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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/18/48 August 18, 1948 Regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton, Washington was held in the Mayor's office at the City Hall at ten o'clock A.M., Wednesday August 18, 1948. Mayor Kean presiding with the following being present: Com- missioner Haddon, Connnissioner Gorst, the City Attorney and the City Treasurer. Motion by ~r. Kean and Mrs. Haddon ~ approve the minutes of the previous regular meeting and recessed meetlng of the 13th as written carried. Clerk read reports of separation for A.W. Balazic from the Clerk's office and L. Workman from the Water ~epartment. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to approve ~e foregoing separations, car- rie d. Clerk read notice of employment for: Tom J. Driscoll, Rober~ A. Jacques and W.A. Gilbo, maintenance partolmen for the Water Department at ~)1.~6 per hr.; W.R. Brunke, fireman ~/c, temporary, at ~)Z4Z.00 per ~[onth; A.W. Balazic, extra labor in the Clerk's office at ~l.O0 per hr. Clerk read changes in pay status for: Howard M. Larman, from temporary to regular appoint~nent, fireman 3/c at ~07.00 per month; N.C. Ellis and Charles Taylor, to ~)1.60 per hr, and ~il.6~ per hr., respectively. Motion by ~r. Kean and Mrs. ~addon to approve ~e changes in pay for the foregoing and approve the temporary non-civil service appointments of the first named, carried. August 1S, 1948 (CCh't) Clerk read letter from the City Attorney in answer to a request that a written legal ruling be obtained on the date on which bills become delinquent when the due date falls on a Stu'~day. ~,[r. Johnsen advised that according t o State Law that the time within which an act is to be done shall be computed by excluding the first day and including the last, further advising that if the last day falls on a Sunday it shall be excluded. ~Ir. Jo?rosen reco~muenmed that the customers of the Water Department be refunded the delinquent fee they had been charged for the month of August as both the first and the sixteenth fell on a Sunday. Motion by ~r. Gorst and Mr. Kean to concur in the reco~mmendation and the auditing department be so advised carried. Mr. Merkel, Nr. Branch and Nr. Callahan, Executive Committee of the Cit- izen's Committee for Council-Manager form of Government appeared before the City Colnacil. ~r. ~,~erkel ~r esented a letter to the City Council from the Cit- izens Committee and read letter, discuccing the rejection of petitions for ~,~anager Form of Gover~nnent by the City Council at an earlier meeting, request- ing that the Council take one of the following actions: "l. That the petition for charter amendment be considered withdrawn. ~. That the Committee be allowed to submit the proposed amenc~aent without change and with the lmderst~nding that such action is pur~!y by request of the Co~ittee and for the purpose of rectifying any misunderstanding and injustice to all the citizens who have expended their valuable time and effort both in formulating the proposed charter sm~endment and in circulating the same for sig- natures. $. The Co~mnittee has made changes in the amendment necessitated by cir- ctunstances and the changed form is herewith submitted as referred to above, pro- viding for an election November ~, 19~8. 4. That in the event the City Council rejects the Committees request to submit the amendment that the request of the Committee, that the Co~muittee be provided with a written opinion by the City Attorney through the City Cotuacil and in sufficient time so that petitions may again be circulated in order to submit the proposition to the general election to be held in November, and that the exact procedure which will be accepted by the Council be set forthin full, including the mnuber of valid signatures which will be required to place the proposition on the ballot, and the question of whether or not the procedure pro- vided for in the City C~rter will be considered valid." ~r. Nerkel advised that a resolution in accordance with the letter, set, ting forth proposed changes in 'the City Charter had been prepared at this time and requested that the Council approve and pass the resolution at this meeting. Mr. I¥~erkel read an editorial from Ohe Bremerton Sun which,urged that the proposed amendments to the City Charter be brought to a vote of the peQple and added that in fairness ~o everyone the Committee wants to rectify the mistakes that have been made. A discussion ensued over the fact that the Co~mnittee had been notified that the petitions should have been in by about the 18th of July. The Council was assured by Nr. I,~erkel that should the Council accept these petitions and place the proposed a~aendments on ohe ballot for the November elec- tion it would be with the distinct understanding that the ,Council did ~ot approve the action and publicity to that effect would ~e given in order to inform the voters, Mayor Kean advised that m~s takes t]iat have been made should not be contin- ued and the Council was assuming that the petitions would follow the letter of the law, and informed ~,[r. Merkel and the Cormnittee of the actions which have been taken to date on the petitions as submitted by 'them on August 3, and added that at all times the concensus of opinion of the City Council had been that if the people want the amendments it is their right and privilege to be allowed to vote on them. Following a lengthy discussion the City Attorney advised the Council that this matter did not have to be acted upon today but ~,~r. ~erkel protested that if the matter was not acted on today or in a very few days the time ~ould be too short for the Committee to asain circulate the petitions an~ have them in at the required time. ~,'~r. Gorst advised he would not be in favor of passing the resolution today an~l did not think that snother few days would hurt the cause, as he is definite- ly against some provisions of the amendments. Mr. ~erkel advised that he could be against certain provisions of the amend- ments as the Citizen's Committee are not relying on the approval of the Council to carry the approval of the voters. ~,~ayor Kean asked if action should not be taken today in order to give the Committee more time and he favored rejection of the petition. Mrs. Haddon and IA~. Gorst advised that they wished more time to study the proposition and i~ayor Kean advised he did not wish to "foul" the issue up as in all fairness the people should be allowed to vote on the issue. August 18, 1948 (Con't) Motion by Mr. Gorst and l~r. Kean that these four suggestions oI' the Cit- izen's Committee be considered at a recessed meeting to be held at lO:O0 o'clock A.M. on Friday, August 20, 1948 carried. Mr. Merkel was assured that a written statement of the election laws and the procedure to be followed in submitting petitions to the Council could be ob- tained from the City Clerk at any time, as provided under the City Charter. The City Clerk anno~mced this as the date for the opening of bids for Units 1 and 2 of L.I.D. 236 and two bids had been received. On motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst Clerk opened and read bids as follows: Ted Hyde Construction Company, Bremerton, with a bid bond .and a bid on Unit 1 of $13,889.95 and Unit 11 of ~7,479.20. Starbird Construction Company, Bremerton, with a bid bond and a bid on Unit i of $14,214.34 and Unit ll of ~7,671.84. I~otton by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean to refer the bids to the City Engineer for compilation carried. Clerk read letter from E.g. Severance, City Engineer, regarding pennit charges for sewer connections outside the City L~nits, advising that the approx- imate cost of installing City Sewer mains is :i~.O0 per front foot or ~100.00 for an average lot and reconn~ending that sewer corn~ections made to property outside the City Limits be charged a ~25.00 tapping fee plus ~l.00 per month as an overall maintenance charge, and an additional Q~100.00 in lieu of constr- uction costs, also prgper charges to be paid either to the City or to the County for street repairs. The City Attorney advised these charges and changes would have to be in- cluded in the City ordinance. ~otion b~ Mr. Gor st and ~.,lr. Kean to concur in the recormmendations and refer the matter to the City Attorney for ?reparation of the necessary ordinance car- ried. Clerk read application for a location license 'to install pinball mac~zines at the Bowling ~ecreation, 9th and Callow. A renewal approved by the Assistant Chief of Police. R~otion by ~,'~r. I(ean and ~,'[r. Gorst to approve the applic~ation carried. Clerk read claim for d~m~ages from June ~. Bulette, 198 Russell Road, Apt. G., Bremerton in the ~ount of i~V5,393.81, for the death of her husband. ~,~otion by Mr. Kean and I',~rs. Ha~,~on to refer the Claim to the City Attorney carried. Clerk read claim for damages from C. Bill Lindsey, 2306 Eighth Street, Bren~erton in the amok,mt of ~15.9V for alleged damages done to a neon sign at 416 Naval Avenue by a surveying crew. ~.~otion by ~?Ir. Gorst and ~Ir. t[ean 'to refer the dm~aoe claim to the City Attorney for further action carried. Clerk read clai~,~ for dmuages ma~'!e by Rue E. Tewksbury, 1526~ Pennsylvania in the amount of $1V,66 for alleged damages done to his son's bicycle by a street Department truck. Eotion by ~ir. Kean and ~ir. Gorst to refer the claim to the City Attomey for further action, carried. The City Attorney presented and read option to purchase real estate from C.W. Johnson and Irene Johnson in the amount of ~172.00 on delivery of the op- tion and ~;i;23,500.O0 on or before the 1st day of ~.larch, 1949. This property being adjacent to the Evergreen ParX. The City Attorney presented genez'al clai~u voucher in the amount of $1V2.00 to C.~¥. Johnson in payment of the option, i'or the signature of the City Council. [..Iotion by I~r. l(ean and ~,'Ir. Gorst to approve the ~oucher carried unanimous- ly. Mayor Kean announced that a request would be made of local news dealers to stop selling certain co~ic books which were consimered tu~fit for children to read and added he hoped that a request would be mufficient to stop the sale locally. The City Attorney read a portion of Ordinance No. 325, Section ~7 regard- ing the sale of indecent literature, and added it was his opinion that local news dealers would cooperate with the Council in their request. The City Attorney reported that the City had a lease a~reement with the School District which expires on September 1st and a request had been made by them for renewal. Attorney read agreement. I'~otton by Mr. G~ st and ~..~r. Kean that the I~ayor smd the City Clerk be auth- orized to sign the agreement asrried. August 18, 1948 (Cch't) The City Attorney presented an application for sewer connection from the Manette Luthern Church, approved by the City Engineer, and advised that it should also be approved by the City Council. Motion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean to approve the application for sewer connection carried. The City Attorney presented a resolution regarding the residential quali- fications which would be submitted to a vote of the people at the December 4th election. No action was taken on the resolution. The City Attorney read proposed ordinance changing the name of Bloomington Avenue back to Taft Avenue. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to approve the ordinance on first reading carried as follow~: Mr. Kean, Yes. Mr. Gorst, Yes. Mrs. Haddon, Yes. The City Attorney read proposed ordinance amending Ordinance No. 465, en- titled !'An ordinance providing for the licensing and regulation of public dance halls in the City of Bremerton, fixing the amount of the license fees and pen- ~lties for the violation of this ordinance, and repealing Ordinance No. 46, dated July 14, 1913. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to approve the ordinance on first reading carried as follows: Mr. Kean, Yes. Mrs. Haddon, Yes. Mr. Gorst, Yes. The City Attorney advised that the letter had been prepared and signed to the Phinney Bay Water District advising them that the City ~o uld not instsll fire hydrants on any system not owned by the City and in the event the system were given to the City the City would then install hydrants and maintain the system. ~ayor Kean reported that the Council has discussed the installation of a gas pump and tank in the parking lot at the rear of the City Hall. The pump will be moved from Sheridan Park and the City will purchase a new tank. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst that the City Clerk and Purchasing Agent be instructed to purchase the tank and have it installed and have the pump moved from Sheridan Park, carried. Mayor Kean reported tJ~at a request had been received from the Y.M.C.A. to hold a street dance at the end of Washington Avenue and he could find no object- ions, Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to approve the request, carried. Mayor Kean asked if the Council wishsd to go along with Seattle in extend- ing day light saving time. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to concur in the extension and request the City Attorney to prepare an ordinance for the extension, carried. Motion by I¥Ir. Kean and Mrs. Haddon to allow all bills presented at this meeting if approved by the majority of the Council carried as follows: Mr. Kean, Ya~s. ~,~rs. ~addon, Yes. ~r. Gorst, Yes. Mr. Gorst reported that he had several requests forstreet light installa- tions and would turn them all in together. Mayor Kean reported progress on the View Ridge Building. Mayor Kean asked that the City Engineer be reminded that a reconumendation had been requested from him as to the disposition of the Sheridan Dock. Clerk read letter from John C. Lind~berg, Secretary of the ~Jarine Drive Water District, requesting that the City of Bremerton make an installation of water pipes on their system, all charges to be borne by the Water District thru the various property ov~ners benefited. Advising that Mr. Casad, Water Superintendent, has all of the detailed information pertaining to the ~o rk to be done. Mr. Gorst advised that this letter should be placed on file and since its receipt by the City the Water District has contacted him and informed him they are setting up a local L.Z.D. to m,ake these improvements. Motion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean to file the correspondence carried. Clerk read letter from Ethel Nystrom, Senior Cler.k,. Accounting Office, Water Department, advisin~'~ they have four desk lamps and one letter sealer for which there is no further use and reco~m,~ending disposal. l~'[otion by Mr. Gorst and I~ir. Kean to approve the reconm~endation and refer Bo the City Clerk for disposal in the best interest of the City carried. · August 18, 1948 (CCh't) Clerk read letter from C.C. Casad, Superintendent of Water, enclosing Contract No. N0y-151?l and change order No. 5 and recommdning approval by the Council. Motion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean that the contract and change order be approved and signed carried. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mrs. Haddon to recess until 10:00 A.M. Friday, August 20, 1948 carried. ~ayor August 20, 1948 Recessed meeting of the City Council of the City of Bremerton, Washing- ton was held in the Mayor's office at ten o'clock A.M. Friday, August 20, 1948. Mayor Kean presiding with the following being present: Commissioner Iiaddon, Co~aissioner Gorst, the City Treasurer ~d the Assistant City At- torney. The City Attorney being absent in court. Clerk read reports o£ separations for the following: Virginia M. Weeks, extra labor in the Clerk's office. ~otion by ~r. Kean ~d ~rs. Haddon to approve the separation carri~do Clerk read c~mnge in pay status for: James P. Hestley to fireman 2/c at ~242.00 per month and Dorothy M. Meacham to ~lVO.O0 per month. Motion by Mr. Kean and Mr. Gorst to approve the changes in pay for the foregoing carried. Clerk read application from Robert Nielens, 240 Second Street, for a bowling alley and soft drink parlor, and advised the City Council that their approval was required by ordnance on new licenses for bowling alleys. A discussion ensued on the need of an applicant posting the bond as re- quired by City Ordinance, and was decided generally that the Ordinance would be ~ollowed in all cases. Motion by Mr. l(ean and Mr. Gorst to approve the application for the bowling alley carried. Mayor Kean reported that he had informed the Y.~.C.A. of the approval of the Council for them to hold a street dance. Clerk read letter from Andrew Fendergast, Superintendent of the Park s_~d Recreation Department, enclosing an estimate for the moving of the View Ridge Child Care Building, in the total amount of ~8,175.00, and recommending, after careful consideration and study with the City Engineer, that ~r. Branch be requested to submit a detailed plan for the project and the work to be done. Mayor Kean advised this matter had been discussed at length before and on motion by ~r. Kean and Mr. Gorst to concur in the recommendation and refer to the City Clerk and Purchasing Agent, the City Engineer and the City Attor- ney for further action and the preparation of the necessary papers carried. Clerk r~ad letter from E.~. Severance, City ~gineer, tabulating the bids received August 18 on the construction of sidewalks, curbs and gutters on L.I.D. ~o. 236 and reco~nending that the bids of Ted Hyde Construction Company be ac- cepted as the lowest and best ~id for the City. Motion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean to concur in the recommendation and so award the bid, carried as follows: ~lr. Kean, Yes. Mrs. Haddon, Yes. ~r. Gorst, Yes. Referred to the City Clerk, Engineer and the City Attorney For prepara- tion of t~e necessary papers. August 20, 1948 (Con't) Mr. I,Ierket and ~r. Callahan, members of the executive committee of the Citizen's Con~nittee for Council-Ivlanager Plan of Government were in attend- ance and ~.~ayor Kean asked the Co~mcil what they wished to do concerning the proposed resolution aS submitted by the Cor~m~ittee. Mr. Gorst advised that he us very much against the amended charter as set up by the connuittee; thinks where these people have signed this petition ~ouldn't want to go out and do it all over again but believes that the people who signed the petitions for this form of government would' not approve all the propositions under the proposed amendments; possibly thinks it is not good for the City but doesn't know ehy they should go ahead and force the peo- ple to go back and do it all over again but wants it understood that' he has never been for the change of the Charter in this way, not in it's present form. Nfs. Haddon agreed with Mr. Gorst and advised she was in favor of putting it on the ballot for a vote of the people, and if the CouuOll has been in er- ror to rectify the error and let it go on the ballot for September 14th, and added that she has told everyone that she is not ibr the amendments ~s proposed, and thinks whatever is done should be done graciously. I~r. ~erkel read from the proposed amendments and a discussion followed con- cerning the eligivility of persons for the position of City Manager. ~,layor Kean advised that the Council was in accord that the proposal' should be put on a ballot as the people were privileged to vote on the issue but be- lieved it should be put on the ballot legally, and now the Committee is asking that the amendments be' put on the ballot voluntarily which would put the Coun- cil in the position of doing something which they have admitted being opposed to as it is set up, and in spite of the sifficiency of the signatures, which took it out of the hands of the Council, had to be thrown out because of the dates it contained. Mr. D~erkel advised that the proposed resolution had changed dates which would make it legal, and advised that the Council had every right to certify the petition to the Election Board. Mr. Wallace advised that'the Council had the power to certify the petitions to the Election Board for the election on November end. r~otion by Mr. Gorst and Mr. Kean that the r~commendation for 'the passage of this proposed resolution be rejected carried as follows: ~Ir. Kean, Yes. l~2rs. Haddon, No. ~,Ir. Gorst, Yes. ~.Ir. Nerkel asked that the petitions which had been rejected be returned to the Committee a~d following a discussion of the legality of whether they could be loaned or released'from the Clerk's files it was decided that the Clerk's office would make copies of the signers for the use of the Citizen's Committee. ~rs. Haddon reported that she had a line on someone who would do the janitor work at the dock for the Selective Service, but felt that ~r. Noeller should be able to do it. ' ~otion by ~r. Gorst and ~irs. Haddon to adjourn, carried. APPi~O~,fED: Mayor