HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/14/1995 Adjourned Meeting 147
CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
MARCH 14, 1995
ADJOURNED MEETING
The City Council met in session on this date at 7:00 a.m. in the
Yakima Center Board Room. Mayor Pat Berndt, presiding, Council
Members Clarence Barnett, Henry Beauchamp, Ernie Berger and Bernard
Sims present. Council Members Bill Brado and Lynn Buchanan were
absent and excused. City Staff Members present were Dick Zais,
City Manager; Glenn Rice, Assistant City Manager; Nancy Gaudette,
Refuse & Recycling Manager; and Melynn Skovald, Deputy City Clerk.
Street Fund Review Committee Staff Members present were Jerry
Copeland, David Hussell, Joe Jackson, Steve Knopp, and Shelley
Willson. Citizen Representatives in attendance included Dan
Arnett, Committee Chairman; Juan Aguilar; John .Benson; Bill
Huibregtse, Dick Mason, Martha Mathews, and Don Moen. There also
were other concerned citizens who attended this meeting.
Informal Discussion
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Following informal discussion among Council members about various
current events, the Council's attention was directed to the
findings and recommendations contained in the Street Fund Review
Committee report.
Review of Street Committee Report
Dan Arnett presented a brief overview of the report which includes
a citizen perspective on community needs regarding street
maintenance service levels. The committee spent a great deal of
time reading and studying the operations of the Street and Traffic
Divisions, and the report includes their recommendations and
comments relating to levels of service and funding options.
Mr. Arnett recommended the City's Spring Clean -up program be
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eliminated as a free service ,and existing private programs be
utilized instead. He also urged Council to consider the
elimination of the Fall Leaf Pick -up Program as a free service of
the Street Operations Division; it should be included in a yard
waste disposal program in the Refuse Division, or by a private
services contract.
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ADJOURNED MEETING -- MARCH 14, 1995
Council Member Barnett expressed concern that if the Fall Leaf
Pick -Up and the Spring Clean -up programs were transferred to the
Refuse Division, the bills would include the City Utility Tax; he
suggested a cap be put on the utility tax due to the increased
rates.
Discussion continued about how this change might affect the Refuse
Division, the probable costs involved, and the need to determine
the most efficient equipment to do the job. Some alternative leaf
removal /disposal methods, such as a leaf blower or a composting
type system, were also explored. It is important to determine
maximum efficiency and cost effectiveness of any new leaf removal
method. However, more technical research needs to be done to
determine what type of equipment would be the most efficient.
Also, the two - phased implementation of a composting system at the
Wastewater facility, as well as a transfer of function to the
Refuse Division would need further study.
Other committee policy recommendations were reviewed including Bin
Service in the CBD area; the Fire Department Opticom System; and
Work for Others (Non- Enterprise Funds) and (charging) Fully Loaded
Costs. Discussion continued about increased rates and a need to
determine the impact on water /sewer /refuse /irrigation rates when
these costs are transferred. Billing the various departments to
reflect these costs and established budget procedures relating to
these issues were also topics of discussion.
Martha Mathews directed Council's attention to sidewalk damage from
tree roots. She suggested a street tree committee be established
to respond to this problem. Dan Arnett emphasized the importance
that only one division in the city needs to handle tree maintenance
and citizen inquiries. There was continued discussion about
various details concerning the issues of tree ownership,
maintenance responsibility and liability. Don Moen suggested the
use of pre -cast concrete sidewalks which could be picked up and set
on sand.
There was discussion about the City 50/50 Sidewalk Program. There
are more sidewalks that need to be replaced than available money.
Existing sidewalk replacement requirements and procedures were
discussed, particularly for the narrower sidewalks in the older
neighborhoods. There was discussion that the existing laws should
be enforced.
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There were comments and questions concerning the need to develop
maintenance /repair standards for City Streets along with remedies
to correct work that doesn't hold up. An inspection policy should
be developed and an ordinance passed to address certain situations
that arise. The responsibility of maintaining streets and alleys,
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ADJOURNED MEETING -- MARCH 14, 1995
the associated costs and whether it was appropriate to provide such
services were discussed. The Committee suggested the Council
review current policy on these issues along with local improvement
district formation procedure development.
I/ Costs to do and maintain improvements in newly annexed areas were
discussed and a suggestion was made to possibly consider an
annexation policy as it relates to this issue. Some of the
mechanisms used to develop and maintain streets were described.
Mayor Berndt commented that many of these issues will require more
discussion and debate than what is available during this meeting.
The right to access railroad and trolley tracks needs to be
established to perform regular maintenance on the railroad and
trolley rights -of -way. Currently, access is limited to within one
foot of the tracks. Another area of concern is the need to improve
the effectiveness of railroad crossing signals.
Dan Arnett explained the Committee suggested additional temporary
help should be utilized with more hours and time worked. This
practice would decrease permanent full time employee benefit costs;
however, it would involve obtaining voter approval to change the
Charter to do that.
There was discussion about two methods to increase revenue,
including a raise in private utility tax rates or implementation of
a street utility tax. Other areas of discussion included
suggestions to help address shortfalls and balancing the budget by
utilizing the efficiencies suggested in the report. The following
four ways were suggested to find resources needed by the Streets
and Traffic Divisions: (1) Utilize existing City revenue sources,
if sufficient, or find funding alternatives; (2) strengthen ties
with neighborhood associations, service clubs, volunteer
organizations and other public agencies to maximize cost -free
resources; (3) consider the most long -term cost effective methods
to achieve program goals including privatization or contracting
out; and (4) impose a street utility tax effective January 1, 1996,
I/ which should be preceded by an education campaign and a review by
the citizens.
The proposed street utility tax would be used for ongoing needed
maintenance of roads. Also needed is a long -term replacement
program of the city streets. The street bond issue could be
resubmitted to the voters and if approved would be used to rebuild
a portion of the City's arterial streets. Council Member Barnett
called for consideration of a tax cap if a street utility tax is
implemented. There was also discussion about consideration of
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ADJOURNED MEETING -- MARCH 14, 1995
implementing a gas tax as other cities in Yakima County have done.
It was suggested that the Chamber of Commerce determine whether a
county -wide tax would be feasible.
Mayor Berndt expressed appreciation for the effort put forth by the
committee members and thanked them for the amount of work spent on
this very informative report.
There was continued discussion about the costs for seal coating and
fixing pot holes with a comparison between public and private
sectors. Don Moen suggested removing the gravel within 24 hours
when seal coating to prevent potential liability. Bill Huibregtse
talked about decreased funds and a shortage of street maintenance
and revenues. He encouraged enhancing the revenues by establishing
a street utility tax or a gas tax to rebuild the streets, but there
needs to be more resources for basic road construction and
maintenance.
David Hussell explained the total costs to meet the ADA regulation
to replace the existing street signs with larger signs, including
fabrication and purchasing the material, will be about $900,000.
Council Member Barnett suggested this amount be added because it is
a federal mandate.
There was continued discussion about whether to implement the
utility tax. Mayor Berndt reported the Street Bond Committee has
recommended to not resubmit the street bond issue because the
timing isn't right. She also stated that a reserve fund for
matching grants should be set up if a utility tax is implemented.
Council Member Barnett suggested a transportation plan address the
state utility revenue referred to in the MRSC State Utility
Legislation booklet on page 10. He would want the procedures in
this document implemented before he would consider a utility tax.
This would have a summation document before the ordinance is
passed.
City LoQo
After brief discussion, it was the general consensus to work with
the Chamber of Commerce image division to develop a logo selection.
City Manager Zais explained any new logo would be incorporated in
phases so the cost factor is taken into consideration.
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