HomeMy WebLinkAbout02/14/1989 Adjourned Meeting loo •
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FEBRUARY 14, 1989
1. ROLL CALL
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The City Council met in session on this date at 2:00 P.M. in the
Council Chambers of City Hall, Yakima, Washington. Mayor Pat
Berndt, presiding, Council members Clarence Barnett, Henry
Beauchamp, Lynn Buchanan, Lynn Carmichael, and Jerry Foy present
on roll call. Council member Bernard Sims absent and excused.
City Manager Zais, City Attorney Vanek, City Clerk Roberts and
Deputy City Clerk Toney also present.
2. INVOCATION
The Invocation was given by Council member Beauchamp.
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3. OPEN DISCUSSION FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER
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Council -Member Carmichael stated' She would like to clarify the
issue of the letter received by all of the Council members from
Lorne House, opposing formation of a relationship between the City
of Yakima and the Soviet Union. Mrs. Carmichael indicated this is
not a sister city relationship with the City of Yakima, but rather
• Yakima County, therefore, the City will not be conducting any
. .'public hearing on the issue; if there is a hearing; it should be
with the County Commissioners. -
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4. CONSENT 'AGENDA
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Mayor Berndt referred to the items placed on the Consent Agenda,
questioning whether there were any additions or deletions from
either Council members or citizens present. It was the consensus
of the Council that the minutes of December 13, 20, 1988 and
January 3, 1989, be tabled for one week. The City Clerk then read
the Consent Agenda items, including resolutions and ordinances by
title. IT WAS - MOVED BY CARMICHAEL, SECONDED BY_BUCHANAN., THAT THE
CONSENT .AGENDA;.,: AS .READ,:':BE' PASSED. Unanimously carried by roll
call vote. (Subsequent paragraphs preceded by an asterisk ( *)
indicate items on the Consent Agenda handled under one motion
without further discussion.)
*5. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF THE COUNCIL MEETINGS OF DECEMBER 6, 13 AND
20, 1988 AND JANUARY 3, 1989
The Council minutes of December 6, 1988 were approved, having been
duly certified accurate by two Council members and no one present
wishing to have said minutes read publicly. The minutes of
December 13, 20, 1988 and January 3, 1989 were tabled for one
week.
6. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION
Charles Kriz, 5708 Bitterroot Lane, addressed Council regarding
drug concerns, and the need for military help to resolve this
matter. He also referred to comments made last week by Phil
Pleasant in which Mr. Pleasant stated the City needs to concentrate
on providing job opportunities for minorities rather than
. incarcerating them.
7. RECONSIDERATION OF REPORT FROM LEGAL DEPARTMENT REGARDING PROPOSED
LEGISLATION ON UTILITY TAXES, INCLUDING INTRASTATE LONG DISTANCE
TAX CHARGES (CONTINUED FROM FEBRUARY 7, 1989)
City Manager Zais,commented on the materials supplied to Council
regarding the above mentioned items. He reviewed the memorandum
from the Director of Finance and Budget regarding the impact of
the choices presented today. Mr. Zais stated Table 1 illustrates
what happens if the franchise relationship is not changed with U.S.
West Communications, and proceed with raising the limitation on
utility tax from $500 to $3,000 as Council previously directed and
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FEBRUARY 14, 1989
then extend the tax as allowed by the law. He stated Table 1 does
not allow the City to extend a 6% tax to the other companies that
provide intrastate toll charges, and this results in .less revenue
returns to the City. Table 1 shows that the City would.be applying
a tax of 4.4% rather than 6 %, and does not accomplish the revenue
objectives that Council was seeking when direction was given to
implement the intrastate toll, and this is further affected by the
relationship with U.S. West on the franchise. Mr. Zais stated
Table 2 allows the City to impose the full 6% tax permissible under
state law, to each of the companies that provide long distance
telephone service within the City limits. He pointed out that all
of the revenues are not listed because not all of the data has
been received from the long distance carriers. He stated the
franchises with Pacific Power and Light and Cascade Natural Gas are
not impacted by this and would remain in effect. Mr. Zais stated
the franchise with U.S. West Communications is altered to the
degree that the fee becomes a form of tax, not to exceed the ramp
down requirements of 6% by 1992. He explained that this shows the
annual revenue return, in the case of U.S. West Communications, of
an annual increase of $232,000 imposing the full 6% tax, that is to
say the existing 4.4% together with the 1.6% of the franchise fee
that would be allowed to raise us up to 6% in the total tax that we
would allocate. And at the lower part of the chart, we would have
a deduct of the franchise fee, down to the 0.4% percent level,
subject to further rampdown and that would be ended by 1992. Mr.
Zais said this plan would uphold the Charter and essentially
maintain the same revenue base from the franchise fee to a
franchise tax. He indicated the appropriate ordinance would have
to be presented to Council for adoption, and would likely be
prepared by the office of Preston, Thorgrimson. In the
discussion that followed, Mayor Berndt stated she wished Council
had more information on how much revenue would be generated by
implementing the intrastate toll. Council member Foy stated that
will not be known until the other long distance carriers have
provided the data requested by staff.
Larry Mathews, 805 South 17th Avenue, addressed Council protesting
the presence of Council member Foy due to a conflict of interest
in that it affects his business. Council member Foy responded he
has a letter in file from the attorney general which refutes Mr.
Mathews statement regarding a conflict of interest. Mr. Foy stated
this letter has been reviewed by the City Manager and the City
Attorney and Mr. Mathews is welcome to read it if he desires. Mr.
Mathews stated he supports Option 1 because it is a better deal for
the consumer and will have less impact than Option 2. Mr. Mathews
continued stating Option 2 will immediately increase the phone tax
from 4.4% to 6% with U.S. West Communications paying a 4.4%
franchise fee. He added U.S. West will receive a 1.6% decrease and
in 1990, under Option 2, U.S. West Communications will receive a
0.2% decrease, and in 1991 another 0.2% decrease. Mr. Mathews
stated if the utility tax must be the same for all telephone
businesses, therefore, it can only tax the other telephone
businesses at 4.4 %. He stated he spoke with Pat Dutton, Consumer
Representative in Olympia who told him that cancelling the
franchise tax was a "bad deal for the consumer." Mr. Mathews
stated Mrs. Dutton informed him that the authorized return on the
investment of U.S. West Communications is from 9.4% to 10.5% and
the last report from U.S. West Communications shows the actual
return is 12.42 %, which indicates that the company is over earning.
She also stated the return was probably understated because it is
based on the good faith of U.S. West Communications and the
Commission does not conduct audits on periodic reports. Mrs.
Dutton stated eliminating the franchise fee would probably have
little effect on the utility earnings, however, every little bit
counts and they want to maximize their earnings. In the discussion
that followed, Council member Carmichael stated it is important to
charge a fee that is uniformly applied to all of the utilities
being discussed. She pointed out that Council is not talking about
changing. the City Charter; Council is simply talking about reducing
the fee, not removing the ability to charge a franchise fee in the
future. Council members Barnett and Beauchamp were in agreement
with Council member Carmichael, adding it is time to take action on
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FEBRUARY 14, 1989
this matter or forget it. Following further comments, it was MOVED
BY BARNETT .:BY .BEAUCHAMP:,.'THAT .:'STAFF '.BRING' IN THE
- •APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION TAO ADOPT THE:.CONCEPTS .AND ;POINTS_ ENUMERATED
IN TABLE 2,• Unanimously carried.by voice vote..Sims absent.
*8. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION ADOPTING A WATER COMPREHENSIVE PLAN
RESOLUTION NO. D -5546, A RESOLUTION adopting the 1988 Water
Canprehensive Plan with Appendices for the City of Yakima,
Washington.
* 9. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT WITH
DEPARTMENT OF LABOR AND INDUSTRIES FOR VOCATIONAL REHABILITATION
TRAINING
RESOLUTION NO. D -5547, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager and the City clerk of the City of Yakima to execute an
On- the -Job Training Agreement with Howard Larson and
representatives of the State of Washington for training in the City
wastewater treatment facility.
*10. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF CANAL CROSSING
AGREEMENT WITH COWICHE CANAL COMPANY FOR TIETON DRIVE PROJECT
RESOLUTION NO. D -5548, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager and City Clerk of the City of Yakima to execute a
Canal Crossing Agreement with the Naches - Cowiche Canal Company.
* 11. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING EXECUTION OF RENEWAL
AGREEMENT WITH DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY FOR UTILIZATION OF FIRING
RANGE AT THE YAKIMA FIRING CENTER
RESOLUTION NO. D -5549, A RESOLUTION authorizing and directing the
City Manager and the City Clerk of the City of Yakima to execute an
agreement with the Department of the Army for a license to utilize
a firing range at the Yakima Firing Center.
*12. SET DATE OF PUBLIC HEARING FOR WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
ANNEXATION FOR FEBRUARY 28, 1989
February 28, 1989 was the date set for a public hearing on the
annexation of the Wastewater Treatment Plant property.
*13. SET DATE OF PUBLIC MEETING ON WALNUT AVENUE /8TH AVENUE REZONE FOR
FEBRUARY 21, 1989
February 21, 1989 was set as the date of public meeting on the
rezone of property in the vicinity of Walnut and 8th Avenues.
14. OTHER BUSINESS
Council member Foy announced that he will retire at the end of the
year, fulfilling his four year term. He stated his intent in
making this announcement is to allow those who might be interested
in filing for his Council position time to prepare all of the
necessary paper work.
Regarding the issue of calling for bids for the City's legal
advertiser, Council member Foy asked staff to research the
possibility of the City's local television channel, YCTV, serving
as the City's legal advertiser.
Council member Barnett referred to the article in the morning paper
regarding the possibility of the County receiving $500,000 for
additional jail beds, he asked Chief Green if this will meet the
City's needs. Chief Green responded, "the answer is no." He
stated that this morning he spoke with Commissioner Tollefson who
indicated the County Commissioners will sign the joint letter with
the City Council requesting assistance from the state.
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Information items:
Items • of information supplied to Council were: Memo from
Water /Irrigation Superintendent regarding Recent Subzero
Temperatures and Effects on the Water System. 2/10/89; New Vision
newsletter, In Our Scope, February 1989; Memo from City Attorney
regarding Damage Claims Referred to Insurance Company. 2/2/89;,
Letter from State Building Code Council announcing appointment of
Robert Shampine to serve on the Fire Protection Policy Board's
Building and Fire Codes Workgroup. 1/27/89; Memo from Director of
Department of Community' & Economic Development, regarding YCTV
Monthly Report and Attachments: 2/8/89; Permit Report for month
of January 1989; Downtown Group Meeting Notice /Agenda for
February 15, 1989 meeting; and Minutes of the January 26,1989
Regional Planning Commission meeting.
15. EXECUTIVE SESSION REGARDING COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
It was MOVED BY FOY, SECONDED BY CARMICHAEL, TO ADJOURN TO
EXECUTIVE SESSION .. FOR THE PURPOSE ::..OF DISCUSSING COLLECTIVE
BARGAINING., PENDING LITIGATION..AND"".PROPERTY .DISPOSITION; FOLLOWED
:BY IMMEDIATE ..ADJOURNMENT: Unanimously carried by voice vote. •
Berhdt -- temporarily absent; Sims absent.
16 . ADJOURNMENT
Following the completion of the Executive Session, the meeting
adjourned at the hour of 3:45 P.M.
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READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE BY , h� W
COUNCIL' MEP�B n i TE
ATTEST: ) - • • , - OUNCIL• MEMBER. DAT "•
7 6-4VjleD e
CITY CLERK MAYOR •
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MAYOR PRO TEM
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Minutes prepared by Deputy City Clerk, Barbara J. Toney, CMC.
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