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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/21/1979 Business Meeting AUGUST 21, 1979 323 The City Council met in session on this date at 2:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington, Mayor Edmondson presiding, Council members Beauchamp, Buchanan, Hinman, Lee and Sparling and City Manager Zais present on roll call. Councilman Wonder absent. Mayor Edmondson congratulated the Yakima Beetles for winning the State Championship. Councilman Hinman complimented the Yakima Herald Republic on its article on Affirmative Action. Council member Lee stated that the tests only indicate to what extent a person is able to learn. No test proves that a person can do that job. She stated that she hopes that the Civil Service Commission will remember that and act accordingly. She also ' stated that she thought it was a very good article. Councilman Wonder reported that he spoke with the Washington Survey and ' Rating Bureau to get some information on how they rate cities. He stated that the representative is willing to have us go there and spend a day with him in Seattle, but he will not come to Yakima. Following discussion, it was the general consensus of the Council to ask staff to set up a time and date for the Fire Committee of the Council to go over there and get fire rating information. • Mayor Edmondson reported that an Executive Session will be necessary regarding labor negotiations and it was the general consensus of the Council to schedule it for 5:00. Carol Darby, Director of Community Development, distributed the Final Environmental Impact Statement on the Yakima Urban Area Comprehensive Plan, and also an overview of the Plan. She stated that that document has been distributed to 62 different agencies for their input. She stated that staff's approach was to try to get dcwn to common sense philosophy. The Plan is a process, it is not a product. She stated that it is not the intent of the Plan to either stimulate or stop growth, but to accommodate growth. The Plan should set guidelines for Council. It will set policies and guidelines for all three juris- dictions to use. She stated that that is included for the legalities involved in the planning process. Carol Darby reviewed each section of the draft Urban Area Plan using the overview as a guideline. The Trans- , portation section addresses arterial streets, transit system, airport, and bicycle paths. She stated that it is the goal to provide utilities in a timely manner. Mayor Edmondson stated that she objected to some wording on page 7 regarding annexation. She stated that she doesn't feel that it is used as a lever. Carol Darby stated that this is hcw the citizens feel. Carol Darby stated that we want to be able to accom- modate housing needs. She reported that two of the three jurisdictions have block grant funding and that is a good start to addressing some of the basics. Councilman Hinman inquired about mobile homes and Larry ' Wright, Principal Planner, explained where it is permissible to put mobile homes. Mayor Edmondson stated that under the utility narrative, there was a sentence that was not included in this copy that was in the original Plan regarding Yakima County's ability to provide utilities, which she felt should also be in this narrative. Miss Darby stated that i purpose to define and coordinate the role of park planning. She stated that they went through an extensive program to gain citizen input, holding several meetings and sending out minutes to everyone who participated. She stated that one of the needs that came out was for more neighborhood parks. Councilman Hinman stated that he , got the impression that the need came out more from non-City residents. Ken Coffin, Associate Planner, referred to a map that explained the Optimal Land Use Plan. He stated that in this Plan, they considered the general trend of development that is occurring and not general land use type. Through development trend maps, they are making development goal steps, broken into three areas: rural, suburban and urban. This goes with the land use compatibility chart. Carol Darby stated that when Council gets into zoning and subdivision ordinance, we will take a common sense approach. Each of the jurisdictions is reviewing this document. They 'will make cannents, then it goes to Regional Planning Commission, then to the Joint Board and then it will go back to the jurisdictions for final hearing. She stated this Plan gives staff a chance to use cre- ativity, to make these guides work for us for better developaent. Ken Coffin stated that this is a general document - it is set up in such a way that specific area plans can be done without having to change the whole map. 324 AUGUST 21, 1979 Referring to the August 17, 1979, memo re Overview of Projected 1980 Budget Expenditures and Policy Issues, City Manager Zais reported that = there are some corrections to be made. On the summary sheet, revenue sharing was included in the Street Division and it does not belong there until some policy decisions are made. On page 2, second paragraph, instead of "no" FRS, it should read "with" FRS. On page 5, Water-Sewer budget, it is now estimated that 8.5 personnel will be required instead of 10. He stated that this year we are preparing the budget early so that Council can have time to review it. He reported that he had sent out budget guidelines to staff restricting additional personnel, capital outlay, etc. He stated that the 1980 budget, without revenue sharing, " is nearly $2 million out of balance. This will require a number of con- siderations by the Council. Councilman Beauchamp inquired about the deficit in the Airport budget. Carol Darby stated that the 1979 budget did not allow for leasehold tax, heavy snow removal or maintenance problems. Councilman member Lee inquired if there was any money in the Airport budget in 1980 for remodeling, i.e., ceiling is falling, paint is peeling and the seats are not in good repair. Miss Darby stated that it is not in the 1980 budget. She stated that if they have other're- pairs, it will have to cone out of contingency. She stated that the City has the responsibility of security and maintenance, and the'in - creased runway means more maintenance and more snow removal. Councilman Hinman stated that the County should be approached about relating costs to the people receiving services. City Manager Zais stated that if Council were to take the view of using $845,000 of FRS, to reduce the budget deficit, that would leave approximately $1.2 million which would then require a 10% reduction of the budget across the board. He re- port ad that 11 of that amount is Police and Fire. He stated that the ' Police and Fire Department is labor intensive when you are talking about personnel cuts. Mayor Edmondson stated it is important to look at new , sources of revenue. She stated that if we don't get new revenue, then services will have to be cut. Councilman Beauchamp stated that before the City raises taxes, we should look for areas in which the budget can be trinmed. City Manager Zais stated that one of the issues Council must decide is whether to charge 100% of the cost for providing services to the public. He stated that he needs some guidelines from Council in order to trim the budget. Mayor Edmondson expressed concern for the future if Council uses FRS funds to balance the budget. It was the general consensus of the Council to look at charging 100% for general services. Councilman Hinman expressed concern that if the City should ' start taxing a B & 0 tax, many of the businesses would move out of the City and it would deter new businesses from locating within the City limits. Councilman Buchanan stated that if there should be a new tax imposed, it should be done at the County level. Councilman Hinman stated that there must be some areas that would be impacted less than others in trimming the budget and the City Manager should be able to cane back and tell Council where they are. City Manager Zais stated that he understands Council wants staff to review the budget and plan a strategy to operate with $2 million less. He stated he would provide information and a list of priorities and give information on how it would affect services to the citizens and the operation of the City. It was MOVED by Hinman, seconded by Lee that Resolution No. D-4135, adding four police vehicles to the sale of Surplus Personal Property authorized by Resolution No. D-4116, be passed: carried, Beauchamp, Buchanan, Edmondson, Hinman, Lee and Sparling voting aye on roll call. Wonder absent. RESOLUTION NO. D-4135, A RESOLUTION authorizing the sale of surplus II/ personal property owned by the City. Council brought up briefly for the discussion the issue of medical and ' life insurance coverage for the Council members and it was the general consensus of the Council to continue their discussion of this item. It was MOVED by Sparling, seconded by Buchanan to move into Executive ' Session for the purpose of discussing labor negotiations and following that, adjourn the meeting: carried, Beauchamp, Buchanan, Edmondson, Hinman, Lee and Sparling voting aye by voice vote. Wonder absent. Items of information supplied to Council were: memos from the Director of Community Development re Outside Utility requests: (a) Marvin Md- Carger for sewer at 1321 So. 24th Avenue. 8/9/79; (b) Yakima School AUGUST 21, 1979 325 District No. 7 for sewer for Castlevale School located at 2902 Fruitvale Blvd. 8/14/79; and (c) Robert M. Thomas for sewer at 510 No. 22nd Avenue. 8/10/79; minutes of Civil Service Commission meeting of August 2, 1979; memo from. AWC re AWC mini convention. 8/13/79; and AM News- letter, July/August 1979. There being no further business to cane before the Council, following the Executive Session, the meeting was adjourned at the hour of 5:30 P.M. 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