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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-08-17 NCBC Agenda PktYakima City Council Committee Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBC) Council Chambers, City Hall – 129 N 2nd St, Yakima, WA Thursday August 17, 2017 2:00 p.m. City Council City Staff Councilmember Dulce Gutiérrez (Chair) Cliff Moore, City Manager Councilmember Avina Gutiérrez Joan Davenport, Community Development Director Councilmember Carmen Méndez Sara Watkins, Senior Assistant City Attorney Councilmember Holly Cousens (alternate) Agenda 1) Presentation of Findings Report from Ethics & Equal Rights Exploratory Committee (Maria Rodriguez) 2) Follow-up on Council Meeting Subtitles and Cost Information (Beehler) 3) Intern Recognition 4) Board Appointed Reports – Standing Items a)Transit Development Plan / Transit Related Issues (D. Gutiérrez) b) Parks & Recreation Commission (D. Gutiérrez) c)Henry Beauchamp Community Center (A. Gutiérrez) d)Historic Preservation (A. Gutiérrez) e) Yakima Planning Commission (A. Gutiérrez) f)Bike/Pedestrian Committee (C. Méndez) g)Homeless Network (C. Méndez) h)TRANS-Action Committee (D. Gutiérrez) i) Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (A. Gutiérrez) j) Community Integration Committee (D. Gutiérrez) – 07/10/2017 & 7/24/2017 Minutes 5)Other Business / Requests a)Approve Amended Minutes of 06/29/2017 b) Approve Minutes of 07/20/2017 c)Future Items d)Recap of Deliverables for Next NCBC Meeting e) Interpreter for Next Meeting (48-hr advance notice) 6)Audience Participation Next Meeting: September 21, 2017 The complete agenda packet is available online at: https://www.yakimawa.gov/council/city-council-committees/ 001 City of Yakima Ethics & Equal Rights Committee Quarter 2 – Progress Report Quarter 1 Summary: The committee developed an “elevator speech” that encapsulated our perceived purpose. “The Yakima City Council cares about residents and seeks our insight and perspective on ethics and equal rights issues. We have one year to assess needs in Yakima and provide some thoughtful recommendations. Do you have thoughts or concerns about fairness in Yakima?” After committee research and presentations from city staff, the committee identified 15 priorities. Landlord/Tennant Issues, Minimum Housing Codes, Code Enforcement, Police/Criminal Justice, Gender/Race/Pay Equity, Education about Issues, Wage Theft, Funding to Support Program, Distribution of Resources, Website Development (mobile apps), Community Engagement, City Investments, Diversity City/Workforce, Perception of Racism and Welcome City Resolution. Four topics were eliminated from our list, as we were informed that the Integration Committee was already looking at these issues. (Education of Issues, Community Engagement, City Investments and Diversity City/Workforce. The committee decided to pick 3 topics to focus on: Housing, Wage Theft and examination of the City of Yakima Equity Study. Quarter 2 Focus: The committee was divided into 3 work-groups; each group would study and report on one of the topics. o Housing - Attached Author of report is David Morales. His professional credentials make him uniquely qualified to report on this issue. He has personally worked with clients to help address their legal issues regarding housing issues. o Wage Theft - Attached Author of report is Diana Lopez-Batista. Her professional credentials make her uniquely qualified to report on this issue. She has personally worked with clients to help address legal issues related to wage theft within the City of Yakima as well as its surrounding areas. o City of Yakima Equity Study – Attached 002 Author of report is Maria DJ Rodriguez & Brad Hill. Ms. Rodriguez & Mr. Hill’s researched concluded that there are too many unknown variables and uncertainties with the study, which made it difficult to pin point the inequities. •How reports influenced committee o After review of the reports on Housing, Wage Theft and the Equity Study, the committee acknowledged that there was more than enough evidence that significant inequities existed in Yakima. For Further Consideration / Recommendations o This committee tended to focus on issues related to equal rights. As a result, the issue of ethics has not been adequately explored. We recommend that this be addressed in the future with greater detail. o This committee has reached unanimous consensus that a committee on Equal Right (and Ethics) should be made a permanent committee. There is much work to be done, and we see no advantage in delaying this recommendation to the Yakima City Council. 003 Basic Characteristics1 The City of Yakima is estimated to have 93261 persons living in it right now. Of these, 67, 724 are adults. This is based on the 2015 American Community Survey. In terms of diversity, 45.0 percent are “Hispanic or Latino” and 49.4 percent are “white alone.” Yakima has 1.0 percent African American population, 1.1 percent Native American,, 1. Percent Asian, and 2.2 percent of persons list more than one “race.” Of the 67724 adults, 56099 are US citizens. There are 30697 persons who speak Spanish at home. In terms of our households, the most recent data is from the 2010 US Census. That data shows that there are 33,074 households in Yakima, 64.7 of which are “family households” and 35.3 percent are non family households. About 9,496 persons live alone in the City. There are 9749 persons who live in two person households and 4981 persons who live in three person household. Our average household size is 2.68 and our average family size is 3.30. In terms of family composition, there are 21411 families, 5,187 of which are listed as “female household, no husband present families,” and 14127 are listed as “husband-wife” families. The Housing Stock of Yakima. Of the 33.081 housing units in Yakima, 60.7 are detached, 4.6 percent are attached, 29.5 percent are apartments and 5.2 percent are mobile homes. Hour housing skews to older for the most part. 71.2 percent was built before 1980. Only .5 percent has been built since 2010. The vast majority, 73.6 are in the 2-3 bedroom range. 97.8 percent have kitchens, 99.4 percent have plumbing. 96.3 percent have telephone service available. In terms of heating, 37.4 percent receive gas, 58.2 percent receive electricity. Nine percent of households do not have a vehicle. One of the most concerning thing that stands out is that there is a discrepancy between the 2010 census numbers and the 2015 ACS averages, it looks as if the amount of housing units without kitchens or telephone service has been increasing. There are many renter households. Roughly a little below half, 15,238 households, are renters. The “median rent” in Yakima is 771 dollars, with structures built in the last 20 years commanding over 900 dollars while most structures built between 2000 and down command an average rent in the 700+ range. In terms of a percentage of households, about 45.8 percent pay over 35 percent of their income towards rent, and 8.4 percent between 30-35 percent. Somewhat concerningly, about 4 percent of renter households in any given month are behind in rent. There is a correlation between income and percentage of income paid in rent, with 87 percent of households earning less than 20k paying more than 30 percent in rent, and 71 percent of households earning between 20k and 30k paying more than 1 These numbers can be generated using the factfinder.census.gov website. 004 30 percent in rent. By comparison only 3.8 percent of households earning more than 75k pay more than 30 percent in rent. The majority of housing units, 17843, are owned by the occupant. Of these, 11219 hove mortgages. The median mortgage is about 1184 dollars per month in Yakima. The average value of a home in Yakima is 156,700 dollars. On average, home owners are not as stressed as renters, only 31 percent pay more than 30 percent of their household income on housing, with 25.4 spending 35.0 percent or more. In terms of tenure, 1.6 percent of households have moved to their current location within the last year, 35.7 percent have moved in between 2010 and 2014, 37.3 percent moved in between 2009 and 2000, and 25.4 percent moved in before 2000. Taking a look at the mobile homes in our community, the median value of a mobile home is 31500 dollars. The mobile home market seems to have two spikes in terms of value in the overall distribution, one large group is located in mobile homes that sell between 15000 and 20000 while another large group is located in homes that sell between 100000 and 250000. There are practically no mobile homes in between. Finally, considering the internet connectivity of our community, only 22,410 of our 33,290 households have internet. The majority of those who get internet use cable modem. Less than one percent have fiber optic. DSL is the second most popular choice for internet access. Oddly enough, the amount of households with a computer, 27547 exceeds those with internet by over 5,000. Most persons with a computer have a desktop or laptop. Income does seem to have an affect on internet connectivity, of the 6606 households with less than 20k in earnings, more than half do not have internet households. While about a third of the households earning between 20k and 75k do not have internet, and 11 percent of households that earn 75k or more. Rental companies in Yakima. There are various companies/firms that own or manage rental properties in Yakima. Wilson Real Estate Management, Landmark Management Services, Jevons, Graft Investments, and Megaladon Property are the largest. Common Issues in the Housing world of Yakima Equity stealing. This is usually a financing scheme that allows lenders to take a complete ownership interest in a home where the house is used as collateral. There are many examples of this, but usually, a home owner who has come into money troubles calls a lending agent. The lending agent connects the individual with an “investor” who will give a personal loan to the home owner in exchange for a high interest rate (think above 10 percent) and place the home as collateral. The loans are designed to fail, with staggered payment structures, so that when the home owner can’t come up with the money, the investor or the agent will capture the whole house and foreclose on it. There are also examples of outright fraud in the these types of schemes. 005 “Eastern Washington Land Deals.” These are usually off-the-books oral contracts. Usually a person will be told that they can own a house, or part of a house (think – “you can own that house but not the field behind it”), if they pay an individual, likely someone they already trust, a certain amount over time. The occupant will proceed as if they have a mortgage and pay over a long period of time and then the owner of the property will pretend that he occupant made up the story and was a renter all along. Oral contracts for property and mobile homes are very common. Mobile home schemes. Because mobile homes can be affixed to property as real estate or be considered movable personal property, they are often the subject of creative purchasing agreements. I will not get into all of them, but examples include oral contracts that do not materialize in real ownership, promises to workers that they will get the home and not actually giving it to them, selling the land with the mobile home as affixed while a family thought they owned it as personal property, and purchase prices that are 4-10x as expensive as the actual assessed value of the mobile home. Additionally, because mobile homes from the 1970s and before are not movable under the law, many people who buy mobile homes find that they have no value or can’t be moved and have to be scrapped. Private Mortgages. Many persons in Yakima lack the credit history or large down payments to buy a traditional home. As a result, a large sector of rent-to-own mortgages has arisen in Yakima. Usually a private lender or owner will make a contract with a family to purchase the home for a super low price at the end a long term (20-30 year) contract to pay rent. These are not illegal per-se but there are examples of exorbitant rents being charged, of the owner selling the property halfway through the contract, and other shady dealings. The most important thing to recognize is that the renter does not have the same protections they would under normal mortgages.2 Common issues in the rental world of Yakima There is very little available housing in general. Our vacancy rate for the county is 2.2 percent, in line with major cities like Seattle and NYC. Evictions without proper notice- While the Residential Landlord Tennant act and other statutory schemes specify the proper procedure for unlawful detainer and eviction actions, it is often the case that landlords still do not do things properly. This could range from unlawful detainer actions that are not reasonably calculated to give proper notice to the tenant to complete self help evictions, i.e., taking the law into your own hands. Another improper way of evicting someone is making their life difficult until they decide to move, this is called constructive eviction and is against the law. 2 More information is available at: http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/know-your-rights-rent-to-own-in- washington-st 006 Refusal to accept section 8- Section 8 is a Federally funded housing program that provides vouchers for low income people to live in rental housing at the market rate. It makes up the difference between what the person is able to pay and what the market rate is by giving them a voucher that the land lord can turn into cash. While many cities have made it illegal to refuse to accept Section 8 vouchers, most cities have not. They normally call this “source of income discrimination.” Often, however, refusal to accept section 8 vouchers is code for racial discrimination, as Section 8 is associated with some minority groups in some part of the country. There have been examples of NJP opening up investigations into whether refusal to accept Section 8 is discriminatory either as hidden purposeful discrimination or disproportionate impact. Those cases are usually settled quickly. Section 8 vouchers are very difficult to obtain and there is usually along waiting list (10 years in some places), thus a person has to be continuously poor for a long time in order to benefit. Warrantee of Habitability- every tenant, whether a tenant in common law, under the mobile home landlord tenant act or the residential landlord tenant act is owed a “warrantee of habitability.” This basically describes keeping the housing in such shape that it is livable. The common responsibilities include available heating and water. Under the statutory residential landlord tenant act a landlord must "keep the premises fit for human habitation at all times during the tenancy" and keep the premises in a way that complies substantially with all state and local laws substantially affecting your health and safety. While ideally no rental housing would fall below standard, many do. This is probably the number one issue for low income tenants. Retaliation- where a person reports an issue or uses their statutory rights to make the landlord fix something, it is usually assumed that any evictions or other bad actions that happen to the tenant are related to the first event. It is illegal to retaliate against tenants. Nevertheless, it happens in a variety of ways- eviction, enforcement of strict rules, the sudden refusal to landscape the property, raising the rent, cutting off water or heating, and many other ways. Code Enforcement- a landlord cannot rent a property that has existing code violations. The result is that if housing is below code and was rented anyway, the tenant can bring a case against the landlord. Code enforcement is controversial because often if the city shuts down an existing housing site, the tenants will have nowhere to go but the streets. Where people are evicted for code violations the landlord owes them damages, but this is difficult to collect at the exact moment when it is needed. There is statutory authority to create what is known as a Relocation Assistance Fund. The RAF gives 3x rent or 2000 dollars to a tenant where their housing has been shut down by the local government for code violations. The city would collect it’s loss by placing a lien on the property. The city of Yakima does not now participate in the RAF program. RCW 59.18.085. There is also a mobile home version of this set up by the Department of Commerce that applies where a mobile home park has to close, either because it was sold or because of code violations. Mobile home landlords are required to pay into the mobile home relocation assistance fund. 007 Wage Theft: the illegal practice of not paying workers for all of their work including; violating minimum wage laws, not paying overtime, forcing workers to work off the clock, misclassifying them as exempt or independent contractors, and much more. Wage theft is a major problem nationwide but it affects women and all workers of color at higher rates than the average.1 Key Findings2 Discrimination and wage theft go hand in hand. Women were significantly more likely than men to experience minimum wage violations (and sexual harassment) Foreign-born workers are nearly twice as likely as their U.S.-born counterparts to have a minimum wage violation o Foreign-born Latino workers have the highest violations of any racial ethnic group. Blacks also experience wage violations triple that of their white counterparts. o Higher levels of education, longer tenure, and English proficiency offer some protection from violations NELP’s data shows that 26% of workers (LA, New York, Chicago) are paid less than required by the minimum wage laws o Minimum wage violations are significant as 60% of workers were underpaid by more than $1 per hour About a quarter of all workers worked overtime the previous week, yet 76% were not paid the legally required OT rate (workers putting in an average of 11 hours of OT) Nearly a quarter of the workers came in early and/or stayed late after their shift during the previous work week. Of these workers, 70% did not receive any pay at all for the work they performed outside of their regular shift. About 86% worked enough consecutive hours to be legally entitled to at least one meal break during the previous week. Of these workers, more than two-thirds, 69%, received 1 http://www.nelp.org/publication/broken-laws-unprotected-workers-violations-of-employment-and-labor-laws- in-americas-cities/ 2 See note supra 1 , “ In Los Angeles alone, low-wage workers lose $26.2 million in wage theft violations every week–making it the wage theft capital of the country.” 008 no break at all, had their break shortened, were interrupted by their employer, or worked during the break—all of which constitute a violation of meal break laws In California, Illinois and New York, workers are required to receive documentation of their earnings and deductions, regardless of whether they are paid in cash or by check. However, 57% of workers in our sample did not receive this mandatory documentation in the previous work week o Generally, employers are not permitted to take deductions from a worker’s pay for damage or loss, work-related tools or materials or transportation. But 41% of workers reported these types of illegal deductions from their pay in the previous work week 30% were not paid the tipped worker minimum wage (which in Illinois and New York is lower than the regular state minimum wage) o 12% of these workers experienced tip stealing by their employers Additional costs: systems meant to protect are failing workers i.e. workers’ compensation programs are not adequate for low-wage workers and those limited rights lack enforcement. When workers complained about their working conditions or tried to organize a union, employers often responded by retaliating against them. Many workers never made complaints in the first place, often because they feared retaliation by their employers 1 in 5 workers reported that they had made a complaint to their employer or attempted to form a union in the last year. Of those, 43% experienced one or more forms of illegal retaliation from their employer or supervisor. For example, employers fired or suspended workers, threatened to call immigration authorities, or threatened to cut workers’ hours or pay o Another 20% of workers reported that they did not make a complaint to their employer during the past 12 months, even though they had experienced a serious problem such as dangerous working conditions or not being paid the minimum wage. Half were afraid of losing their job, 10% were afraid they would have their hours or wages cut, and 36% thought it would not make a difference. Workers in Washington State who are injured on the job or who suffer an occupational disease have the right to receive workers' compensation for their injury or illness. This is true whether a worker has legal work documents or is an undocumented worker.3 However, workers in low- wage industries are less likely to receive any relief from such protections. Of the workers in the sample who experienced a serious injury on the job, only 8% filed a workers’ compensation claim. When workers told their employer about the injury, 50% experienced an illegal employer reaction—including firing the worker, calling immigration authorities, or instructing the worker not to file for workers’ compensation o Half of workers injured on the job had to pay their bills out-of-pocket or use their health insurance to cover the expenses. Workers’ compensation insurance paid medical expenses for only 6% of the injured workers in our sample Discussion and Recommendations 3http://www.washingtonlawhelp.org/resource/work-injuries-and-your-rights?ref=XsYBt 009 There is hope because not all employers violate the law. NELP found a range of workplace practices—offering health insurance, providing paid vacation and sick days, and giving raises— that were associated with lower violation rates. This suggests that employers’ decisions about whether or not to comply with the law are part of a broader business strategy shaping the workplace. No business strategy should deprive workers of their earned wages. Consider adopting civil or criminal penalties for violations including evaluating those already set out by other jurisdictions Set mandatory registration or administrative requirement (for businesses) and/or fee for training and education to employees on regulations and reporting Increase monitoring and enforcement of current laws Background Summary: Seattle has adopted two4 separate local ordinances intended to address the wrongful withholding of wages or denial of benefits owed to an employee.5 One of those sets out an administrative process for addressing employee complaints of nonpayment of wages and tips, in addition to the civil and criminal liability already imposed by existing state- wide statutes. An employer found in violation of either of the two new ordinances may be liable for unpaid earnings and civil penalties that would escalate for repeated violations. If an employer fails to comply promptly with the remedy defined in a final order, the City may refuse to issue, refuse to renew, or revoke a business license. Any successor to the business of the employer also becomes liable for the full amount of the final order, including payment of unpaid wages and tips and civil penalties. Charges can be filed up to three years after an alleged violation. The criminal violation states that employers can be criminally prosecuted for failing to pay wages promised to their workers. If an employer is convicted of the gross misdemeanor, the City can also revoke the employer's business license.6 SPD will investigate and forward its report to the Criminal Division for a decision on whether to file the charge. The Criminal Division attorneys will work with the victim toward making a provable case. "Enforcement of wage theft crimes is much more than just recovering money owed to the worker who earned it," City Attorney Pete Holmes says. "Holding employers accountable for wage theft is a matter of preserving human dignity and protecting those who are most vulnerable in our community." 4https://www.municode.com/library/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?nodeId=TIT14HURI_CH14.20WATICORE_1 4.20.010DE (civil code violation Ch. 14.20) https://www.municode.com/library/wa/seattle/codes/municipal_code?searchRequest=%7B%22searchText%22:% 22wage%20theft%22,%22pageNum%22:1,%22resultsPerPage%22:25,%22booleanSearch%22:false,%22stemming% 22:true,%22fuzzy%22:false,%22synonym%22:false,%22contentTypes%22:%5B%22CODES%22%5D,%22productIds %22:%5B%5D%7D&nodeId=TIT12ACRCO_SUBTITLE_ICRCO_CH12A.08OFAGPR_12A.08.060TH (criminal code Ch. 12A.08.060) 5https://www.seattle.gov/cityattorney/crime-victim-assistance/wage-theft 6Id. 010 Equity Study Review 1. Sidewalk comparison •Based on City infrastructure the sidewalks on the east side are more, however, the maintenance is not kept compared to the west side where there are less sidewalks. •City is currently doing surveys through volunteers of the lack of maintenance •City is currently working on updating lights to LED to be more cost effective 2. Lighting •There seems to be enough lighting, however the types of lights seem to be an issue. •Most city blocks have 2 lights, but further research should be done to see if adding more lights is appropriate •There are many types of lights that could help, but it all depends on budget. 3. Vacant Homes •Housing is a problem, but this needs to be taken up by code enforcement •How do you change the policy? How far can the City intervene? •It’s a tenant vs. owner issue, too many insecurities, too many unknown variables. •City support of the construction of new homes, affordable housing 4. Transit Issues •Too many questions, where do they stop, how long are they going, would it be better to have smaller buses to run more frequently? •Recommendation to do a survey of riders if one has not been done yet •Invite Transit Manager to make a presentation These were just a few of the items that were looked at and there were more questions than answers. This is definitely something that will require more time than the exploratory committee has. 011 To: City Manager Cliff Moore From: Communications & Public Affairs Director Randy Beehler Subject: Council Meeting Captioning Cost Estimates Date: Thursday, August 10th, 2017 Cliff, At the July 20th Council Neighborhood & Community Building Committee ("NCBC") meeting, committee members requested research be conducted regarding the feasibility and cost of English-to-Spanish translation captioning of City Council meetings. Committee members requested information concerning translation captioning be provided to them at the next NCBC meeting. Multiple vendors provide a variety of captioning services. I contacted three nationally-recognized, qualified captioning vendors that were recommended to me by some communications colleagues to learn more about the services the vendors provide, different options that may be applicable to the City's potential need, and the range of costs for such services. Based on the identifiable potential captioning needs of the City, two options provided by most all qualified vendors appear to be the most applicable – "real-time" captioning or "offline" captioning. Real- time captioning is provided live as a meeting is taking place. Offline captioning is provided after a meeting has taken place, so only viewers watching a replay of a meeting would see captions. Real-time captioning tends to be less accurate than offline captioning because it done quickly and because a translator may not clearly hear every word spoken. Conversely, offline captioning is more accurate than real-time captioning because a translator can pause, rewind, and replay a pre-recorded meeting to ensure the words actually spoken are those that appear in on-screen captions. Because it is more labor intensive, offline captioning is more expensive than real-time captioning. Based on estimates I received from National Captioning Institute, Adelphi Studio, and VITAC, the cost of real-time captioning averages about $370 per hour. The cost of offline captioning averages about $570 per hour. Over the last two years, the Council has conducted an average of about 50 meetings (business, special, study session, etc.) annually. Meetings have lasted an average of about two-and-a-half hours. Based on the average cost of real-time captioning provided by the three vendors I received estimates from, an average of 50 meetings per year, and an average meeting length of two-and-a-half hours, the annual cost of real-time captioning of Council meetings would be approximately $46,000. Using that same criteria, the annual cost of offline captioning of Council meetings would be approximately $71,000. While researching captioning services provided by vendors, I also was made aware of other translation options that are available to individual viewers. Technological solutions exist, including apps, devices that pick up audio and translate it, etc., which provide individual viewers with translation of television programming audio. Those solutions, though, do come with a cost to the individual viewer. Please let me know if you have any questions about this issue prior to the August 24th Council Neighborhood & Community Building Committee meeting. 012 013 014 015 016 017 018 019 020 Yakima City Council Committee Minutes Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBC) City Council Chambers, City Hall June 29, 2017 *Corrected Minutes* Committee Members Staff Dulce Gutiérrez (Chair) Cliff Moore, City Manager Ken Wilkinson Avina Gutiérrez Joan Davenport, Community Dev Director Scott Schafer Carmen Méndez Sara Watkins Rosalinda Ibarra Joseph Calhoun Alvie Maxey Chair Dulce Gutiérrez called the meeting to order at approximately 3:31 p.m. Community Health Forum & Events in Yakima – Fenice Fregoso, Molina Healthcare, spoke about collaborating with the City to host healthy community events in Yakima. Méndez offered to work with Ms. Fregoso to coordinate some block parties for the upcoming National Night Out. More information will be provided at a future meeting. Post-Update on WSU Metro Center Proposal for Equity Study Review – D. Gutiérrez reported that City Council approved a contract with WSU Metro Center for the equity study analysis. Staff will ensure that the deliverables of the contract are met. Meetings with Yakima Youth Soccer Association and Perry Tech & Follow-up Data – Moore restated that YYSA and Perry Tech did not have funds to continue maintenance of the Perry Soccer Complex fields. He summarized the information provided by YYSA regarding participant usage of the fields and the economic impact generated from the 2016 Yak Attack tournament. Méndez pointed out that the economic impact was generated for a tournament that took place at Ahtanum Youth Park and requested actual numbers reflective of Perry Soccer field usage. Discussion continued, no further questions or comments from the committee members at this time. Summary of Homeless Funding Process – Watkins provided a brief overview of the competitive bidding process and highlighted some organizations that were awarded funds by the Yakima Valley Conference of Governments (YVCOG). Approximately $1.9 million in public funds were available to service providers to address homeless issues; the funds awarded are effective July 1st. Some outcomes noted were suggested changes for the next cycle and ideas on how to better provide information to the service providers. Discussion ensued about concerns expressed by Méndez regarding the voting process at a YVCOG Executive Board meeting. D. Gutiérrez requested clarification about the council liaison voting rules. She motioned to include this topic to the next City Council business meeting agenda; motion carried. Board Appointed Reports – Standing Item Comprehensive Plan Update – Calhoun reported that the Comprehensive Plan was adopted by City Council at their June 6th meeting; it became effective immediately. The development regulations were also approved and will become effective July 9th. He thanked everyone involved in the update process. Méndez shared positive feedback she received at the AWC Conference in regards to the City’s Comprehensive Plan as being one of the best submitted statewide. Homeless Network – Méndez mentioned that the Homeless Network has applied for a 501(c)(3) to become their own Continuum of Care in partnership with HUD. Parks & Recreation Commission – D. Gutiérrez reported that the commission toured several city parks and observed many new improvements. Henry Beauchamp Community Center – Wilkinson reported that the gymnasium at the HBCC was painted by volunteers from the Together Church. The next quarterly meeting is July 25th but may be rescheduled due to vacation. Historic Preservation (HPC) – Calhoun announced that Joe Mann and Nancy Rayner are no longer on the commission. A new member, Cynthia Hall, was appointed. The next meeting is July 26th. On July 9th the HPC will have a booth at the Farmer’s Market. Page 1 021 TRANS-Action Committee – Nothing new to report; next meeting is in July. Transit Development Plan/Transit Related Issues – The next meeting is August 16th. Maxey reminded everyone about the free shuttle rides to the Fairgrounds for the 4th of July celebration. The meeting minutes of the last Transit Citizens Advisory Committee were included in the packet. A. Gutiérrez inquired as to the location and installation schedule for the Simme Seat benches at transit stops. Maxey responded that the placement of the benches will be determined based on ridership usage and best fit. Staff will provide an updated timeline on the placement and location of the benches. Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (EERC) – EERC provided their quarterly report to Council on June 20th, noting three focus areas: housing, wage theft, and the equity study. Watkins informed the NCBC members that the Ethics & Equal Rights Committee came to a consensus that their report to Council shall serve as their final report, unless the NCBC requests otherwise. A. Gutiérrez intends to meet with each subcommittee separately to gain further understanding of their recommendation to City Council. Community Integration Committee (CIEC) – The CIEC is working on their final report which they anticipate presenting to City Council by October 2017. Bike/Pedestrian Committee – Mattoon recapped the following topics discussed at their June 13th meeting which included: reviewing the Six-Year TIP (Transportation Improvement Program), collaboration with the ‘Blue Zone’ committee. Future items include the possibility of incorporating the YPD bicycle patrols into the Bicycle Master Plan (BMP). The final draft of the BMP was received from the consultants and they anticipate Council approval in August. The next meeting is July 11th. D. Gutiérrez asked what the range outside the downtown area for the YPD bicycle patrols is. Staff will report at the next meeting. Méndez encouraged the committee members to provide the Bike/Ped Committee an opportunity to evaluate projects for the TIP and give their feedback great consideration. Council Mentorship/Internship Program Info – In response to a previous audience request, Davenport supplied a background informational memo describing the Council mentorship/internship guidelines; D. Gutiérrez and Méndez further elaborated on the program requirements. Davenport introduced Aaron Hernandez and Lidia Diaz, two interns working in the Planning Division primarily on the sidewalk condition inventory. A. Gutiérrez offered to join them in collecting data. A report at the end of the summer internship will be presented by staff. Approve Minutes of 05/18/2017 – Motion made by A. Gutiérrez, seconded by Méndez, to approve the minutes of 05/18/2017 as presented; motion carried by unanimous vote. Other Business – D. Gutiérrez brought up a concern regarding concluding steps for the exploratory committees as they finalize their recommendations to Council particularly during the interim period prior to the implementation of a permanent committee, if that’s their recommendation. Some ideas were discussed. In the end, the committee agreed to ask each exploratory committee to present their final report to the NCBC for an opportunity to ask questions and provide additional feedback if necessary. The Ethics & Equal Rights Committee will be invited to the July NCBC meeting. D. Gutiérrez expressed concern about the dissemination of information pertaining to City business. She feels that it is lacking and asked that staff put more emphasis on social media, send out press releases, and continue with the monthly newsletter. A. Gutiérrez will be featured in the July newsletter. It was agreed to include this topic on the next meeting’s agenda with a report about what to expect as far as increased activity to be more effective in our communication efforts. The committee members will also provide suggestions and ideas. Possible Amendment to Municipal Code re: Overgrowth Vegetation on Properties – Watkins explained that the City has received an overwhelming amount of complaints related to weedy lots or overgrown vegetation in the last couple of weeks. Due to fire hazard this time of year, and in an effort to address this issue more expeditiously, staff is requesting that the committee provide feedback on the possibility of issuing citations to property owners who do not abate their properties in a timely manner. The committee expressed concern about owners who are physically disabled and/or elderly; potential incarceration for not paying fines; vacant Page 2 022 properties and absentee landlords; property owner’s responsibility for maintaining the adjacent right of way. A short sheet should be posted on the City’s website with information about property owner’s responsibilities as they relate to the adjacent rights of way. Staff will further research the complaints and provide additional information to analyze. Moore suggested adding this topic to Council’s roundtable discussion on July 25th; no one objected. Recap of Deliverables – Staff reviewed the following list of deliverables from this meeting: • Report on the City’s public relations efforts, newsletters, social media, and press releases – next NCBC • Provide a response to inquiry about how far the YPD bike patrols range area is. • Timeline and location of where the remaining Simme Seats will be placed. • Add to Council’s July 11th meeting an item for council liaison voting rules on outside boards/commissions. • Presentation of final report from the Ethics & Equal Rights exploratory committee – next NCBC • Méndez will provide an update on the community fair/events. • Add to Council’s roundtable meeting on July 25th the discussion on overgrowth vegetation. • A. Gutiérrez will coordinate a date to conduct sidewalk collection data with the Planning interns. The committee will decide whether the following future items will be on the July agenda: • Review & Discussion of Previous Building Permit Fee Ordinances • Final Approval of Subdivision of Land – Davenport briefly described this request. D. Gutiérrez reminded the public that Spanish interpretation services are available; however, need to be requested 48 hours in advance. Audience Participation – Luz Bazan Gutiérrez, city resident, agreed that the City needs to increase their public relations efforts. She also commented in favor of the bike patrols and feels they greatly improve neighborhood safety. In regards to overgrowth vegetation, she stated that educating the community is more effective than policing them. A. Gutiérrez invited the community to attend the 4th of July Celebration at the Yakima County Fair Grounds. Adjourn – D. Gutiérrez adjourned this meeting at 4:56 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday July 20, 2017. Approved by: Date Approved: Prepared by: Rosalinda Ibarra, Community Development Administrative Assistant *These minutes were amended to reflect a correction as approved by City Council at their business meeting on August 1, 2017. Page 3 023 Yakima City Council Committee Minutes Neighborhood & Community Building Committee (NCBC) City Council Chambers, City Hall July 20, 2017 Committee Members Staff Dulce Gutiérrez (Chair) Cliff Moore, City Manager Glenn Denman Avina Gutiérrez Joan Davenport, Community Dev Director Randy Beehler Holly Cousens Sara Watkins Rosalinda Ibarra Carmen Méndez (absent) Joseph Calhoun Alvie Maxey Chair Dulce Gutiérrez called the meeting to order at approximately 2:02 p.m. Final Approval of Subdivision of Land – Calhoun reported about a recently adopted State law that changes the process for final long plat approvals. This law becomes effective July 23rd and allows final long plats to be approved by the planning commission or administrative personnel instead of review and approval by the full City Council. Staff requested support from the committee to implement this change as it benefits the City and the public by providing a significant savings in costs and processing time. In response to Moore’s question about who would sign the final plat in place of the Mayor, Calhoun replied that it would be the subdivision administrator’s responsibility. A. Gutiérrez motioned, seconded by Cousens, to take the suggestions presented by staff for Council consideration. Motion carried unanimously. Review & Discussion of Previous Building Permit Fee Ordinances – Denman described the proposed housekeeping ordinance that would update the table of fees for building permits, mechanical and plumbing fees. The permit fees have increased annually, since 2004, based on the Seattle Consumer Price Index (CPI); however, in 2014 the City decided not to continue increasing the fees. Watkins elaborated that due to an oversight, the schedule of fees were never adjusted annually to actual rates and currently the Municipal Code reflects the rates as they were in 2004. She stated that this amendment does not increase any fees and it provides more transparency to the public. After brief comments, A. Gutiérrez motioned, seconded by Cousens, to direct staff to prepare an ordinance that reflects 2014 fees. Motion carried unanimously. Code Enforcement: Overgrown Vegetation – The committee talked about options for discussing this issue with the full Council. A. Gutiérrez motioned, seconded by Cousens, to have Council consider a study session on this topic. Motion carried unanimously. Update on City Public Relations, Social Media, Press Releases, and Monthly Newsletter – Moore summarized the comparisons of 2016 and 2017 communication activities and current communication platforms and noted that staff is continuing to increase output efforts. He will share this report with the full Council in their information packet. Beehler reported that the first official City Council meeting will be live streamed on August 1st. “Vintage Yakima” features historic photos of Yakima; it was launched recently on all of the City’s social media sites. Another initiative being contemplated is “Kitty Cast” which will feature cats available for adoption from the Humane Society. A conversation about providing Spanish subtitles or Spanish audio for Council meetings ensued. D. Gutiérrez requested a follow-up at the next NCBC meeting. Staff will research available possibilities and cost information. It was announced that a video voter guide will be produced for the general election. Presentation of Final Report from Ethics & Equal Rights Exploratory Committee (EERC) – Due to Méndez’s absence, D. Gutiérrez and A. Gutiérrez requested that the presentation from the EERC be postponed to next month’s NCBC meeting. Maria Rodriguez and David Morales agreed to return then. Board Appointed Reports – Standing Item Yakima Planning Commission – Calhoun reported that the Planning Commission considered the proposal for permitting marijuana retail in the M-1 zoning district. Their final recommendation will be presented to the full Council on August 1st. Robert McCormick is the newly appointed YPC member. Patricia Byers was recently elected Chair and Al Rose became Vice-Chair. There is currently one vacancy on the commission. Page 1 024 Homeless Network – No report. Parks & Recreation Commission – D. Gutiérrez summarized their last meeting: a new commissioner was added and an ad-hoc committee was appointed for the eastside pool proposal. Henry Beauchamp Community Center – The next quarterly meeting is July 25th. Historic Preservation (HPC) –The next meeting is July 26th at 5:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers. The HPC will be at the Farmer’s Market on August 13th. Cynthia Hall is the newest member appointed and there is currently one vacancy. At their June meeting, the Commission approved a draft letter to the Board of County Commissioners requesting funding from recording fees for historic preservation efforts. Moore expanded on how this funding opportunity functions. Staff will present the draft letter to the full Council for consideration. TRANS-Action Committee – July meeting was cancelled. The next meeting is to be determined. Transit Development Plan/Transit Related Issues – Maxey recapped the Simme seat plan placement location and timeline. He provided additional information in their packet. No further questions or comments. Ethics & Equal Rights Committee (EERC) – The EERC report will be presented at the next NCBC meeting. Community Integration Committee (CIEC) – The CIEC is working on a timeline schedule to work from. They are formulating survey questions to gather input from the community and they will be conducting surveys at the Farmer’s Market. Bike/Pedestrian Committee – Calhoun noted that their previous meeting was cancelled. Their next meeting is August 8th at 1:30 p.m. in the 2nd Floor Conference Room. Approve Minutes of 06/29/2017 – Motion made by A. Gutiérrez, seconded by D. Gutiérrez, to approve the minutes of 06/29/2017 as presented; motion carried by unanimous vote. Recap of Deliverables – Staff reviewed the following list of deliverables from this meeting: • Presentation of final recommendation from the Ethics & Equal Rights Exploratory Committee • Follow-up on Spanish subtitles for City Council meetings • Set a study session date for discussion on overgrowth vegetation Audience Participation Fernando Mendoza, city resident, spoke about concerns related to ADA accessibility on sidewalks. He encouraged the Committee to address this issue. Luz Bazan Gutiérrez, city resident, provided positive feedback about the YPD bike patrols. She also pointed out that the alley near Banner Bank has a lot of debris and needs to be cleaned up. She suggested that the EERC results get incorporated in the City newsletter. A. Gutiérrez noted that there is a donation site behind the Salvation Army which may be attributed to the accumulation of stuff in the alley way. A conversation about how to ensure that Parks and Recreation staff have access to the bike patrol officers for assistance in handling situations of people sleeping on the sidewalks or in parks. Moore will provide Camp Hope’s outreach team information (known as the H.O.T. team). Watkins described postcards that are handed out with information to service providers. Staff will print additional postcards. D. Gutiérrez reminded the public that Spanish interpretation services are available; however, need to be requested 48 hours in advance. Adjourn – D. Gutiérrez adjourned this meeting at 2:47 p.m. The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday August 17, 2017. Approved by: Date Approved: Prepared by: Rosalinda Ibarra, Community Development Administrative Assistant Page 2 025