HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/05/2003 Special Business Meeting 44 0
CITY OF YAKIMA, WASHINGTON
SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING OF THE CITY COUNCIL
AUGUST 5, 2003 - 1:30 P.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL
1. RoII Call
Present:
Council: Mayor Mary Place, presiding, Council Members Clarence Barnett,
Paul George, Larry Mattson, John Puccinelli, and Bernard Sims
Staff: City Manager Zais, City Attorney Paolella and City Clerk Roberts
Mayor Place advised that Lynn Buchanan had moved and, therefore, was no
longer available to be a councilman in District #3. City Manager Zais advised that
the Council is empowered under the charter to appoint a replacement, however,
the position could also be left vacant for a few months. This will be addressed at a
future Council meeting.
2. Invocation /Pledge of Allegiance
Council Member Puccinelli gave an invocation, followed by the Pledge of
Allegiance led by Council Member Mattson.
3. Open Discussion for the Good of The Order /Special Presentation
A. Proclamations
None
B. Status report on prior meeting's citizen service request
None
C. Presentation of Yard of the Month awards
Lynn Quesenbury, Parks and Recreation Administrative Specialist, announced the
Yard -of- the -Month recipients:
District 1 Carol Cummins, 3106 Bonnie Doone (unavailable)
District 2 Katherine Marshall, 1019 Queen Anne Avenue (unavailable)
District 4 Marcela and Duncan Kincaid, 2508 Barge,
Brian and Christine Durr, 323 North 36 Avenue
Following a video showing the winning yards, a certificate was presented to
Duncan Kincaid and Mrs. and Mrs. Durr.
D. Presentation on water supply conditions and conservation measures
Dave Brown, Water & Irrigation Manager, spoke about the condition of the
Fruitvale canal that is fed from the Naches River. With the draught conditions,
rationing of water from the canal began July 31 It has been a problem since the
1996 flood when the diversion got washed out. The City received FEMA money to
repair it but the repairs were stopped by the Department of Fish and Wildlife when
it was approximately half completed. This year the problems started in the first part
of July with difficulty getting enough water. The City had contractors working on it
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and, again, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has stopped us from doing
additional work due to fear of harm to the fish. Mr. Brown explained the complexity
of the process. When "flip- flop" occurs, and the water is increased in the Naches
River and lowered in the Yakima River, the problem will go away. That is
scheduled for the second week of September. As conditions exist right now, we
won't be able to run the Fruitvale canal at full level and we have added domestic
water to the canal to bring it up to half of the normal level of 25 cfs. Some of the
users haven't had adequate water for several weeks. He apologized for the
inconvenience but explained there just isn't any more water, there is no more snow
pack and we're only one of hundreds of users on this river system. Throughout
this process we have talked with the Department of Fish and Wildlife and asked
why we can't run this diversion up the river. Golder and Associates have been
hired to analyze what can be done and hopefully we will be able to go back to the
Department of Fish and Wildlife to get the process started.
E. Noel Field
Council Member Mattson questioned why he had received a SEPA checklist on the
Noel field property transfer. He said upon a close look he found a few procedural
defects and possibly legal defects. He was bringing them up now because the
comment period closes August 7` To meet that schedule, he will send a letter to
Doug,Maples, Code Administration and Planning Manager, outlining them. His •
concerns were:
• Why was there no SEPA notice of application and checklist prepared for the
Dunbar field and Larson 4 transfers earlier this year? Who should have done
it, the City or the college?
• The supplemental page for non - project actions in the SEPA checklist was
completed when, in fact SEPA specifically describes the
sale /lease /transfer /purchase of publicly owned land as a project action under
SEPA. That might have some implications for us down the line as we get
specific project applications from the college to build there.
• The issue of consistency with our Comprehensive Plan that designates
Larson Park as parks and open space. Any land use other than that would
be inconsistent. If the college wants to put buildings or parking lots there,
that will require a Comprehensive Plan amendment.
Council Member Sims pointed out that this transfers the responsibility to the
college as to what they were going to do and how they were going to do it. They
indicated that both ball fields would remain as ball fields for the time being, maybe
up to 20 years. When they decide there is some other possibility, then they would
have to submit that information. Mattson said that SEPA requires we begin the
project review as soon as we know what is going to happen and there is a 1998
master plan that fully discloses their intent for northward expansion. We can model
those environmental impacts as SEPA requires. It was his opinion that to delay it
is passing the buck. Bruce Benson, Senior Planner, clarified that the college is a
class -3 use in an R -2 zoning district. A rezone wouldn't be required, they would
just have to go through the class -3 review. That is the time SEPA is normally
accomplished, in relation with a project. In response to Council Member Mattson's
question about why a SEPA checklist was sent out, City Manager Zais said when
we had direction from the Council at the last meeting we did not know which step
was going to be taken, we presumed it would go forward. At the time of the vote
we sat down and discussed what absolutely needed to be done to follow every
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letter of the law in regard to the transfer. We have had some serious matters arise
in the last year with respect to public notice, SEPA issues, and changes that the
Council has made as a consequence of the growth management rulings from the
Growth Management Board and Council's amendment to the comprehensive
planning process. He said he asked City Attorney Paolella to give the safest
answer legally for us to move forward. Mr. Paolella clarified that anytime there is a
proposal for a governmental action that might have a significant impact on the
environment, SEPA is triggered and potentially could involve the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Statement. Mr. Zais continued saying that we have,had
some new guidance from the Growth Management Hearings Board on public
notice and public process, and felt it would prudent to activate the SEPA
process to consider whether there were significant environmental impacts in light
of the public interest in this issue. The SEPA responsible official has provided for a
public comment period on the determination so it can be finalized and proceed
according to requirements of state law.
• Council Member Mattson said his last point is that actions that are
interrelated as parts of a larger whole need to be considered together.
Regardless of whether we should have done a SEPA checklist on the Dunbar
and Larson 4 transfers, we are now at a point where there is an opportunity
for the citizens to comment on the three transactions that have taken place
transferring property to the community college. The community at large
hasn't had a chance to comment on the wholesale, piecemeal transfer of
chunks of Larson Park. There are benefits of this transfer and, admittedly,
• higher education is a benefit; but there are also costs in the loss of open
_ space. SEPA requires us to look at actions that we know are interrelated.
He said he hasn't seen anything in the checklist that acknowledges the
previous transfers, and /or the impacts, or benefits of those. His letter to
Doug Maples will ask that we withdraw this notice of application and resubmit
it to the public taking into account all the transfers that have occurred over
the last five years at the Larson Park site.
Council Member Mattson emphasized that this is a process question. Value
judgments are for the Council to decide; but he thinks we.need input from the
community on things like higher education, parks, and actions with long -term
consequences such as Larson Park. He claimed he had asked for that back in
November but was told that the money would be gone if we didn't act soon. It is
his desire for us to observe the law and the State Environmental Policy Act that
says we need to take a look at these interrelated actions.
City Attorney Paolella commented that Council Member Mattson is correct that
SEPA does provide for the possibility of studying interrelated actions. That would
be part of what the responsible SEPA official will be determining after the comment
period.
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. There were no changes. The City Clerk read the Consent
Agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances by title. MATTSON MOVED
AND GEORGE SECONDED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ.
The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. (Subsequent paragraphs
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AUGUST 5, 2003
preceded by an asterisk ( *) indicate items on the Consent Agenda handled under
one motion without further discussion.)
*A. Approval of the minutes of the June 24, 2003 Special and Business
Meetings and the July 1, 2003 Business Meeting. •
The minutes of the June 24, 2003 Special and Business meetings and the July 1,
2003 Business meeting were approved, having been duly certified accurate by two
Council members and no one present wishing to have said minutes read publicly.
PUBLIC HEARING
5. Public Hearing on appeal of Community Review Board Summary of
Decision issued to Brenda Rockett
Ken Harper, 807 North 39 Avenue, legal counsel for the City, explained that this is
a closed record appeal hearing, meaning the review is limited to the record
presented to the Community Review Board (CRB). It is Ms. Rockett's burden to
demonstrate there was an error in the CRB's summary decision. Council has a
range of options. In the event Ms. Rockett carries her burden they can modify or
vacate the CRB summary decision. In the event she does not carry her burden
they may also affirm the decision. Ms. Rockett's written appeal calls for a request
for a reduction in the City's assessment for the violation.
Council Member Sims asked if this problem had gone on for eight years.
Mr. Harper verified there has been a history of problems, but he was unable to
confirm the length of time.
•
Council had no ex -parte contact to disclose.
Brenda Rockett, 715 North 3rd Street, said she has lived in the house for seven
years. About two years ago, in response to a previous complaint, they took "tons
and tons of garbage" away. She has left this responsibility to her 20 year old son
as that was all he had to do around the house. He assured me it was being done.
She assumed it was being done and claimed she is "not good at being
responsible ". She maintained that fining her will not get "us" anywhere. She
apologized and claimed to be doing the best she can. She said they are working
at it but it's going to take time.
Linda Rossignol, Code Compliance Officer, answered the question of how long the
City has been addressing violations on this property. Ms. Rockett purchased the
property in 1998, but the City has been addressing various violations on it since
1995. She said that Ms. Rockett has been cooperative in the past; this is the
second CRB case on her property. The first case was in February of 2002 at
which time she signed a voluntary correction and cleaned it up. When the City
received additional complaints, another notice was sent. Mrs. Rossignol said she
went there today and saw that the dumpster is full of debris and the yard looks
better. In response to Council Member Barnett's question about why hasn't the
Office of Neighborhood Development Services (ONDS) helped her out under their
programs, it was clarified that although she was notified that she was eligible for
that assistance and was given phone numbers, she never applied for it. Council
Member Sims asked if, in her experience, did Mrs. Rossignol feel this situation
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would warrant a waiver of this fine by Council or did she feel this will happen
again? Mrs. Rossignol said we should at least consider the amount of money the
City has expended. Although she wasn't sure of the total she estimated if would
exceed $1,000. It is not the intent to make it a hardship for Ms. Rockett, but the
administration fees are intended to recover the City's expenses.
Following discussion of the potential of waiving the fees, SIMS MOVED AND
BARNETT SECONDED THAT, DUE TO FINANCIAL HARDSHIP, WE WAIVE
THE FEE AND THE CITY'S COSTS WITH THE STIPULATION THAT IF THE
PROPERTY BECOMES AN ISSUE WITHIN THE NEXT TWO YEARS THOSE
FEES WILL BE IMPOSED IN ADDITION TO WHAT WOULD THEN BE THE
CURRENT CHARGES. Discussion continued and included the impact on the
neighbors, the potential of a payment plan, and the need to emphasize the
seriousness of the citation. Ms. Rockett committed to removing the cars today.
The question was called for a vote on the motion. The motion failed by a 3 -3
voice vote; Place, Mattson, and Puccinelli voted nay. PUCCINELLI MOVED AND
SIMS SECONDED THAT THERE BE A $100 FINE, WAIVE THE REST, AND
ALLOW MS. ROCKETT TO MAKE PAYMENTS OF $20 A MONTH BEGINNING
SEPTEMBER 1 ST . THE BALANCE WOULD BE ACCELERATED IF WITHIN
TWO YEARS MR. MAPLES DETERMINED ANY SUBSEQUENT VIOLATION.
Council Member Mattson explained he would vote no because she had stated she
was coming out of her Chapter 13 proceedings soon and that would free up $50 a
month; the exercise of writing a check every month would be a good reminder to
keep things clean. The motion carried by a 5 -1 voice vote; Mattson voting nay.
Council Member Barnett asked staff to help her with the process for assistance
through the Office of Neighborhood Development.
6. Audience Participation
Bob Mansfield, 1201 South 41 Avenue, doesn't agree with the study made on
alarm monitoring. He distributed a folder he made up with the profile and benefits
of a UL listed central station. He hopes Council will read this material, but if they
do and still come back with the same attitude about monitoring then he will have to
do something else. Mayor Place explained that a study session has been held and
Council has taken a vote to not reconsider what we are currently doing.
June Smith, 802 North 15 Avenue, addressed the cost of the irrigation rate
increase. She lives in the Fruitvale Irrigation District and every July the water
supply dwindles to nothing. Every year they are told the river is low. She has a
large lot that is difficult to keep green. This year they are only irrigating half of the
property. They would like to plant sod next spring and install an irrigation system,
but will not be able to with the current water pressure. In 1998 the rates increased
to help fix the irrigation system. She is currently paying $71.62 every two months
($429.72 yr). The new rate will be $102 every two months ($607.29 yr). This
amount equates to about half of their yearly property taxes and compares to her
electric bill. They can control their electricity costs, but have no way of controlling
irrigation costs. She has tried to get an estimate on using domestic water, but no
one can give her an exact figure. She asked if by raising her rates would she have
any more water next year, what is the plan, and is my system one of the first ones
that is going to be fixed? Due to time constraints Council deferred responding to
this request until the next meeting and also referred her to Dave Brown of Water
and Irrigation for answers.
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AUGUST 5, 2003
Mike Miller, Moon Security, 507 West Clark in Pasco, has a business license here
in the City. They monitor their own alarms and he requested some clarification.
He claimed to have quite an investment with installed fire systems in the City of
Yakima. He said they have not received revenue dollars because they have been
required to have the monitoring of those systems go to the 911 Dispatch Center.
He said that until recently they were told that was a requirement. We are now
hearing that is not a requirement and he asked if that monitoring can be done by
other qualified UL listed stations. The answer was yes, and that Wayne Wantland,
Communications Manager, will address these questions at the next Council
•
Meeting.
Ron Anderson, CWI Security at 45 West Mead, said that answered his questions
and noted he would like to be notified in the future if this subject were to be studied
again. He was advised that minutes from the study session were available on -line
• at the City's website.
The question of where was this misinformation coming from was asked by Council.
Joe Caruso, Fire Code Inspection Supervisor, said it was his understanding that
the City only monitors commercial buildings. Anyone else in the city that has a fire
alarm can go to a central station of their choice.
CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS
* 7. Consideration of Resolution authorizing license agreement between
City and JEM Development for Jade Tree property
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2003 -107, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager of
the City of Yakima to execute a license agreement with JEM Properties, L.LC. and
Terry Powell to improve, use and maintain certain property located at 202 East
Yakima Avenue, Yakima, Washington, for park and recreation purposes.
* 8. Consideration of Resolution authorizing renewal of YV Tech Fire Cadet
Program contract
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2003 -108, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager to
execute an agreement between the City of Yakima and Yakima School District No.
7 whereby the City agrees to provide fire fighting educational services for the
2003 -2004 school year as part of the Fire Cadet Program.
* 9. Consideration of Resolution authorizing the approval of Settlement
Agreement and Easement Deed for the County to build 96 Avenue
across the trolley tracks
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2003 -109, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager of
the City of Yakima to execute a settlement agreement with and easement deed in
favor of Yakima County with regard to Yakima County making certain public
improvements known as the "Project to Improve South 96 Avenue from Tieton
Drive to Zier Road."
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AUGUST 5, 2003
*10. Approval of reports from the Finance Department:
A. First and Second Quarter Treasury reports
The First and Second Quarters 2003 Treasury Report was accepted.
B. Second Quarter Central Receivables report
The Second Quarter 2003 Central Receivables Report was accepted.
*11. Set date of Closed Record Public Hearing on August 19, 2003 re
Rezone request by Richard Ehlers (718 North 34 Avenue)
August 19, 2003 was set as the date of a closed record public hearing to consider
the Hearing Examiner's recommendation on a rezone application filed by Richard
Ehlers for property at 718 North 34 Avenue.
PUBLIC MEETING
12. Public Meeting to consider the final approval of the plat of Summitview
Vineyards (Long Plat — 32 Avenue)
Bruce Benson, Senior Planner, explained that last June preliminary approval was
granted to the plat of Summitview Vineyards and in the interim the required
infrastructure has been installed and inspected. The plat has been signed by the
City engineer and the subdivision administrator. Council is now being asked to
ratify this plat by the adoption of the resolution.
• Mayor Place opened the public hearing.
No one came forward to speak.
• Mayor Place closed the public hearing.
The City Clerk read the resolution by title only; GEORGE MOVED AND MATTSON
SECONDED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION. The motion carried by unanimous
roll call vote.
RESOLUTION NO. R- 2003 -110, A RESOLUTION approving the final plat of
Summitview Vineyards, a 16 lot subdivision located on the west side of N 32
Avenue approximately midpoint between Summitview and Lincoln Avenues, and
authorizing the Mayor to sign the final plat of Summitview Vineyards, Jim Fickel as
applicant therein.
13. Other Business
A. Consideration of Council approval to schedule study sessions in
Council Chambers from 7:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
1. Joint Study Session with Yakima County, Department of
Transportation (Aviation), City of Union Gap, and Airport Board for
August 19, 2003 re: Airport Safety Overlay. PUCCINELLI MOVED
AND GEORGE SECONDED TO HOLD THE STUDY SESSION.
• The motion carried by unanimous voice vote.
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AUGUST 5, 2003
2. Joint Study Session with Yakima County and City of Union Gap
for September 2, re: Stormwater PUCCINELLI MOVED AND
SIMS SECONDED TO HOLD THE STUDY SESSION. The motion
carried by unanimous voice vote.
3. Mandated pre- treatment requirements for October 7, 2003
PUCCINELLI MOVED AND GEORGE SECONDED TO HOLD
THE STUDY SESSION. The motion carried by unanimous voice
vote.
B. EXECUTIVE SESSION
GEORGE MOVED AND MATTSON SECONDED TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE
SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING LITIGATION FOR APPROXIMATELY FIVE
MINUTES WITH IMMEDIATE ADJOURNMENT THEREAFTER. The motion
carried by unanimous voice vote.
14. Adjournment
Following the Executive Session, the meeting adjourned at 3:05 p.m.
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READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY: (/
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COUNCIL MEMBER DATE
COUNCIL ME BER DATE
ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK MARY PLACE, MAYOR
Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. An audio and video tape o this meeting are available in the City Clerk's
Office
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