- itor, carried. The City Attorney read 0rd[nance No. 1783 relating to the conveyance of pas- sengers and baggage, freight or comodities for hire in the City of Bremerton, amending Ordinance No. 1631, Section ~ and Section 12, as amended, and declaring an emergency. ~otion by ~,Ir. Kean and ~dr. Gorst to approve theemergency ordinance, carried as follows: Mr. Kean,~ Yes. Mrs. Haddon, Ye~ ~r. Gorst, Yes. Mr. John~en reported that in the Ralph Amende case the City Treasurer has been required by writ to pay into a fund for L.I.D. ~1600.00 and ~i;390.00 interest and to pay to ~r. Amende that amount upon surrender of 16 L.I.D. bonds. Mro John- sen advised that he intended to file a motion for a new trial and in the event of denial would reconnnend appeal ~e taken to the Supreme Court. ~Ir. Johnsen ad- vised he has the concurrance of the State Examiner, who has spent some time in studying this case. Th~re are other bonds which are prior to Mr. Amende's and those bond holders will hsve to be notified in order that the City can protect itself so that the City will not have to pay twice. ~otion by Mro Kean and Mrs. Haddon to allow all bills presented at this meet- ing and approved by the majority of the Oouncil, carried. ~,,,~ayor Kean reported that the meeting re the Head of the Bay had been held, the City Engineer had been instructed to prepare maps and then another meeting will be held on the same subject. He reported that in his opinion real progress is being made. L~otion by Mr. Kesa~ and [,~r. Gorst to adjourn, carried. APP It0 VED: C 1 erk //' // Mayor