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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/20/1998 Adjourned Meeting 4 CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON JANUARY 20, 1998 ADJOURNED MEETING WITH YAKIMA COUNTY AND AREA AGENCIES The City Council met in session on this date at 7:30 a.m., in the Second Floor Training Room at the Police /Legal Center, 200 South 3rd Street, Yakima, Washington, Mayor John Puccinelli, presiding. Council Members Henry Beauchamp, Lynn Buchanan, John Klingele, Mary Place, and Bernard Sims present on roll call. Council Member Clarence Barnett absent and excused. City Manager Zais, Director of Community and Economic Development Valenzuela, Administrative Assistant to the City Manager Oliver, and Deputy City Clerk Skovald also present. Yakima County Commissioner Jim Lewis and Dick Anderwald, Yakima County Planning. Director, were also present. Dr. Larry Petry, Superintendent of Yakima School District No. 7; Gary Plat, West Valley Schools; Mike Bernazzani, ESD No. 105; Linda Kaminski, Yakima Valley Community College; Mark Mochel, Washington State Employment Security Department, and Lon Wyrick, Yakima Valley Conference of Governments were also present. Review of Changing Demographics in Yakima Mayor Puccinelli welcomed the group and called the meeting to order. Dr. Petry provided copies of a comparison of the 1994 and 1995 special levy amount per pupil between the Seattle School District (at $1,600 per pupil) and the Yakima School District (at $600 per pupil). That information shows Yakima having to pay seven times as much to get the same amount of services as Seattle has. There was discussion about the assessed valuation and the differences in the quality of life between Yakima and other areas in the state. Dr. Petry also reported the rate of growth has slowed down in the Yakima School District during the past two or three years. In the future the rate of growth is expected to be slower, the pattern of growth will change, and there will be a difference in the make -up of the population. There was discussion about the migration of the white population and the immigration of the minority population and the economics that follow this trend in the Yakima Valley area. With the decrease in the Anglo population and the increase in the Hispanic population, certain socioeconomic trends will appear, such as less migratory activities, an increase in the poverty level, and an increase in limited English speaking individuals. Housing problems such as slum landlording and crowded living conditions will impact public services, partly because of situations where multi - families are living in single - family dwellings. If the number of people being served goes go up without the assessment values going up, then the money received goes down. There was continued discussion about that issue, the flight patterns of people, and the fact that when people 45 ADJOURNED MEETING - JANUARY 20, 1998 move public services are impacted. Council Member Beauchamp asked about the drop in the white student population, and there was discussion about whether private schools have absorbed the migration of enrollments moving to the east and the west. Mainly the change has been in the elementary schools; high schools have remained very competitive. Poverty and overcrowding as it relates to crime was . discussed next, as was the lingering drug problem within the community. Gary Plat, Business Manager at West Valley Schools, reported losing students every month last year. He indicated the projected enrollment is expected to decrease because the birth rate has dropped over the last five years. Seeing a decline in growth and noticing the survival rate dropping, Mayor Puccinelli asked where are the students going. Mr. Plat explained they are not sure where the students are going. Looking at facilities for each grade level, the most growth is occurring at the high school level. Using the survival projection assumptions, it is estimated that most facilities will have capacity until 2003 through 2005 when full capacity is expected. Council Member Beauchamp asked about impact fees, debt capacity availability, and the changes in minority populations. Gary Platt explained West Valley Schools still has a 95% Caucasian school population. Mark Mochel, State Employment Security Department, spoke about the "Work First Program" for welfare reform and the elements that became effective November 1, 1997. Data is not yet available since the program is new. Mr. Mochel briefly described the work requirement with the new program. He reported there has been a 20% initial decrease in benefits; although there has been no mass exodus because of welfare reform as is the case in Spokane and Walla Walla. He pointed out that 6 -12 months need to pass before comparisons can be made. , Because of State goals to reduce the welfare rolls by 15 %, which currently . is at 12 %, and the goal to reduce the payments by 15 %, participants are managing their welfare benefits better since there is a 60 month lifetime benefit available to them. There was discussion about the Work First Program and the transition into new jobs for people on welfare. There was discussion about the effects to the local economy, what it will take to get the people prepared to enter the workforce, the lack • of participation in the program by private employers, and the larger amounts of money available at the federal and state level. Mike Bernazzani, ESD #105, provided a sense of impact in other areas where gravitation of persons to larger communities has occurred. He noted that welfare reform affected the Newport School District, which lost 147 students in 30 days. He indicated that with the growth factor level diminishing, he anticipates the demographic issues becoming major in perhaps five years. There was discussion about the future job potential in Yakima as opposed to outlying areas, as well as the implications of the Welfare to Work program. 2 46 ADJOURNED MEETING - JANUARY 20, 1998 Linda Kaminski, Yakima Valley Community College, provided statistics about the students attending the college. Forty -Seven percent in Yakima and 60 percent in Grandview, of the 7,000 students enrolled at YVCC, are minority students. The average age is 29 with 60% of the students being female. The adult basic education and English as a second language programs are steadily growing in Yakima. The percentage of students on welfare is not known yet. There are 80% of the students on financial aid at YVCC. Ms. Kaminski pointed out that YVCC doesn't grow at the rate of the colleges on the I -5 corridor, and the students are poorer. The numbers of "Running Start Students" are up and the affect of English as a Second Language (ESL) is funding is lower. "Workforce retraining dollars" students do not count as Full Time Enrollees, but the count affects funding. Lon Wyrick, Yakima Valley Council of Governments, commented about the impact of the census and the importance of accurate information, particularly as it relates to school district revenue. There was discussion about the population shift taking place. Dick Anderwald commented that state and federal officials suspect there are differences in the census figures, and there are a large number of the population not counted. He emphasized the importance of accuracy in census counting and garnered support for proposed legislation concerning the accuracy of census counting. Mr. Anderwald also suggested this issue be discussed with area legislators and a committee be formed to address the issue and work on the 2000 census. There was continued discussion about local involvement in the census and the benefits and concerns associated with that task. Commissioner Lewis commented about slum lord issues, Yakima County's code enforcement effort, and what to do with the people who are displaced. There was discussion about how to deal with the "Fair Share Housing" issue and the need to develop a policy for this very politically sensitive issue. Glenn Valenzuela commented about a "rental inspection program" to address the slumlording problem and the need for cooperation and coordination with other agencies. Council Member Sims commented that landlords don't know how many people are renting. Council Member Beauchamp feels an affordable housing strategy needs to be developed to find ways to make housing available. There was continued discussion among the group concerning the population shift and the slowing of the population growth, centralization of public services, and the increase in enrollment for severely handicapped students. Council Member Sims commented that the unemployment rate is the lowest in decades and there was discussion as to what accounts for this. He pointed out that there are more houses to rent, more houses for sale, more job opportunities and more people looking for work. He also noted that there has been growth in every industry in Yakima with a 5 -6% growth expected in the next five years, and there is evidence of a slowing of the economy and perhaps the economy will stabilize. Next, there was discussion about the sales tax revenue and the number of students who drop out of school. 3 47. ADJOURNED MEETING - JANUARY 20, 1998 Dr. Petry explained that they are waiting to see what will happen, and they will be tracking the situation and waiting to see how this will impact Yakima. In the past the growth industry has been welfare and that is going to change and it could be positive. II Other Issues Marketa Oliver asked the Council if they would like to write a letter of support to Representative Jim Clements regarding the fish hatchery property at the Airport. There was a brief discussion about the property swap, and then the meeting adjourned at 9:05 a.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: 40 , 4(. 7 f COUNCIL MEM':E° DATE CO MEMBER DATE ATTEST: . ` <. CITY CLERK JOHN PUCCINELLI, MAYOR Minutes prepared by Deputy City Clerk Skovald. An audiotape of this meeting is available in the City Clerk's Office • 4