HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/26/2018 Study Session/Adj to Executive Session312
1. Roll Call
YAKIMA CITY COUNCIL
STUDY SESSION
April 26, 2018
City Hall -- Council Chambers
6 p.m. Council Briefing -- MINUTES
Council: Mayor Kathy Coffey, presiding, Assistant Mayor Dulce Gutierrez, Council Members
Holly Cousens, Kay Funk and Jason White
Staff: City Manager Moore, Assistant City Manager Cortez, City Attorney Cutter and City
Clerk Claar Tee
Absent: Council Members Carmen Mendez (excused) and Brad Hill (excused)
2. Agenda preview for May 1 and 15, 2018
City Manager Moore reviewed the May 1 & 15, 2018 agendas. Council members
assigned which Council member will read proclamations at Tuesdays meeting. It was
Council consensus to remove the Plaza bid item from the May 1 agenda. City Manager
Moore read a request from Council Member Hill asking that the Plaza ordinance be brought
back on the May 1 agenda and if not, he will make a motion to add it to a future agenda at the
May 1 meeting. Assistant Mayor Gutierrez stated she would not support adding it to the May 1
agenda.
Council Member Funk requested the process for obtaining the Attorney General's Opinion
be in writing. Assistant Mayor Gutierrez requested information on costs from Parks &
Recreation for bathrooms, which Assistant City Manager Cortez will provide. Council
members discussed the Briefing meetings. Mayor Coffey stated she believes the Briefing
meetings have turned into something different than what they were intended to be and is in
favor of discontinuing the meetings, which they can discuss at Tuesday's meeting. Council
Member Funk shared her confusion about how individual Council members can add things to
the agenda. Assistant City Manager Cortez provided a graph and talked about the Council's
Rules of Procedure, which explain how a Council member can bring up a topic under Other
Business during a regular Council meeting and request it be added to a future agenda if there
is majority support.
3. Consideration of Comprehensive Plan amendment and rezone for approximately 2 acres of
city -owned land south of S R24 near the Wastewater Treatment Plant
City Manager Moore briefed Council on the item. Council Member Funk asked if there is
water and sewer at the site. Mr. Moore stated currently there are no utilities; however, it is
possible they could be brought in at a future date. This item was approved by Council
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consensus, Hill and Mendez absent.
4. City Manager update on 1) Strategic Plan follow up; 2) Yakima School District meeting follow
up and 3) Budget and Finance Department update
City Manager Moore updated Council on the Yakima School District meeting follow up letter
and requested any revisions to the draft letter be sent to him by next Friday. Assistant Mayor
Gutierrez stated that as a Council, they had not voted on the topics to be discussed at the
Joint School Board meeting and felt some topics may not have had full Council support and
would like to be more organized before meeting again. She reported having met recently with
Superintendent Ilion, who is supportive of helping secure Safe Routes to School grants and
finding ways to overlap priorities. Council Member Funk suggested the City have a website,
similar to Denver, Colorado, for all youth programs as she doesn't think 211 is utilized.
Assistant City Manager Cortez discussed Strategic Planning follow up, which will
be completed at Council Committee meetings. City Manager Moore suggested once the
Committee's have finalized their Strategic Plans, there could be a full Strategic Planning
presentation at a Council meeting. City Manager Moore reported that Assistant City Manager
Cortez is the interim Budget and Finance Director.
5. Council Committee updates
Council Member Funk provided an update on the Healthy Neighborhoods and Community
Building Committee and asked when Council would be having a study session regarding
homeless issues. City Manager Moore stated he received information from Council
Members Funk and White, but not any other members, and asked for clarification about
whether the Council expects homeless providers, YVCOG or other entities to attend. Ms.
Funk stated she feels the meeting would be more productive if they could consult with people
from other communities such as Spokane, Seattle or Tacoma who have had some success
with homeless. Council Member Cousens stated she thinks there should be clearly defined
goals and define what the City's role would be. Mayor Coffey stated she and Council
Member Hill attended a YVCOG Executive meeting and Council may wish to defer this
conversation until Council Member Hill can provide further information related to his position
on the YVCOG Board.
Council Member Cousens referenced a recent MRSC news article about the four bad habits
to avoid at Council meetings and Executive Sessions 101 and asked her fellow Council
members to read the publication. She also discussed the upcoming South Korea trip and
how she will be working with Kaitlyn Bain at the Yakima Herald to provide updates about the
trip.
Council Member White reported on the recent Economic Development Committee noting it
discussed adding Wi-Fi to parks, which it has referred to the Healthy Neighborhoods and
Community Building Committee. Assistant Mayor Gutierrez reported on the Public Safety
Committee meeting and noted the Committee's support for an upcoming ordinance related to
readjustment of fire inspection fees.
Mayor Coffey stated all Council Members with the exception of Council Member Funk
received an email that they should discuss in Executive Session.
7:35 p.m. MOTION: Gutierrez moved and Coffey seconded to adjourn to an
Executive Session to discuss prospective litigation. The motion carried by Council
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consensus, Hill and Mendez absent. Executive Session was held and adjourned at 7:50 p.m.
Council Member Funk announced she intends to send the ACLU and Transform Yakima
Together letters to the Yakima Herald Republic as it is a public issue and is better handled in
public.
6. Adjournment
MOTION: Gutierrez moved and Cousens seconded to adjourn to the next Council
Business Meeting on May 1, 2018, at 6 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.
The motion carried by unanimous vote, Mendez and Hill absent. The meeting adjourned at
7:54 p.m.
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