HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/06/2001 Business Meeting 13 7
CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
MARCH 6, 2001 - 2:00 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS - 129 NORTH 2 STREET
1. ROLL CALL
Present:
Council: Mayor Mary Place, presiding, Council Members Clarence Barnett,
Lynn Buchanan, Larry Mattson, John Puccinelli, and Bernard Sims
Staff: City Manager Zais, City Attorney Paolella and City Clerk Roberts
Absent: Henry Beauchamp
2. INVOCATION /PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
An invocation was given by Council Member Puccinelli, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Council Member Barnett.
3. OPEN DISCUSSION FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER /SPECIAL
PRESENTATION
A. PROCLAMATIONS -
Although there were no proclamations, Mayor Place took this opportunity to
congratulate the West Valley Girls basketball team on their state championship •
win and wished Eisenhower well in their upcoming match.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
Mayor Place referred to the items placed on the Consent Agenda, questioning
whether there were any additions or deletions from either Council members or
citizens present. Item number 8 was added to the Consent Agenda. The City
Clerk read the Consent Agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances by
title. SIMS MOVED AND BUCHANAN SECONDED TO APPROVE THE
CONSENT AGENDA AS READ. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote;
Beauchamp absent. (Subsequent paragraphs preceded by an asterisk ( *)
indicate items on the Consent Agenda handled under one motion without further
discussion.)
*A. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE FEBRUARY 20, 2001 BUSINESS
MEETING
The minutes of the February 20, 2001 Business meeting were approved, having
been duly certified accurate by two Council members and no one present wishing
to have said minutes read publicly.
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5. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
David Hawkins, 1705 Gordon Road #22, as a board of director for the Slow Pitch
Association, spoke in support of the sports center noting the revenue
advantages of the facility. He said a facility of this type would create rapid return
on investment.
Bob Mason with the North East Neighborhood Association presented an official
Certificate of Merit award for outstanding performance by Linda Rossignol,
Nathan Thompson and Royale Schneider for making a difference in the
appearance of N.E. Yakima.
PUBLIC HEARING
6. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED EXPANSION OF THE CBD PARKING
EXEMPTION AREA
Bill Cook, Director of Community and Economic Development, described the
various options included in the proposed expanded parking exemption. He
clarified that with this change, although businesses will have to consider parking
issues, future development in those areas would no longer have a zoning
requirement for parking.
® Mayor Place opened the public hearing
Mayor Place opened the public hearing asking those who are in opposition to
expanding the parking exemption area to come forward.
Joe Morrier, 402 E. Yakima Avenue, spoke against the expanded exemption
area saying the City has complained about parking problems in downtown
Yakima for years and it doesn't make sense to him to extend the exempted area
without providing for any additional parking.
Bob Mason, 612 North 2nd Street, spoke against the expansion saying there are
enough parking problems now.
Bev Luby Bartz, 114 North 7 Street, said she understands the purpose is to
bring more business to the area, but not to the detriment of those who are
already here. She said she lives in this area and parking is already a problem.
She does not want customers and employees to park in front of her house so she
can't get to her home because a business doesn't supply parking. She
suggested looking into changing the codes or making administrative adjustments
rather than changing the zoning in a geographic area.
Lynne Kittelson, 305 North 9 Street, said that although she has a problem with
putting so much surface land under concrete by requiring parking, she thinks
something will have to be done to mitigate the impact on our neighborhoods. It is
her opinion that the immediate surrounding streets will suffer. Some of her ideas
were limiting how many cars people can park on the street, possibly needing a
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permit to park on the street, and using the alleys to access parking in back of
their properties.
Gary Roose, who lives at 121 Basalt Springs Way in Naches but has property
next to Gary's Red Apple Market, asked if Council had thought of the possibility
of shuttle service to parking lots away from the center of downtown to relieve the
immediate downtown area parking problems. He said he has some vacant
property and may consider it for that purpose. Council Member Buchanan
commented that we did have a shuttle service downtown and it helped our
parking problem considerably but we sold it for 25 cents on the dollar to get rid of
it.
Mayor Place closed the Public Hearing.
• Council Members ask questions, then make motions
Council Member Barnett asked staff to review areas 1, 2, 4 and 8 against the four
questions listed in the study session material that should be considered in
making a decision. Mr. Cook addressed those points as follows:
• Question 1: If the area under consideration becomes fully built where
will the necessary employee and customer parking be located? The
assumption is the market will satisfy its own needs. Some businesses, by
their own decision, built twice as many spaces as they needed, but that's not
going to be the case for an in -fill building where they need all the property.
Area #3 will probably not change significantly from what it is. Council
Member Puccinelli commented that, in his opinion, area #3 would not have an
impact on the citizens.
Area #2 is probably already fully developed, but if anything new came in,
parking would end up on the street.
Area #1 has the greatest potential impact. Currently, from a zoning
standpoint, if the Convention Center adds on another 25,000 square feet they
will require 240 to 300 new parking spaces. This will be talked about at the
study session on March 27. One important thought is if people are coming
into town for functions and staying at the hotels, they will not require parking.
But any local business will have an impact.
Area #5 — Except for the one parcel next to the Red Apple Market there
aren't many new development sites. New parking demands in that area
should not be significant. But if a developer doesn't feel it is important to put
the parking with the building it would go out on the street.
Area #4 The likelihood of new development in this area is not as high.
There are a number of small retail and small commercial businesses in the
area already. There are a couple of large sites on 5 Avenue that might
result in some large development but Mr. Cook thinks anyone building a new,
large, and expensive building will be concerned about supplying parking.
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MARCH 6, 2001
• Question 2: Assuming a parking exemption will attract new
development, is the area under consideration a logical addition to
existing CBD development? Mr. Cook said the answer is yes, the Council
made that decision in the study session
• Question 3: What impact will the parking exemption have on the
neighborhoods? That was discussed earlier.
•
• Question 4: Is the area served by Public Transportation? The answer is
yes.
SIMS MOVED AND MATTSON SECONDED TO PREPARE LEGISLATION TO
EXPAND THE EXISTING BOUNDARY TO INCLUDE AREA 1 ON THE MAP.
The motion carried by a 5 -1 voice vote, Buchanan voting nay; Beauchamp
absent.
SIMS MOVED AND PUCCINELLI SECONDED TO PREPARE LEGISLATION
TO EXPAND THE EXISTING BOUNDARY TO INCLUDE AREA 2 ON THE
MAP. The motion failed by a 3 -3 voice vote, Mattson, Place, and Buchanan
voting nay; Beauchamp absent.
MATTSON MOVED AND SIMS SECONDED TO PREPARE LEGISLATION TO
EXPAND THE EXISTING BOUNDARY TO INCLUDE AREA 3 ON THE MAP.
The motion failed by a 3 -3 voice vote, Mattson, Buchanan, and Place voting nay;
Beauchamp absent.
MATTSON MOVED AND SIMS SECONDED TO PREPARE LEGISLATION TO
EXPAND THE EXISTING BOUNDARY TO INCLUDE AREA 4 ON THE MAP.
The motion failed by a 4 -2 voice vote, Barnett, Buchanan, Place, and Puccinelli
voting nay; Beauchamp absent.
SIMS MOVED AND PUCCINELLI SECONDED TO PREPARE LEGISLATION
TO EXPAND THE EXISTING BOUNDARY TO INCLUDE AREA 5 ON THE
MAP. The motion failed by a 3 -3 voice vote, Barnett, Place, and Buchanan
voting nay; Beauchamp absent.
CITY ,MANAGER'S REPORTS
7. PRESENTATION FROM CONSULTANT RE TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND
CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING TELECOMMUNICATIONS
AS AN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRIORITY
• Randy Beehler gives background on the telecommunications project
Randy Beehler, Cable Communications Manager, explained that in 1999 the City
received a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to get a
picture of their telecommunications environment. A Telecommunications
Planning Committee was formed. The grant was used to hire Metropolitan
Communications Consultants (MCC). Mr. Beehler then introduced Richard Lee,
the President of MCC.
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• MCC President, Richard Lee, gives overview of their findings.
Mr. Lee explained their method of measuring the infrastructure in Yakima. Three
companies own infrastructure in Yakima: Qwest, Avista Communications, and
Charter Communications. A fourth company, Fairpoint Communications, has
made plans to build infrastructure in Yakima. He spoke about the capabilities of
the different infrastructure. He then suggested that the potential for economic
development success would be with the party that had the widest coverage and
that currently is Charter Communications. •
• Mr. Cook supports the report recommendations
Bill Cook, Director of Community and Economic Development spoke about
Yakima being at a unique time in history with the development of a technological
infrastructure that is reasonably priced. He said without great effort we can do so
much for the community by connecting to the region and the world. He went on to
explain that the report recommends a priority work plan with emphasis on the
City's leadership in meeting their telecommunication goals. He said the City can
provide that leadership by building a favorable telecommunication environment,
encouraging the development of infrastructure and services, and increasing the
communities awareness of the benefits of advanced communications. They can
also provide leadership by updating policies and procedures making it easier for
new providers to enter the market. This can be done by existing staff with
existing resources.
• Gary Webster describes the Telecommunications Planning Committee
Gary Webster, President and CEO of the Chamber of Commerce and Chairman
of the Telecommunications Planning Committee, said they served as a coalition
for vendors in the community and oversaw the process. They now expect the
Telecommunications Planning Committee (TPC) to serve as a bridge between
the City government and the community.
• George Chappel gives an update of Qwest equipment locally
George Chappel, Regional Manager for Qwest Southwest and Eastern
Washington, reported Qwest upgraded the second central office to state of the
art digital switch and that both central offices are now state of the art. He said
that since the Telecommunications Act of 1996, their infrastructure is open to all
competitors and they are willing to help encourage competition.
• Summary and action
Mr. Beehler summarized by saying some of the things we should do are already
being done, they are working on a series of seminars, and the work to update
policies is going on. He said the report provided two key things; a good deal of
solid information we didn't have before and a clear strategy to follow in meeting
our telecommunication goals.
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The City Clerk read the resolution by title, SIMS MOVED AND BUCHANAN
SECONDED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION. The motion carried by a
unanimous roll call vote; Beauchamp absent.
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -37, A RESOLUTION establishing
telecommunications as an economic development priority of the City of Yakima
and directing implementation of the priority work plan developed as part of Phase
1 of the City's Telecommunications and Technology Planning Project.
*8. CONSIDERATION OF LEGISLATION RELATING TO BILLBOARD SIGNS
REQUESTED BY BRESSLER OUTDOOR ADVERTISING:
A. RESOLUTION GRANTING THE PLACEMENT OF BILLBOARD AT 5
WEST WASHINGTON AVENUE
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -38, A RESOLUTION granting the appeal (UAZO
#18 -00) by Bressler Outdoor Advertising of the Hearing Examiner's September
26, 2000 Decision affirming the Code Administration Division's decision to deny a
sign permit to place a proposed billboard at 5 West Washington Avenue.
B. RESOLUTION DENYING PLACEMENT OF BILLBOARD AT 105 EAST "E"
STREET
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -39, A RESOLUTION denying the appeal (UAZO
#16 -00) by Bressler Outdoor Advertising of the Hearing Examiner's September
26, 2000 Decision affirming the Administrative Official's decision denying
Bressler's Class (2) application to place a billboard at 105 East "E" Street.
*9. PRESENTATION AND REQUEST FOR APPROVAL OF CONSTRUCTION OF
LABYRINTH AT GILBERT PARK
The staff recommendation to approve the construction of a labyrinth at Gilbert
Park at no cost to the City was approved.
*10. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF
PROFESSIONAL SERVICES AGREEMENT WITH SHELLY PELZEL FOR
COMPUTER SERVICES
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -40, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager of
the City of Yakima to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Shelly
Pelzel, for computer setup and installation services.
*11. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF
AGREEMENTS FOR AQUATIC SERVICES FOR: I ,
A. YAKIMA ATHLETIC CLUB SWIM TEAM
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -41, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute an agreement with the Yakima
Athletic Club Swim Team for pool rental.
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B. YMCA SWIM TEAM FOR POOL RENTAL
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -42, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute an agreement with the YMCA
Swim Team for pool rental.
*12. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTIONS AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF
PERSONAL SERVICES AGREEMENTS FOR FOOTCARE SERVICES WITH:
A. DIANNE CRAWFORD, SP
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -43, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute a "Geriatric Footcare Services
•
Agreement" with Dianne M. Crawford, S.P., to provide footcare services at the
Yakima Senior Center.
B. NADINE SMITH, RN
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -44, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute a "Geriatric Footcare Services
Agreement" with Nadine Smith, R.N., to provide footcare services at the Yakima
Senior Center.
*13. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION APPROVING THE 4 QUARTER 2000
CLAIMS REPORT
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -45, A RESOLUTION accepting and approving the 4th
Quarter 2000 Insurance Claims Report.
*14. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AMENDING THE FOUR -PARTY
WASTEWATER AGREEMENT MAP FOR TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO
BOUNDARIES
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2001 -46, A RESOLUTION directing the Mayor, City
Attorney and the City Clerk to execute the attached Fourth Amendment for
Wastewater Treatment and Disposal Service to the Four -Party Agreement.
*15. CONSIDERATION OF ADOPTION OF 2001 FEDERAL LEGISLATIVE
PRIORITIES FOR THE CITY OF YAKIMA
The City's 2001 Federal Legislative Priorities for 2001 were approved.
*16. SET DATE OF CLOSED RECORD HEARING FOR MARCH 20, 2001 TO
CONSIDER THE HEARING EXAMINER'S RECOMMENDATION TO REZONE
PROPERTY AT 5110 TIETON DRIVE REQUESTED BY TIM MONAHAN
March 20, 2001 was set as the date for a closed record public hearing to
consider the Hearing Examiner's recommendation to approve the rezone of
property located at 5110 Tieton Drive (Glenwood Square), requested by Tim
Monahan.
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MARCH 6, 2001
*17. SET DATE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR MARCH 20, 2001 TO CONSIDER
HEARING EXAMINER'S RECOMMENDATION ON COMPENSATION BY
LIVING CARE CENTER FOR VACATION OF A PORTION OF KNOBLE
STREET AND MAVIS AVENUE
March 20, 2001 was set as the date of public hearing to consider the Hearing
Examiner's recommendation regarding the compensation for the partial vacated
right -of -way on Knoble Street and Mavis Avenue by Living Care Center, Inc.
ORDINANCES
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18. CONSIDERATION OF ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING CONDEMNATION OF
PROPERTY INSIDE YAKIMA CITY LIMITS FOR THE EXPANSION OF
VALLEY MALL BOULEVARD AND EXECUTION OF INTERLOCAL
AGREEMENT WITH THE CITY OF UNION GAP
• Don Schussler asks for City of Yakima's help
Don Schussler, 311 North 3 Street, representing the City of Union Gap,
requested the City of Yakima's help. He explained the joint venture between the
Cities of Yakima, Union Gap and the Department of Transportation to build an
extension of 1 -82 out to the Yakima airport. They need help with the phase that
takes it from 1 Street to 3rd Avenue, an $11 million project. When condemning
property for this project, one set of property owners within the Yakima city limits
protested. The courts said these two parcels could not be condemned by the
City of Union Gap and that they must be condemned by the City of Yakima.
They have developed an interlocal agreement that will allow Union Gap to
proceed with the condemnation on the City of Yakima's behalf. This agreement
is being put before the Yakima City Council in the form of an ordinance with an
emergency clause and will require a unanimous vote. Mr. Schussler said a
significant portion of the funding for this phase comes from the State of
Washington. If the emergency ordinance does not pass and an alternate
ordinance is passed requiring a wait of 30 days, there is a high possibility of that
money going to some other municipality.
• Yakima has invested in this project
Discussion continued regarding the project in general and the expected benefits.
Council Member Mattson spoke in support of the project stating it was a regional
project with regional benefits. Mayor Place noted the Armory project would
benefit from this roadway as well. Joe Morrier, 402 East Yakima Avenue, asked
if the interchange at Valley Mall Boulevard and 1 -82 had been addressed with the
DOE and when is this project supposed to be done. It was clarified by Mayor
Place that the City of Yakima already has $600,000 into this project. Mike
Pawlak with Bucher, Willis and Ratliff, project consultants for the City of Union
Gap, explained the City of Yakima has $200,000 worth of funding allocated but
there are also some partner projects that go along with this that the City has
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funds in as well. Council Member Sims questioned the location of the design.
There was discussion on the property and the need for it as a result of a 1993
alignment study. It was clarified that the entire parcel would not be condemned
but just enough to acquire the right of way that is needed for the roadway and the
approach to the bridge.
' The City Clerk read the ordinance; MATTSON MOVED AND PUCCINELLI
SECONDED, TO APPROVE THE ORDINANCE. Council Member Sims stated
he doesn't see this as an emergency. Aubrey Reeves, Mayor of Union Gap,
spoke regarding the timing of the project related to obtaining the state funds. He
also advised that the property owner is not against the project but that the issue
is the value of the property. The question was called for a vote on the
motion. The motion failed by a 4 -2 roll call vote, Sims and Buchanan voting nay;
Beauchamp absent.
The City Clerk read the alternate ordinance. It was explained that this ordinance
removes the emergency clause and has the normal 30 day effectiveness
provision. Also added was a sentence stating that Union Gap should give the
City of Yakima copies of the pleadings as they go through the condemnation
process. MATTSON MOVED AND PUCCINELLI SECONDED TO APPROVE
THE ALTERNATE ORDINANCE. The motion carried by a 4 -2 roll call vote;
Sims and Buchanan voting nay; Beauchamp absent.
ORDINANCE NO. 2001 -8, AN ORDINANCE of the City of Yakima, Washington,
relating to transportation facilities; authorizing condemnation; assigning to the
City of Union Gap, Washington, authorization to acquire certain real property for
the improvement of Valley Mall Boulevard, located within Section 31, Township
13 N., Range 19 E.W.M., Yakima County, Washington, and authorizing the City
Manager of the City of Yakima to execute an Interlocal Agreement implementing
this Ordinance.
* 19. SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2001 BUDGET AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR CITY'S SHARE OF
REPAIRS /MODIFICATIONS TO KEECHELUS DAM
An Ordinance amending the 2001 budget and appropriating funds for the City's
share of repairs and modifications to Keechelus Dam, having been read by title
only at the previous meeting, was brought before the Council for a second
reading.
ORDINANCE NO. 2001 -8, AN ORDINANCE amending the 2001 budget for the
City of Yakima; and making an appropriation of $12,095 in the 474 -Water
Operating Fund and $8,064 in the 475 - Irrigation Operating Fund during 2001 to
reimburse the Bureau of Reclamation for the City's share of repairs /modifications
to Keechelus Dam.
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*20. FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 2001 BUDGET AND
APPROPRIATING FUNDS FOR YEAR -END 2000 ENCUMBRANCES (NO
ACTION REQUIRED THIS MEETING; SECOND READING SCHEDULED 3/20/01)
An ordinance amending the 2001 budget and appropriating funds for year -end
2000 encumbrances having been read by title only was laid on the table for two
weeks until March 20, 2001.
21. OTHER BUSINESS
• Information Items
Items of information provided to Council were: Agenda for March 1, 2001 DARC
meeting and minutes from February 1, 2001 meeting; Agenda for March 7, 2001
Community Review Board meeting and minutes of its February 21, 2001 meeting;
February 26, 2001 memo from Public Works regarding 2000 Leaf Pick -up Program;
Planning Division Assignments Pending Report as of March 6, 2001; Eastern Washington
Water Summit information: Summit meeting schedule change; Memo dated February 19,
2001 regarding Proposed Water Rights Administration Rule; Agenda for the March 5,
2001 Charter and Police & Fire Civil Service Commissions meeting; Seattle Post
/nte / / igencer article dated February 28, 2001 entitled "32 Counties File Shoreline Claims .
Against State "; Business Week article dated February 19, 2001 entitled "What a
Dumpfest" regarding the retail economy; Notice of Public Meeting from EPA and report re
Pacific Northwest Water Quality Temperature Criteria Guidance; Notice of Hanford
Cleanup Budget Meetings in March 2001; March 2001 Hanford Happenings newsletter;
and Winter 2000 -2001 Office of Community Development publication About Growth.
22. EXECUTIVE SESSION RE: PENDING AND PROSPECTIVE LITIGATION AND
DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY (allow approximately 90 minutes)
BUCHANAN MOVED AND SIMS SECONDED TO ADJOURN TO EXECUTIVE
SESSION FOR APPROXIMATELY 60 MINUTES TO DISCUSS PROSPECTIVE
LITIGATION AND DISPOSITION OF PROPERTY FOLLOWED BY
ADJOURNMENT TO MARCH 20, 2001 AT 7:30 A.M. AT THE POLICE
STATION /LEGAL CENTER FOR A STUDY SESSION ON REFUSE
AUTOMATED PILOT PROGRAMNIDEO. The motion carried by unanimous
voice vote; Beauchamp absent. At approximately 5:15 p.m. the City Clerk
announced that the Executive Session would continue for another 30 minutes.
23. ADJOURNMENT
Following the conclusion of the Executive Session the meeting adjourned at
5:35 p.m.
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