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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11/01/1988 Study Session 001 NOVEMBER 1, 1988 -' STUDY SESSION 1. ROLL CALL ' The City Council met in session on this date at 2:00 P.M. in the Council Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington. Council members present were Mayor Pat Berndt, Clarence Barnett, Henry Beauchamp, Lynn Buchanan, Lynn Carmichael, Jerry Foy, and Bernard Sims. City Manager Zais, City Attorney Vanek, City Clerk Roberts and Deputy City Clerk Toney also present. • 2. INVOCATION . The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Council member Carmichael. 3. OPEN DISCUSSION FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER Council member Barnett gave a report on his visit to four citizens thought by Larry Mathews to be harboring Pit Bull dogs inside the city limits. Mr. Barnett stated he did not see any dogs that he would classify as Pit Bull dogs. Animal Control Officer Wright conducted an investigation and was allowed to photograph the dogs in question. The photographs and a written report on the matter - was distributed to Council members. Mr. Barnett said he "also reviewed the documentation in the files indicating the action•.. aken..by? >the Animal Control Officers regarding- known Pit Bulls inside the City after the passage 'of the ordinance banning them and learned that twenty Pit Bulls were put to sleep, four were removed from the City limits and two were registered and insured in compliance with the ordinance. However, he added that Animal Controll Officer Wright impounded two Pit Bulls Friday, October 28th. Council member Barnett stated he believes the Animal Control Office has taken'the appropriate measures in dealing with these issues as III they are brought to the City's attention on a complaint basis. He - commented he believes that the ordinance is being enforced. Council - member Sims reported that made contact with Pacific Power and Light and Cascade Natural Gas and asked them to forward any complaints regarding Pit Bulls to the City Council. Mr. Sims added that both agencies were - very complimentary of the City's response to this particular issue. Council member Foy said the records indicate that City staff has handled the matter very well, adding that accusations such as those made by Mr. Mathews are without merit and hopefully the citizens wil recognize this. Council member Carmichael stated she has a conflict on Thursday, November 3rd and will be unable to attend the Downtown Area Redevelopment Committee meeting and asked if another Council member might be able to attend. Mayor Berndt indicated she would check her calendar to see if she is available. . City Manager Zais reported that the Office of Housing and Neighborhood Conservation recently received a Certificate of National Recognition . from the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development for their Private /Public Urban Homesteading Program. Housing Manager Dixie Kracht cemented she believes the award is a result of the cooperation received from the'City'Council and the community in relationship to•this program. Director of Engineering and Utilities, Dennis Covell, stated notification has been received by the Engineering Division that the • III City of Yakima has again received the 1987 Best Paving Award for the Tieton Drive Project. Mr. Covell said the award will be shared with the City Council once it has been recieved. Council member Foy informed Mayor Berndt that he and Council member Barnett will be unable to attend the meeting with the City of Union Gap scheduled on Wednesday, November 2, 1988. City Manager Zais askedlif there will be a quorum for this meeting and at least four Council members indicated they would be available for the meeting. • 002 NOVEMBER 1, 1988 4. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Leslie Rollins, 207 South 4th Street, addressed the City Council about juveniles being used to sell drugs on the streets. She stated it has been reported to the Police Department that drug trafficking is occurring at a specific address, but no action has been taken. Ms. Rollins was asked to meet with Chief Green to discuss the matter. She thanked the City Council for doing such a good job in the community on the drug problem. • Jerry Klingele, 2106 West Yakima Avenue, representing merchants of Scarborough Fair Shopping Center,. asked that the City Council amend Section 6.04.110 of the Municipal Code regarding the discharging of a firearm within the City limits. He stated the merchants of Scarborough Fair Shopping Center intend to re- establish the Wassail Ceremony which calls for discharging a .shotgun through the wassail tree to scare away_ the evil spirits. This Wassail Ceremony is to be held on Saturday, November 12, 1988 at 3:00 P.M. City Attorney Vanek stated he will attempt to find a solution prior to November 12th. 5. REPORT FROM STAFF REGARDING ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON COMPREHENSIVE UTILITY PLANS Assistant, City Attorney Stouder stated the purpose of today's report is to review the status of the Comprehensive Utility Plans, respond to Council's inquiries, and set a date for a public hearing on the Plans for�T November 22, •1988. He stated those aspects of the Plans remaining unresolved will be removed from the adoption process. It was the-, consensus of the Council to discuss the various aspects of the Plans individually. Council member Buchanan suggested rather than discussing the irrigation aspect of the Plan today, that a Council Committee be formed to review and discuss this issue and report back to the City Council. • A. LETTER DATED OCTOBER 4, 1988 FROM PRESTON, THORGRIMSON 9• Council member Barnett referred to page 6, the last paragraph of the above named document, which states "after the current moratorium ends, the City should be able to reserve future water rights ". He then referred to the staff memorandum of April 8, 1988, regarding the conversion of water rights to the Water Treatment Plant which states, "the DOE will not consider transfer of diversion points until after the adjudication of the Acquavella Case." Mr. Barnett stated in view of this statement, he thinks a decision on this particular issue would be premature. Secondly, he stated on June 12, 1987, he asked "what is the legal basis for providing irrigation water to the districts without water rights ?" He explained that Table 34 of the Water Plan reflected several districts without water rights and staff was going to add some districts that had been inadvertently omitted. Mr. Barnett stated the staff memorandum of December 1987 indicated a response to this question would be provided by legal counsel and he does not recall ever having received a response, however, it may be irrelevant now because DOE requested a table showing .all of the City water rights and the claims for irrigation= and the municipal supply. Mr. Barnett asked if there is • an inconsistency in the reports? Mr. Stouder stated there are no districts., without water rights and this issue has been clarified in the final_ printing of the document. • Mayor Berndt expressed concern with the number of times the word "probably" is mentioned in this document from Preston, Thorgrimson. Council member Beauchamp stated.he,would like to have more information on the cost of converting from irrigation water to domestic water. Council member Barnett stated it is his understanding that there will be a significant impact on the water treatment process under new treatment standards that are being developed. He said staff and Council needs to be able to equate those.additional costs as compared to the cost of other alternatives for irrigation water. • 003 NOVEMBER 1 ,4988 • • B. MEMORANDUM DATED SEPTEMBER 20, 1988 BY PRESTON, THORGRIMSON REGARDING SEWER CCRC Addressing his inquiries to Assistant City Manager Stouder, Council member Foy stated, "The memorandums relating to the Capital Cost Recovery Charge in the sewer system, which relates back to the final memo in which staff suggests a decision on implementation stating; if I read this correctly, where it talks about probably prohibited in doing some new:, CCRC for customers already connected; and if that response is true, then it ties to the fact that in the DOE letter of 7/12/88 which talks about the lack of trunk line funding for the next five years, it would seem to be a,primary concern that if the existing plan fails in this area, that if new lines are not constructed in five years, we can't charge the existing customers. If that is the case, and we don't have a plan for new construction, then I read the conclusion on page 7 which says it may . impose a new CCRC in previously unserved areas to help finance trunk lines in those areas, those meaning specifically there. In part of the plan it talked about a city wide implementation, but the way I read this, does this means the funds are restricted to the areas they are collected .. in and can't be used in the other areas? If that is true, then I have difficulty with staff's suggestion that we delay the 96% surcharge for 120 days; but then they are asking us to create an action that is important to provide implementation effective January 1, 1989. Those two _ things tie back to what I am talking about and if we are restricted in the CCRC to the area you collect it in, our whole plan, not only does it. need a public hearing, but it's going to probably need some changing ' because I see that driving the 1992 10% to possibly be a lot higher. .Am I interpreting this correctly ?" • Mr. Stouder responded that the first, comment regarding the DOE's concern about the engineering plan is merely a bargaining position and is more of a verbal issue with DOE. He said some engineering is being done now and more will be done over the next five years. City Manager Zais: interjected that the CCRC is not a great source of revenue, nor is it a substitute for the rate increase or the grants received by the City. He. . explained that because the CCRC is paid over such a long period of time the City receives a relatively minor amount of capital cost revenue each year. Chris Waarvick stated the Comp Plan recommends that the current CCRC rate be increased as allowed by the ordinance. He said the • ordinance prohibits charging residents inside the City a CCRC even if a new connection is made. He added there will not be an increase to. anyone who has already paid the connection charges or .CCRC. He said staff would like to see the CCRC adjusted to the actual construction cost experienced at the Treatment Plant and applied to new connections. Also, for new connections, there is a suggested CCRC, or an impact charge, to develop reserves for the 7 -8 million dollars in trunk lines. that the DOE, the County, West Valley residents and other residents want to see constructed. He stated City of Yakima residents do not contribute to that. The Financing Plan presently does not anticipate or include revenue increases from any CCRC issue; they have been left out . until .those issues can be dealt with, either separately or together.' Council member Barnett asked that the revision of the Plan be very . explicit and clear in the part of the Plan that addresses this because it can be interpreted in several ways. Mr. Waarvick stated basically the new CCRC is a funding mechanism for all the trunk lines that we have planned to serve that urban area. Council member Foy asked how staff would interpret the acceptance of this " report by Council today? Mr. Stouder said if Council accepts the report staff will conduct a public hearing on November 22nd and a proposed adoption date in December to formally adopt the remaining aspects of the rate schedule and finance plan and defer for 120 days the surcharge" option related to the Comprehensive Sewer Plan and the irrigation aspect, of the Comprehensive Water Plan. City Manager Zais stated it is important that a public hearing be held on the Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plans, except for the two aspects of the plans that need further work,.and adopt a resolution.to be submitted with the grant applications. He stated the Plans can be amended as needed after further consideration by Council, however, it is imperative that a resolution adopting the • plans accompany the grant applications to submit to DOE. 004 NOVEMBER 1, 1988 C. LETTER TO PAUL BURLINGAME (AND OTHERS) DATED SEPTEMBER, 27, 1988 ON RATTLESNAKE CREEK STUDY COSTS Council member Barnett asked if there has been any response to the letter sent to various parties about their participation in the costs relating the the water storage project? Mr. Stouder responded he has not received any written responses from other cities saying they will participate in the costs of the study, but they have indicated they would like that option to be kept open. Mr. Stouder stated he believes there will not be a strong interest in the financial part of the plan, however, he will ask for a response on this issue. City Manager Zais reiterated that Council recommendation today should be to accept the report, call for a public hearing to be held on November-I 22, 1988, on those parts of the Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plans recommended for action before the end of the year, and acknowledge the deletion of the irrigation component and surcharge from that adoption process, and then appoint a Council Committee to further study the options for the irrigation system. Council member Barnett asked how much revenue will the City lose by • delaying the adoption of the surcharge for 120 days. Chris Waarvick responded $50,000 - $75,000 depending on the length of the delay., - Following further discussion, it was MOVED by Buchanan, seconded by Foy, to accept the report and call for a public hearing to be held November 22, 1988 on the Comprehensive Water and Sewer Plans, except for the irrigation and surcharge portions of the reports. Unanimously carried by voice vote. D. IRRIGATION SYSTEM STATUS 1 Council member Buchanan stated there is currently a major problem with District #308, the oldest irrigation system in the City. He said the City needs to establish a policy regarding irrigation systems in general and Council should start working on this now rather than delaying this further. It was the consensus of the Council that Council member' Buchanan will chair the committee and the remaining committee members will be decided later. E. MEMORANDUM ON OUTSIDE UTILITY SURCHARGE No further discussion occurred on this aspect of the Comprehensive Sewer Plan. 6. OTHER BUSINESS Council member Carmichael initiated a brief discussion on extending' transit service hours to 10:30 P.M. through the Holiday Season. She said the Yakima Mall is open until 9:00 P.M. and on Sunday, therefore, '- Council may wish to consider this on a long term basis. Mr. Copeland stated staff would be interested in extending the transit hours if it would be cost effective. It was MOVED by Carmichael, seconded by Foy, to direct staff to present information on the cost effectiveness of - extending daily transit service to 10:00 P.M. and add service on Sunday from November 21st to December 31, 1988. Unanimously carried by voice vote. Assistant City Manager Stouder asked what issues Council members would like to place on the agenda for the meeting with Congressman Sid Morrison. Council member Foy stated he would like the Mayor to write a letter thanking Congressman Morrison and Assistant City Manager Fred Stouder for their assistance in obtaining the grant for the John I. Haas project. Mr. Foy stated he would also like to see a certificate of merit - presented to Congressman Morrison and Mr. Stouder for their efforts on behalf of this project. Following a 'brief discussion it was decided' that the topics to be discussed with Congressman Morrison would be a status of the SunDome, the DEA Task Force, and the Yakima River Basin Enhancement Project. Information items: Items of information supplied to Council were: Memo from Director of Public Works regarding Christmas Bus, 10/11/88; Memo from Director of 005 NOVEMBER 1, 1988 Public Works regarding Council..Questions .on the Softball Tournament Report, 10/27/88; Transit Operations Report for September 1988; Letter from KIT /KATS Radio commending Sergeant Doug Bronson, Police Department, for outstanding job as communication liaison between news media and. Police command center during recent hostage situation, 10/24/88; Article. • from 10/25/88 newspaper, "Water Rules May Cost Homeowners "; Article from 10/27/88 The New York Times, "Mayors See Increase in Children's Problems "; Memo from Cable TV Coordinator regarding Municipal Programming Update (10/21/88) and minutes of the August 9 and September 13, 1988 Community Programming Advisory Committee meetings; Agenda for October 26, 1988 Yakima District Board of Health meeting and minutes of its September 28, 1988 meeting and Agenda for October 26, 1988 Yakima Housing Authority Board meeting and minutes of its September 28, 1988 meeting. 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY It was MOVED by Buchanan, seconded by Carmichael, to move into executive session for'approximately fifteen minutes regarding the acquisition of property followed by immediate adjournment to the November 2, 1988 at 11:30 A.M. for a meeting with the City of Union Gap. Unanimously carried by voice vote. 8. ADJOURNMENT TO NOVEMBER 2, 1988 AT 11:30 A.M., HOLIDAY INN FOR MEETING WITH CITY OF UNION GAP • Following the completion of the Executive Session, the meeting was„ adjourned at the hour of 3:4 P.M. / READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY • A - ) a I A r IL Or DATE ATTEST: C CI / ' : R . DATEI III (J / M 'hP„�✓ .�J CITY CLERK, CMC MAYOR • (Minutes prepared by Deputy City Clerk, Barbara J. Toney, CMC.) NOVEMBER 2, 1988 Meeting was cancelled. See pages 012 -1 through 012 -4 containing the minutes of the November 3, 1988 Special Meeting /Joint Law Facility discussion. • • •