Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/05/2005 Business Meeting 97 BUSINESS MEETING APRIL 5, 2005 - 2:00 P.M. COUNCIL CHAMBERS - CITY HALL 1. RoII CaII Present: Council: Mayor Paul George, presiding, Council Members Ron Bonlender, Dave Edler, Neil McClure, Mary Place, Bernard Sims, and Susan Whitman Staff: City Manager Zais, City Attorney Paolella and City Clerk Roberts 2. Invocation /Pledge of Allegiance Council Member Place requested a moment of silence in memory of Pope John Paul 11 and then gave an invocation followed by the Pledge of Allegiance led by Council Member McClure. 3. Open Discussion for the Good of The Order /Special Presentations A. Proclamations Volunteer Recognition Week Mayor George read a proclamation declaring April 17 -23, 2005 as Volunteer Recognition Week in Yakima. Vernita Adolf was present to accept the proclamation and spoke in appreciation of the many volunteers in the community. People for People Day Council Member Edler read a proclamation declaring April 7, 2005 as People for People Day (40 anniversary). Marilyn Mason - Plunkett and Renee' Biles were present to accept the proclamation. Marilyn told the public they are celebrating the anniversary by holding a community food drive on April 16 to benefit Northwest Harvest. Three Boy Scouts from Troop 212 working on their Citizenship in the Community merit badge were. recognized. They were: Tommy Reardon, Patrick Reardon, and Daniel Leadon. B. Appointments to Boards and Commissions SIMS MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO REAPPOINTMENT JON HOPWOOD AND JIM CENCI TO THE COMMUNITY REVIEW BOARD. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. BONLENDER MOVED AND PLACE SECONDED TO APPOINT MIKE MURPHY TO THE COMMUNITY REVIEW BOARD TO FILL THE VACANT POSITION. Council Member Bonlender advised that Greg Bohn is now the chairman of that committee. 98 APRIL 5, 2005 C. Special Presentations Workforce Development 2005 Job Fair on April 12, 2005 Bill Cobabe, Office of Neighborhood Development Services Manager, supplied information about the Job Fair to be held at the Convention Center on April 12 It is an annual event to help people find jobs and has been very successful in the past. Council Member Place requested an opportunity to give a report on Animal. Control at the next Council Meeting. Council Member Bonlender said he would be presenting the idea of "Cruising the Avenue" at the Yakima Downtown Association and the Public Safety Committee meetings and then would like the subject on the next Council meeting agenda. D. Status report on prior meeting's citizen service request (if any) None 4. Consent Agenda Mayor George 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 No. 16 was removed from the Agenda and Item No. 20A was added to the Agenda. The City Clerk read the Consent Agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances by title. SIMS MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO ADOPT THE CONSENT AGENDA AS READ. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. (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 January 15, and March 8, 2005 Adjourned meetings The minutes of the January 15 and March 8, 2005 Adjourned meetings were approved, having been duly certified accurate by two Council members and no one present wishing to have said minutes read publicly. 5. Audience Participation Lynn Baxter, President of the League of Women Voters, announced the annual Downtown Yakima luncheon to be held Friday, April 29 at noon at the Unitarian Church. Their theme this year is Footprints for the future, New and Old business Downtown. Jeffery Bohlinger, a letter carrier from Branch 852, announced that the second Saturday in May is their annual food drive. A proclamation will be done at the first meeting in May. Randall Leofsky came forward to thank Council for the creation of the Historic Preservation Board. He supplied the City Manager with a job announcement used by cities of similar size when staffing their Historic Department. He also spoke in support of neighborhoods becoming districts. 2 9 9> APRIL 5, 2005 CITY MANAGER'S REPORTS 6. Consideration of Resolution authorizing 30 -day extension to close the Section 108 Loan for the construction of a Hilton Garden Inn at 401 East Yakima Avenue, requested by Joe Morrier Michael Morales, Economic and Community Specialist, explained the request from Mr. Morrier and his company to extend the closing deadline on the Section 108 loan. They feel 30 -days is more than sufficient to make sure it is totally complete. Joe Morrier, 402 East Yakima Avenue, gave a status report and reaffirmed it is their intent to open the hotel by the end of the year. The City Clerk read the resolution by title only; EDLER MOVED AND McCLURE SECONDED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -52, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager to execute a modification of the Conditional Approval letter, granting a 30 -day extension for closing of a Section 108 loan to Yakima Hotel, LLC to construct a Hilton Garden Inn Hotel. 7. Consideration of recommendations from Parks and Recreation Commission and the Budget Strategy Team concerning future operation of City swimming pools Denise, Nichols, Parks and Recreation Manager, reviewed the details of a report submitted on the Parks Commission and the Budget Strategy Team's recommendations with regard to the swimming pools. The recommendations were the result of a critical needs analysis on the five public swimming pools identifying approximately $500,000 worth of improvements necessary to operate the outdoor pools as well as declining attendance. Other factors leading to their recommendation are water costs and the fact that we are entering a drought year. • The Parks and Recreation Commission recommend the closure of Miller and Eisenhower pools. • The Budget Strategy Team recommends closing Miller, Washington, and Eisenhower pools. • A third recommendation is to close the Eisenhower pool but not demolish it yet and speak with the school district to determine what they would like to see in its place. • A fourth recommendation is to operate Washington pool this year only, close it down next year and purchase a water spray feature for young kids. The Council discussed the options with regard to operating costs, staffing requirements, capital expenses, atteance, and revenues. Councembe asked why an aquatics center wasn't nd included in the recommendations. il M Mrs. r Edier Nichols said it is their plan to submit a policy issue during the budget process for a feasibility study to look at an aquatics center for the community. Council Member McClure clarified that this is not a suggestion to cut our parks system but a better way to serve the community with existing parks dollars. If we save the money we are losing on the pools it could be used to improve our parks for all of our citizens. There will be free transportation available for children to get to the remaining pools. Mike Nixon and Jackie Meyer- Garza, Parks Commissioners, both spoke to the struggles they went through to come up with this recommendation. 3 10 APRIL 5, 2005 Troy Emmons, Co -Chair of the Budget Strategy Team, explained their recommendation to close three pools was based on operating costs and declining use. Greta Alderson, a swim team parent, asked Council to keep the Eisenhower pool open in support of the swim team and their meets. Linda Marzette, 1101 South 8th Street, volunteers for Kiwanis Park during the summer and asked Council to consider keeping Washington pool open. Alonzo Marquez, 613 North 3rd Street, disagreed with the statements that pool usage was declining. He recommended putting a. pool in the Kiwanis Park area. Robert Owen, 614 N 3 Street, did not think spray toys were an adequate substitution, noted that both pools being recommended for closure were on the east side, and questioned the statistics used. He recommended leaving the pools open until an aquatics center is built. Sharon Madson, sent an e-mail against closing the pools this year and suggested looking at what other cities have done. James Parks, 1119 Garfield Avenue, came to the meeting representing his basketball team. They are concerned about losing alternatives for entertainment. Jessica Kiehl spoke about each of the pools and their benefits. Tom Lovell, 116 -2 North 50 Avenue, asked about aquatics programs for the kids and stated concern about the impact of pool closures on the children. Staff and Council discussed the age of the pools and their life spans, chemicals used and maintenance issues, as well as aquatics programs. EDLER MOVED AND PLACE SECONDED TO ACCEPT STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION WHICH IS A BLEND OF THE PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION AND THE BUDGET STRATEGY TEAM'S RECOMMENDATION INCLUDING ITEM NO. 6. Council Member Bonlender favored modifying the recommendation to not close Washington Pool after the 2005 season. COUNCIL MEMBER BONLENDER MOVED TO AMEND THE RECOMMENDATION, TO CONTINUE OPERATION OF WASHINGTON POOL, AND HOLD THE INSTALLATION OF AN AQUATIC WATER SPRAY FACILITY IN ABEYANCE. The motion died due to the lack of a second. Discussion ensued on the original motion. EDLER MOVED AND PLACE SECONDED TO AMEND THE MOTION BY ADDING DIRECTION TO STAFF TO BRING BACK A POLICY ISSUE TO ANALYZE, WITH A CONSULTANT, COMMUNITY INTEREST IN AN AQUATIC CENTER. The motion carried by a unanimous roll call vote. The question was called for a vote on the amended motion. The motion carried by a 6 -1 roll call vote; Bonlender voting any. Following is the blended recommendations referred to in the motion: (1) Close Miller Pool, demolish and construct new basketball courts for 2005. Cost: $100,000 (2) Close Eisenhower and defer demolition pending future discussion with School District in 2005 Cost: $5,000 (3) Make repairs to Franklin Pool in 2005 Cost: $25,000 4 P 10, APRIL 5, 2005 (4) a) Continue operation of Washington Pool for 2005 season only. b) Process and install aquatic water spray facility for activation in 2006 season. Cost: $120,000 c) Close Washington Pool in 2006 concurrent with activation of spray facility. Budget 2006 demolition cost: $75,000 (5) Reallocate future pool operating cost savings in 2006, and later years, for alternative summer youth programs, including aquatics (6) Create policy issue to analyze community interest for an aquatic center Following a short break, the meeting reconvened at 4:20 p.m. 8. Consideration of Council policy regarding mandatory recycling Nancy Fortier, Refuse Manager, referred to a study session held in February that discussed various recycling options. Staff is now asking for direction on whether to change to mandatory, or maintain the current voluntary recycling program through Yakima Waste Systems. Mrs. Fortier clarified the different levels of "mandatory ", one being mandatory pay (included in the customer rates) and you are encouraged to recycle, and the other being mandatory recycling, e.g. Seattle. Currently in Yakima, the customer pays if they want to recycle but if you don't want to, you don't pay. Scott Robertson, Yakima Waste Systems, explained that they closed approximately 30 drop sites in the greater urban area last fall because they offer curbside recycling on a subscription basis. At that time they had about 1,000 recycle customers in Yakima, and that figure has grown to about 2,000. They expect that number to go down when they receive their separate bills at 3, 6, and 9 months. He listed a number of ways to do curbside recycling and explained that the only issue for today's discussion is whether to make it mandatory or not. Discussion continued on levels of recycling, who does it where, and the need for public education. Council Member Bonlender said the issue is, does Yakima want to recycle. If they do, the next issue would be how we are going to do it. Discussion then went into the market for recyclable materials. Kevin Jorgensen, Manufacturing Operations Manager for Michelsen Packaging, and Vic Valdez, Manager of Central Washington Recycling, spoke about the volume of volunteer efforts, thousands of people, who bring their recyclables to them. Dan Beddison, Michelsen Packaging Controller, said it is their opinion that mandatory payment for recycling is equivalent to putting a tax on every household in Yakima and that an opt -out version may available but isn't really functional. They feel the tonnage of recycling in Yakima is comparable to other cities our size. He noted that there are people who rely on the income from collecting cans and papers. Council Member Whitman commented that Yakima is not one of the big cities and we do not need to do mandatory recycling right now. We are doing things to encourage recycling and are working on how to get information to the public to recycle. WHITMAN MOVED AND PLACE SECONDED TO LEAVE RECYCLING THE WAY IT CURRENTLY IS. Mayor George read a note against mandatory recycling from Bernard Poremba. Leslie Wahl, 2403 West Yakima Avenue, - submitted a letter on behalf of the Audubon Society originally written to the Council in September of 2004. Since that time a citizens group has been meeting and exploring ways to encourage recycling in the City. They support the concept of mandatory recycling. Clarence Barnett, 916 South 17 Avenue, spoke against 5 1:0 2.L APRIL 5, 2005 mandatory curbside recycling, due to the high level of poverty in Yakima. They simply cannot afford the additional expense and many are supplementing their income from recycling on their own. Mike Hunnel, 913 South 4th Avenue, did not agree with mandatory recycling as he does it himself. He felt the City would be getting paid twice, once for the pick up fee and then by selling the material. Troy Emmons, Budget Strategy Team Co- Chair, suggested the item be tabled or rejected until more information is available and all options can be considered. Mayor George suggested this would be a good subject for the Strategy Team. Bob Bieren, 3806 Meadow Lane, suggested the City start it's own recycling sites on property they own and staff it with retirees at minimum wage. He felt the sites could be self - supporting. He was against mandatory recycling. Robert Owen, 614 North 3rd Street, spoke against mandatory recycling. JoAnn Showalter commented that recycling is about services and dollars. People have to be hired but jobs would become available. She suggested making allowances for those who cannot afford to pay by having a sliding scale. Council Member Bonlender spoke against the motion stating that the Council should philosophically agree on mandatory recycling and figure out how to do it, whether there be a sliding scale, opting out, etc. The question was called for a vote on the motion. The motion carried by a 5 -2 roll call vote; Bonlender and McClure voting nay. *9. Consideration of Resolution approving an application for SIED Funds for Jeld Wen expansion project RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -53, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager to execute and submit grant and loan applications with Yakima County for funding from the Yakima County Supporting Investments in Economic Development (SIED) Fund for infrastructure improvements necessary for the North 6 Avenue Jeld Wen Expansion project. *10. Consideration of Resolution authorizing execution of a contract amendment with Huibregtse Louman Associates for professional engineering services during the construction of a school - related sidewalk project RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -54, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager to execute an addendum to a professional services agreement with Huibregtse, Louman Associates, Inc. to add engineering services during construction of a school - related sidewalk project. *11. Consideration of Resolutions authorizing execution of agreements for pool rental during the 2005 swim team season with: A. Yakima Athletic Club RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -55, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute an agreement with the Yakima Athletic Club for rental of city pool facilities for the 2005 swim team season. 6 1.0 3. APRIL 5, 2005 B. YMCA RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -56, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the City Manager of the City of Yakima to execute an agreement with the YMCA for rental of city pool facilities for the 2005 swim team season. *12. Consideration of Resolution authorizing execution of agreement with Washington State Department of Transportation for maintenance and operation of signal equipment at the intersection of 18 Street and Nob Hill Blvd. RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -57, A RESOLUTION authorizing the City Manager of the City of Yakima or his designee, to execute an Agreement for Signal Maintenance to enable the State of Washington to perform certain activities regarding the maintenance and operation of the traffic signal system located at East Nob Hill Boulevard and South 18 Street during and after the construction of roadways and appurtenant improvements at the interchange of Interstate 82 and State Route 24 by the State of Washington. *13. Approval of the 2004 Year -End Budget Revenue and Expenditure Report The 2004 Year -End Budget Revenue and Expenditure Report was approved. *14. Approval of the 2004 Pretreatment Annual Report The 2004 Pretreatment Annual Report was approved. *15. Set date of hearings for April 19, 2005: A. Public Hearing to consider the Hearing Examiner's recommendation to deny an alley right -of -way vacation in the vicinity of North 9 th and D Streets, requested by Vaughn Bay Construction? April 19, 2005 was set as the date of Public Hearing to consider the Hearing Examiner's recommendation to deny an alley right -of -way vacation in the vicinity of North 9 th and D Streets, requested by Vaughn Bay Construction. B. Public Hearing to consider the appeal filed by Nazir Karmali of a Determination of Significance issued for his proposal to change the Future Land Use Map designation for property located at the southwest corner of No. 40 Avenue and Powerhouse Rd. from low density residential to neighborhood commercial April 19, 2005 was set as the date of Public Hearing to consider the appeal filed by Nazir Karmali of a Determination of Significance issued for his proposal to change the Future Land Use Map designation for property located at the southwest corner of No. 40 Avenue and Powerhouse Rd. from low density residential to neighborhood commercial. 7 10 APRIL 5, 2005 ORDINANCES 16. Consideration of draft Ordinance establishing a policy for naming and renaming city streets This item was removed from the Agenda (deferred until 4/19/05) 17. Consideration of legislation relating to the declaration of a drought emergency: Dave Brown, Water & Irrigation Manager, said there are two areas needing consideration; a resolution declaring a drought, and an ordinance establishing criteria for drinking water. Governor Gregoire declared a drought on March 10 We now need an ordinance where the City Council officially declares a drought. The irrigation ordinance currently says the City Manager has the authority to institute certain types of conservation matters once Council declares an emergency. Discussion continued on the current water situation in the valley. The City Clerk read the resolution by title only, SIMS MOVED AND EDLER SECONDED TO ADOPT THE RESOLUTION. The resolution puts us in compliance with the state. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. A. Resolution making a determination of an emergency with respect to the City's domestic and irrigation water systems RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -58, A RESOLUTION making a determination of emergency with respect to the City of Yakima's domestic and irrigation water systems. The City Clerk read the Ordinance by title only, SIMS MOVED AND WHITMAN SECONDED TO PASS THE ORDINANCE. This ordinance goes into effect immediately. The motion carried by unanimous roll call vote. City Manager Zais commented that every effort would be made to inform everyone ahead of time before measures would be instituted. B. Ordinance amending the Municipal Code, establishing authority for the City Manager to impose water conservation measures during droughts and water shortages, and declaring an emergency providing for an effective date of April 13, 2005 ORDINANCE NO. 2005 -16, AN ORDINANCE establishing authority for the City Manager to impose water conservation measures during droughts and water shortages; adding a new section of chapter 7.68 of the Yakima Municipal Code; declaring an emergency; and providing for an effective date. Mr. Brown advised the Council that Randy Beehler, Community Relations Manager, has developed a Power Point slide show on 42 ways to save water, put conservation measures in this month's Issues Brief, and conservation information is being supplied in the utility bills. They are also working with the newspaper and television stations to get conservation word out to the public. 8 10:5, APRIL 5, 2005 *18. Consideration of Legislation regarding the AFSCME 2005 -2007 Collective Bargaining Agreement: A. Resolution authorizing execution of Collective Bargaining Agreement RESOLUTION NO. R- 2005 -59, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the City Manager to execute a collective bargaining agreement between the City of Yakima and Council 2, Washington State Council of County and City Employees, representing Local 1122 General Municipal Employees regarding wages, hours, and working conditions through 2007. B. Ordinance amending the Classification and Compensation Plan relating to the AFSCME Collective Bargaining settlement ORDINANCE NO. 2005 -17, AN ORDINANCE relating to City personnel; adopting a classification and compensation plan for the City employees to be effective May 8, 2005; amending Subsections 2.20.110 a, 2.20.110 C, and 2.20.110 F, all of the City of Yakima Municipal Code. *19. Second Reading of Ordinance amending the 2005 budget and appropriating funds for construction of wastewater main improvement related to the expansion of the Cub Crafters Manufacturing Facility An ordinance amending the 2005 budget and appropriating funds for construction of wastewater main improvement related to the expansion of the Cub Crafters Manufacturing Facility, previously having been read by title only, was brought before the Council for a second reading. ORDINANCE NO. 2005 -18, AN ORDINANCE amending the 2005 budget for the City of Yakima, and making an appropriation of $50,000 in the 476 - Wastewater Construction Fund to construct Wastewater main improvements related to the expansion of the Cub Crafters manufacturing facility. 20. Other Business A. Set date of public hearing for April 19, 2005 to consider providing Community Development Block Grant funds to Maytag Services to locate a consumer contact center in the City's Renewal Community area City Manager Zais announced that a new business, Maytag Services Center, is moving to Yakima. We have met with them and talked about some opportunities we felt we could offer such as the Renewal Community Program. One choice was to look at the existing budget for unobligated block grant funds. We made an offer to allocate $55,000 as a financial incentive to bring new jobs to Yakima thereby offsetting some of their costs. This will be tied to a contract to bring jobs to Yakima. A public hearing will need to be held and a contract will need to be executed. PLACE MOVED AND BONLENDER SECONDED TO SET APRIL 19, 2005 AS'A DATE FOR PUBLIC HEARING ON THE MAYTAG PROPOSAL. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. It was noted that they hope to start their business as early as next month. 9 10ia APRIL 5, 2005 Council Member Edler asked for clarification on why the City has asked the Neighbors for Responsible Development (NFRD) to do an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). Bill Cook, Community and Economic Development Manager, explained that the NFRD submitted a proposed Comprehensive Plan amendment that was extremely broad and required more analysis based on their proposed commercial criteria. Any proposal that has a significant impact on the community, by state law, requires an EIS. City Manager Zais advised that the City gave the NFRD several choices to redesign their proposal that they rejected which resulted in the issuance of the Determination of Significance (DS). B. Executive Session McCLURE MOVED AND WHITMAN SECONDED TO MOVE INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION TO DISCUSS PENDING LITIGATION FOLLOWED BY ADJOURNMENT TO 7:30 A.M. APRIL 12, 2005 FOR STUDY SESSION ON THE DOWNTOWN YAKIMA COMMITTEE. The motion carried by unanimous voice vote. • Information Items Items of interest provided to Council were: March Yakima Basin Storage Alliance Report; Planning Division Assignments Pending as of April 5, 2005; Article from the March 25, 2005 Puget Sound Business Journal, "Cargo Surge: Jumbo Ships Will Test Region "; March 21, 2005 WashACE (Washington Alliance for a Competitive Economy) Competitiveness Brief, "Wallowing in Sin Taxes" • 21. Adjournment Following the Executive Session, the meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BYrt! OUNC EMBER DATE COUNCIL MEMBER DATE ATTEST: q a- 4 - d - C • CITY CLERK PAUL P. GEORGE, MAYOR 4 Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. An audio and video tape of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office 10