Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout03/01/1988 Business Meeting . 253 MARCH 1, 1988 BUSINESS MEETING /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.'. Mayor Pat • Berndt, presiding,: Council members Henry Beauchamp, Lynn Buchanan, Lynn Carmichael, Jerry Foy and Bernard Sims present on_roll call. City Manager Zais, City-Attorney Vanek,:..City Clerk _Roberts and Deputy City Clerk Toney also present. Council member Barnett absent . and excused. , 2. INVOCATION, . The Pledge of. Allegiance was led by Council member 3. OPEN DISCUSSION FOR THE GOOD OF THE ORDER .. City Manager Zais introduced and welcomed Kathy Coffey, the new Director of the Yakima Visitors and Convention Center. Mrs. Coffey greeted Council members and said she is very pleased to be back in Yakima and is enthusiastically working on ,same goals for the Convention Center. .4.. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Anne Byerrum, representative of .,Allied Arts,. stated ._a needs ,. ,.assessment- survey is being : conducted by the Allied Arts.Council under the financial support of .the Washington State. Art's • . - Commission and asked the City Council to declare the group . conducting the survey a.mayor's task force. The survey will assist ;in.determining what Yakima currently offers in the field of art and :what can.be- done -to enrich the culture .and.leisure time of Yakima residents. Mrs. Byerrum stated surveys .will.be mailed to . citizens - .throughout the,.community, personal interviews will be conducted with key business leaders, -a. needs assessment. survey meeting and a public forum will also' be held to help determine the, -needs for: the community. Council member Foy - commented he received his — questionnaire .and thought it was extremely well planned received: will be of benefit in ascertaining the needs of the community. Mrs. Byerrum commented some of the Council members may . be called upon for a personal interview and .then she distributed a questionnaire to each of them. Mayor Berndt expressed appreciation to. Mrs. Byerrum, for the work she does. within the community to provide a better place in to live. . . Rick Linneweh, 4702 Richey Road, presented a status report on the activities of the committee working to. retain the Council /Manager form of ,government: He stated the efforts of the. committee have included speaking to service .groups .and organizations throughout the - community to educate :the citizens as•to the.shortcamings of the proposal on which they will . be voting March 15th. Mr. • Linneweh stated the. committee feels positive because citizens are .recognizing. and appreciating action taken - by the City Council and City Manager- over the. past 29.- years. He stated a stronger emphasis . will. be placed on this particular issue over the next two weeks. . .,He noted a yard sign campaign is currently underway .and many . citizens have placed a sign in their -yard indicating support of retaining the Council /Manager form of, government. He -asked City - Glerk Roberts to distribute the yard signs to the Council members for them to .place in. their yards.. . • . Barbara Harris, 191 West Yakima Avenue, stated she .would like to comment on the recent public hearing held regarding the, proposed development -of MaryLou Borgert. Mayor Berndt interjected there is a possibility that this issue may be coming before the City Council sometime =in the future, therefore, Council members have; made an effort not, to hear anymore testimony or comments about , this issue than what has already been presented by, the news media. Mrs. A /AD /1 • 254 MARCH 1, 1988 Harris stated she just wanted to say that some of the testimony presented during that hearing by various people was slanderous. She stated the people making the remarks were appointed by the City Council to serve on the various boards and commissions, and indicated perhaps Council should screen their applicants. Council member Beauchamp interjected that Mrs. Harris had been appointed'to one of the Boards, therefore, .all of the appointments cannot be considered poor judgement on the part of the City Council. Mrs. Harris conceded to Council member Beauchamp's comment. Council - member Carmichael pointed out to Mrs.' Harris that that was not a hearing she had attended; it was a public meeting conducted by the Director of Community & Economic Development for the purpose of allowing public' input•regarding the proposed development. Mrs. Carmichael emphasized it was not a formal session or hearing format. She stated Council is hopeful that citizens of the community will behave in an appropriate manner, but Council has no control over comments made by residents of the community in 'situations such as this. Mrs. Carmichael' stated she has no more knowledge about the situation than what has been reported by the news media, however, if the issue comes before the Council, 'the appropriate hearings will be held to allow an opportunity for public testimony. 5. CONSIDERATION OF RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING SALE OF SURPLUS CITY PROPERTY (TRANSIT BUSES) Director of Public Works, Jerry Copeland, was present to review the staff report and recommendation and respond to Council's inquiries about the sale of the eight buses and spare parts. He stated the buses are of no value to the City," and the market value is very limited, therefore,' staff is requesting authorization to surplus them. Council member Beauchamp asked how many buses the City will ' have in the fleet' if these are sold. Mr. Copeland stated he believes there are 16 buses; 11 on regular bus routes, and the others are kept for use when buses used in daily transit operations are in the shop for repairs. The resolution having been read' by City Clerk Roberts, it was MOVED by Buchanan, seconded by Foy, to- approve the resolution. Unanimously carried by roll call vote. Barnett absent. - RESOLUTION NO. D -5438, A RESOLUTION declaring certain city -owned transit coaches and spare parts surplus and - authorizing their disposal. • 6. REPORT FROM - STAFF REGARDING PARKS BOND ISSUE SALE /REVIEW OF CIP SCHEDULE FOR PROJECT IMPLEMENTATION AND NEGOTIATION OF CONSULTANT 'CONTRACTS FOR CHESTERLEY PARK DEVELOPMENT, SENIOR CITIZEN CENTER. ADDITION, RENOVATION OF FRANKLIN AND WASHINGTON POOLS'AND OTHER PARK IMPROVEMENTS Assistant City Manager Stouder stated the Public Works Department, Engineering & Utilities Department, Finance Department and the Community Development Department have been working together on the professional design and engineering of these projects to insure that the needs and expectations of the citizens are met. He stated it is also important to note that the Parks "Yes" Committee, the Parks and Recreation Commission, Special Citizens Committee and special users groups are being.given an opportunity to have input in the design stages of these projects. He introduced John Rose of Seattle Northwest Securities Corporation to address the issue of financing. Council member Beauchamp noted there are two local contractors submitting proposals for the design of these projects and inquired if there is some type of mechanism in place to give the local contractors preference. 'City Attorney Vanek comuented under state law the City is required to let the contract to the lowest bidder. Council member Foy stated he believes the Council can require the contractor to have a local office. Mr. Vanek stated the primary purpose for that'tequirement is to service the client as opposed to giving preference to a local . firm. City Manager Zais stated Council has previously explored the issue of purchasing new vehicles from local vendors and it was determined that they (the local vendors) cannot compete with the A /AD /2 255. MARCH ,a•., 1988 • state contract. However, he stated the City does purchase used vehicles from local vendors. Council member Beauchamp ,stated if a local'contractor can perform as well as a contractor outisde the city, he believes the local should be given preference. Mr. yanek stated -when considering bids., two .things, must be considered; ,1) you are not always required to bid professional services, and 2) when construction of those projects are being. being considered, the City is bound by state law which indicates the.lowest. and most responsible bidder comes into play. City Manager Zais stated another aspect of the.state law is that price-is not the only criteria by which one evaluates credentials, and it is not the sole determinate by which selection is made. He stated staff members reviewing these projects with Mr. Stouder are looking at all of the aspects involved. Mr. Stouder stated the four areas given consideration by staff include: 1) previous experience in this type of project, 2) the individual assigned to do-the project, 3) quality of proposal and 4) quality of the presentation.: He stated -if all criteria is equal, the local firm will be.retained. City • Manager Zais pointed out that this is an ambitious schedule and may take longer to accomplish ,than anticipated. John Rose Seattle Northwest Securities .Corporation, reviewed the staff.report and responded to Council's inquiries. regarding, the sale -of the bonds. • Mr. Rose stated he believes the sale of the bonds should start as soon as possible. Council member, Sims asked Mr. Rose to comment briefly on the role the bond counsel, the managing underwriter and co- managing underwriter with regard to the 2.2 million dollar bond issue. Mr. Rose stated the bond counsel.,acts As the City's attorney in these matters, .i.e. preparation of the proposition that went before, the voters, preparation. of the bond ordinance for adoption by the City Council, and preparation of..the documents showing the - City.. has complied with all federal tax laws so the bonds can , be tax , exempt.. �He stated .for, the purpose:.of. marketing the, bonds,, the.,. bond attorney signs his legal opinion. indicating the bonds are. valid, and interest on the bonds is exempt from federal,incoine taxes. The .bond- underwriter, purchases .the bonds from the City at face value and, markets them at a higher value. The bond underwriter. also works, with7City staff to- prepare the marketing documents for the bonds, and with the City to obtain a rating for the bonds. Mr. Rose stated, however, he does not feel a bond rating is required at this time. When the bonds are ready to sell, the bond underwriter , will purchase. the . bonds ..at . the current interest rate, or at par in this instance. The co- managing underwriter will play. a role in marketing the bonds,. and finding orders for the bonds. Council member Sims requested clarification on the expenses to the City and Mr. Rose explained this is illustrated in Attachment E which lists the expense of the bond counsel,, bond rating, •, bond printing,, bond registration, and '' - official `• --statement-` .printing and, distribution, for a total of $14,500. He stated the underwriting spread represents the current estimate of the difference the City will be paid for the bonds and -the priee the bonds• wi1 be offered to investors. Mr. Rose stated under the proposed estimate they will be trying to market the bonds • for 1.425%, and the difference will be shared between the manager and co- manager. Council member Sims asked. what the. is to the City and Mr.-- Rose the City.. will pay $14,500 from - the proceeds of the bond issue. It was MOVED by Foy,. seconded by Carmichael, to accept the report and authorize preparation of the contracts for professional services as\ recanmended, and, authorize the bond schedule. Option C. - Unanimously carried by voice vote. Barnett absent. Council member Foy asked if the list of projects will be brought back before the City Council to discuss prioritization. Mr. Copeland stated the first four items were identified and prioritized in the bond issue and the other projects are items staff would like to see developed. He stated the projects were reviewed by the Parks and Recreation Commission and they made the recommendations presented today. Council member Foy asked Mr. Copeland to schedule this on a future study session so Council can review the list of projects for prioritization. Council member Carmichael commented that Seattle Northwest Securities Corporation has managed these types of issues for the City in the past and has done an outstanding job, however, she • A /AD /3 256 MARCH 1, 1988 wanted to point out that there will be a minority owned firm co- Managing this effort. She thanked Seattle Northwest Securities Corporation for their participation in this endeavor. Mayor Berndt suggested Council schedule another luncheon meeting with the Parks and Recreation Commission and discuss some of these issues. City Manager Zais agreed that this would be an appropriate time to schedule such a meeting. Council member Carmichael stated there are 'a number of commissions with whom the Council has not yet had an opportunity to meet and suggested reinstituting those luncheon • meetings if other Council members are agreeable. 7. OTHER BUSINESS None Information Items: Items"cf information supplied to Council were: Memorandum from • City'Clerk''Roberts regarding the 1987 Election Expenses, 2/24/88; Letter from the Department of Ecology (responding to Assistant City Manager Stouder's letter to DOE on 2/5/88) re Yakima River Basin Enhancement Study; 2/9/8; Memorandum from Assistant City Manager Stouder regarding the Economic Development Resource Team (EDRT) meeting held February 11, 1988. 2/16/88. (The minutes of the meeting are included.); Memorandum from Cable Communications Coordinator, Bruce Eyles, regarding Municipal Productions Completed and In Progress, 2/17/88; Letter from Richard L. Berkley, • President of U.S. Conference of Mayors, Pamela P. Plumb, President of National League of Cities, and Harvey, Ruvin, President of National' Association of Counties, regarding National Community Development Week, April 2 -9, 1988; Agenda for 'the March 3, 1988 Downtown Redevelopment Committee (DARC) Meeting, and Minutes of the'November 5, 1987 DARC Meeting;* Agenda for the February 24, 1988 Yakima District Board of Health Meeting, and Minutes of the January 20,.1§88 - Yakima District Board of Health Meeting; and Agenda for the Yakima Housing Authority Meeting, and Minutes of the January 27, 1988 Yakima Housing Authority Meeting. 8. ADJOURNMENT - • There'being no further business to cone before the Council, it was MOVED by Beauchamp, seconded by Carmichael,` that this meeting be adjourned at the hour of 2:45 p.m. Unanimously carried by voice vote. Barnett absent. READ AND CERTIFIED ACCURATE B 10ER ) - • i'TE • __ 4L a t4 , ATTEST: C• ' I ' i MBER A, 1'' T i' 1 KAREN S. ROBERTS, CITY CLERK, CMC PATRICIA A. BE DT, MAYOR • MINUTES PREPARED BY t j !,l • �. �.� BARBARA J. • , DEPUTY 17 TY CLERK • A /AD /4