HomeMy WebLinkAbout10/23/2007 Adjourned Meeting / Study Session 5.3
ADJOURNED MEETING / STUDY SESSION
OCTOBER 23, 2007
8:00 -9:30 A.M.
COUNCIL CHAMBERS - YAKIMA CITY HALL
1. Roll CaII
Present:
Council: Mayor Dave Edier, presiding, Council Members Ron Bonlender,
Micah Cawley, Norm Johnson, Bill Lover, Neil McClure, and Susan
Whitman
Staff: City Manager Zais, Bill Cook, Community and Economic Director,
Jeff Peters, Assistant Planner, Ken Harper, Counsel, and Deputy
Clerk Watkins
Brett Sheffield, Chief Engineer, made an announcement regarding the Burlington
Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) railroad crossings. He had received a call from John
Lee of BNSF giving us permission to remove the crossings that are no longer in
service. BNSF will remove the five that are within their right -of -way and the City
will remove the remaining eight. The work should be done the week of November
5` The tracks are located on Lincoln Avenue and Martin Luther King Boulevard
and the work will require detours to shut down sections of the road.
2. Critical Areas Ordinance Update
Bill Cook, Community and Economic Development Director, introduced the study
session topic, Yakima Urban Area Critical Areas Ordinance Update. No action is
expected today; the intent of the session is to allow the City Council to review the
' information prior to the public hearing that will be held later in the year. This update
is a mandatory action of the Growth Management Act. Although it is due December
1, 2007, it will not be completed by that date. Mr. Cook explained the reasons why:
• The City joined with the County rather than duplicating efforts.
• Best Available Science was used through a group developed by the County.
• The City waited until the County reached a certain point of completion before
fine tuning it for the City's urban area.
Ken Harper, counsel for the City, gave an overview of the draft update. The Critical
Areas Ordinance is a defined set of land types in the state that gets special
regulatory protection. It is one of the main goals of the Growth Management Act.
We have to do two things, 1) acknowledge and identify critical areas, and 2) protect
them. We do that by changing development regulations to make them compatible.
We must protect the critical areas based on "best available science." It is up to each
jurisdiction to make that assessment. The County created a science advisory group
in 2004, and over a two -year period identified the best available science for
regulation purposes. Former Council Member Place and Council Member McClure,
along with Planning staff, participated in that process. Mr. Harper described a recent
challenge in Skagit County about whether protection .means an obligation to enhance
critical area buffers. The Supreme Court determined nothing in the ordinance
required enhancement of the protected areas. Mr. Harper also explained the reason
the City will miss the December 1 deadline. The City was trying to allow the County
ADJOURNED MEETING — OCTOBER 23, 2007
process to go as far as it could so we would benefit from it before invoking our own
regional planning hearings. We started the hearings in late August, but will miss the
deadline as there is not enough time to give proper notice, hold the public hearings,
and present it to Council. As a result of missing the date, the City will be out of
compliance with the update process changing our eligibility for Public Works Trust
Fund money and the Centennial Clean Water fund. It doesn't make us ineligible for
anything else, nor is it expected to last more than a very short time. We expect our
non - compliance to be a revenue - neutral situation and will be back in compliance
prior to applying for any Public Works Trust funds.
Jeff Peters, Assistant Planner, also reviewed activities to date. The update process
started in January 2004 with a county -wide planning committee. On February 28,
2007, Yakima County finished review of their draft document and sent it to the City
for review. City staff reviewed it to 1) remove redundancy, 2) ensure it met urban
planning principles, 3) that the standards applied are the minimal required and
backed by federal and state regulations, and 4) remove all regulations that don't
apply the City's area, e.g. mining. The Regional Planning Commission (RPC) began
reviewing the document in September. The RPC will finish their review, it will receive
a legal review, some editing, and finally, the creation of the final document. It is
planned to go before Council for adoption by February 2008 at the latest.
John Hodkinson, Chairman of the Regional Planning Commission, explained their
review process. He said they worked at ensuring there was flexibility by allowing the
ability to reduce some of the requirements based on logic. He said their hope was to
not encumber the development of the City yet protect the things that need protecting.
He also urged the Council to consider looking into increasing the Planning budget to
assist in speeding up projects that would allow for better relations with the citizens.
Mr. Cook described the rest of the process. Once the Regional Planning
Commission is done, Mr. Harper will finish his final review. The update will then go
through a 60 -day review by the state (CTED). During that time frame it will also go
through the public review process.
3. Audience comments - none
4. Presentation of 2008 Preliminary Budget Forecast
•
City Manager Zais described the budget process that begins in June each year. He
spoke about the new Council Budget Committee chaired by Council Member Lover.
• The budget is a policy document for City Council incorporating their strategic
direction and priorities for Yakima. It is a communication document, a community
investment plan, and a report card on the City's financial position. The 2008 budget
is lean, balanced, approximately $180 million, and about 3.5% more than the
amended 2007 budget. He then gave highlights of the Capital Budget. At $43.5
million for 2008, it is $1.5 million more than 2007. The most notable capital
improvement is the beginning of the railroad project on Lincoln Avenue. Mr. Zais
reviewed the labor settlements pointing out that the negotiated 0% increase in 2007
represented $1.5 million in savings. The Council Budget Committee asked City
management to identify spending reductions and over $1.5 million were identified,
$800,000 of which have been incorporated into the 2008 budget: Mr. Zais detailed
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ADJOURNED MEETING — OCTOBER 23, 2007
balancing the budget, dependency on cash, the reserves, the impacts of labor
. settlements, unfunded state mandates, jail costs, and the economy. He identified
many of the reductions.
With regard to staffing, there are only a few positions being added. There will be a
new Deputy Police Chief proposed beginning mid -year. There will be an additional
inspector for the Code Department to support the increasing work volume. Although
we are not where we want to be with regard to criminal justice needs, there will be
the addition of six police officer positions and a crime analyst. We are preparing to
go back to Olympia to seek additional state funding in this area. .
Rita DeBord, Finance and Budget Director, described the budget schedule noting the
Council will be meeting to review various sections each Tuesday in November.
• November 6 will begin with the Community and Economic Development area,
November 13 will be the Public Works divisions, November 20 covers City
Administration and Municipal Court, Police and Fire, and November 27 will be
Finance and all other utilities, e.g. Water /Irrigation, Wastewater and Stormwater.
• Those meetings will be held from 8:30 a.m. until noon. There are two public
hearings scheduled for the Council Business meeting the evening of November 20
The first will be on the budget, and outside agencies will present their requests. The
second hearing is on property tax. The first two Tuesdays of December will be the
budget wrap up and budget approval. Following this schedule allows for the budget
to be finalized and in place by the end of December 2007. Council Member Lover
expressed concern about the time constraints of the schedule. Mr. Zais explained
that if there are any policy issues that need further review, the Council may defer that
item.
5. Adjournment
BONLENDER MOVED AND CAWLEY SECONDED TO ADJOURN TO
OCTOBER 30 AT 8:00 A.M. IN THE COUNCIL CHAMBERS FOR A STUDY
SESSION ON WASTEWATER COST OF SERVICE STUDY AND
CONNECTION CHARGE STUDY. The motion carried by unanimous voice .
vote. The meeting adjourned at 9:55 a.m.
READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY dar
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COUNCIL MM BER DATE
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ATTEST:
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CITY CLERK DAVID EDL` MA' OR
Minutes prepared by Linda Watkins. A CD and DVD of this meeting are available in the City Clerk's Office
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