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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01/13/2015 Study Session 157 6 YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION January 13, 2015 City Hall -- Council Chambers 10:00 a.m. Study Session regarding Mill Site Update, Emergency Management and Gang Free Initiative -- MINUTES 1. Roll Call Council: Mayor Micah Cawley, presiding, Assistant Mayor Kathy Coffey, Council Members Maureen Adkison, Tom Dittmar, Rick Ensey, Dave Ettl and Bill Lover Staff: City Manager O'Rourke and City Clerk Claar Tee 2. Cascade Mill Redevelopment Project Update - Interchange and Street Alignments City Manager O'Rourke introduced Steve Lewis, Vice President of Lochner Inc., to provide an update on the Cascade Mill site. Mr. Lewis reviewed three projects: 1) Cascade Mill Parkway Project, led by City staff; 2) East/West corridor project led by County staff; and 3) the Interchange Justification Report (IJR) which is led by a combination of City and County staff along with the Washington State Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Highway Administration, as well as a status report of meetings with the Burlington Northern /Santa Fe Railroad (BNSF). Mr. Lewis stated a draft report of the Interchange Modification Report (IJR) was submitted on October 22, 2014, with a final report to be submitted on February 2, 2015. They have met with BNSF officials who are not supportive of roundabouts over railroad crossings; therefore, they presented alternative options with a discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of each option and reviewed next steps. Stage 1 and 2 of construction were discussed, as well as the anticipated schedule, budget and funding. Community Development Director Joan Davenport reviewed the landfill remedial investigation. She reminded Council that the City entered into a voluntary clean up with the Department of Ecology (DOE), who is an active partner. DOE has asked that the City update and refresh some environmental documents, which were gathered in 2008 and 2009. She stated the City is cautiously optimistic about what the reports are showing to date. 3. Resolution adopting the 2015 City of Yakima Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as the official emergency response plan for the City of Yakima City Manager O'Rourke reviewed the history of the City's emergency management plan and how this plan is specific to the needs of this community. Perry Tarrant, Emergency Preparedness Director, briefed Council on the resolution. He thanked Chief Stewart and others who recognized the gap between the existing plan and potential hazards to the City and noted that historically the plan was a more generic copy from emergency management. The new plan is specific to the City of Yakima and covers the majority of hazards with an annex in the full plan for each and every type of emergency. This document gives the City the capacity to coordinate with the state and federal governments and takes a link out of the chain in order to recover financially. The average turnaround time to recover costs Page 1 of 3 158 with support from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is about two years. This document lists potential hazards and identifies what is believed to be the largest hazard facing the state in the next 10 years —an earthquake. He understands it is in our best interests to be prepared and plan for recovery. This plan will go to the state upon adoption, which will recognize our capacity as a direct partner, not only in mitigation of events but also in response by directly communicating with the state, as opposed to working through an additional layer at the County. Senior Assistant Helen Harvey noted by way of background that a previous Council adopted an ordinance for emergency powers, which gives an organized methodical approach for declaring an extreme emergency. She briefly noted the line of succession beginning with the Mayor who has emergency powers under a civil emergency, which needs ratified by the City Council within 72 hours. The City Clerk read the resolution by title only. RESOLUTION NO. R 2015 - 007, A RESOLUTION adopting the 2015 City of Yakima Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan as the Official Emergency Response Plan for the City of Yakima. Motion: Dittmar moved and Adkison seconded to adopt the resolution. The motion carried by unanimous vote. 4. Resolution changing the policy authority of the Yakima Gang Free Initiative (GFI) to the Yakima City Council Public Safety Committee and changing the composition process and scope of the Gang Initiative Advisory Committee Perry Tarrant, Gang Initiative Manager, briefed Council on the resolution. He proposed a slight shift and focus of the Gang Free Initiative (GFI) which historically focused largely on prevention. He believes we are effective on the suppression side with law enforcements addition of a second gang squad, increasing analytic capability and expanding community policing activities. The City will work in partnership with other jurisdictions such as the County and Juvenile Court, as well as outlaying areas in the lower valley. This will offer better data and falls in line with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention models, which provide more opportunities for grants. The City Clerk read the resolution by title only. RESOLUTION NO. R - 2015 - 008, A RESOLUTION changing the policy authority of the Yakima Gang Free Initiative (GFI) to the Yakima City Council Public Safety Committee and changing the composition process and scope of the Gang Initiative Advisory Committee. Motion: Ettl moved and Dittmar seconded to adopt the resolution. The motion carried by unanimous vote. 5. Audience Comments (allow 15 minutes) Kim Jaeger with Railroad Property Management, suggested under item 2 that they have option 1 pre- approved by the BNSF before spending any more time or money. Mr. Lewis noted he has provided BNSF a copy of option 1 and is working through it with them. 6. Adjournment Motion: Ensey moved and Coffey seconded to adjourn to the next City Council Business meeting on January 20, 2015 at 6 p.m. at City Hall. The motion carried by unanimous vote. The meeting adjourned at 11:23 a.m. CERTIFICATION READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY U4' - i s Page 2 of 3 159 COUNCIL MEMBER DATE 111 1111.L. •. I q . 5 COUNC L MEM:L 1 DATE ATTEST: •• 4 1114pr ,0 a4 b 0 .,... ,00...„„,,,,,„ • _ Q CITY CLERK F i < r Z I MAY �JR i. �' 1r 1 Page 3 of 3