HomeMy WebLinkAbout08/05/2008 04B Minutes 07-16-2008 Council Transportation and Transit Committee • Minutes of
Yakima City Council Transportation and Transit Committee
City of Yakima Council Chambers
Yakima City Hall, 129 North 2nd Street, Yakima, WA 98901
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
4:00 — 5:30 p.m.
City Council Members Staff Other
Neil McClure, Chair Dick Zais, City Manager Johanna Russell
Micah Cawley Dave Zabell, Asst. City Manager Lainie Anderson
Rick Ensey Chris Waarvick, Dir. of Public Works Mary Mendenhall
[Bill Lover (Alt)] Bill Cook, Dir. of CED Megan Welton
Doug Mayo, Wastewater Christina Mendoza
Ken Mehin, Transit Manager Candace Manfredi
Karen Allen, Transit Program Admin. John Manfredi
Brett Sheffield, Chief Engineer Steve Stokke
Bob Desgrosellier, Senior Engineer Donna Kupser
Wayne Deason, Street Op. Supr. Rich Ausink
Joan Davenport, Traffic Engineer Judy Ausink
Laura Vallejo, Bilingual DA II Gayle Harthcock
Kerry Harthcock
Sally Mayo
0 Councilmember Neil McClure called the meeting to order at 4:00 p.m. He opened the meeting
with the "23 Ave & Lincoln Ave pathway" issue, as a number of citizens were in attendance.
Joan Davenport, Traffic Engineer, provided a summary of the background and history of the
pathway, area plats and the procedures of a right -of -way vacation process that may address
some of the control issues. Gayle Harthcock, (348 N 23 Ave) adjoining property owner,
addressed the neighborhood concerns for safety since the path is over -grown and not well
illuminated. Rich Ausink, (347 N 23 Ave) adjoining property owner, provided additional
information about the history of vandalism and graffiti that have been related to this pathway that
the neighborhood cannot observe. Councilmember Cawley asked about crime statistics. Chris
Waarvick stated the Police Department has provided data. Donna Kupser stated she had lived
on this street for many years, never had a break -in and frequently uses the pathway. She
indicated surprise by the situation and was sympathetic to the concerns of her neighbors.
Additional discussion from the Council included directing staff to clear all vegetation from the
right -of -way immediately and bringing back options at the next meeting for fencing off the
pathway and the possibility of a street light.
The next item on the agenda was a report regarding the petition from residents of Woodwinds
West to have their private streets accepted by the City of Yakima for maintenance. Brett
Sheffield, Chief Engineer, summarized a written report that outlined three areas where the
private streets do not meet public street standards: sidewalks, street lighting and fire access.
Councilmember McClure indicated the City of Yakima has many streets that do not meet all the
standards. The Woodwinds West streets are generally in good shape and were built to the
0 County standards at the time. The Committee unanimously agreed to recommend to the full
Council the private streets in Woodwinds West be accepted for maintenance as City streets.
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Mr. John Manfredi thanked both staff and the Committee for their time and consideration. The
Committee recommended that the cost to replace the street signs should not be charged to the
Homeowners Association.
The third item on the Committee Agenda was a follow -up discussion from previous meetings of
the parking lot and parking lot lighting issues around Franklin Park. Chris Waarvick summarized
that new parking lot lights have been installed, but the recommendation of the Parks
Commission and the Engineering Division report previously submitted to Council was that
parking lot expansion was not cost- effective at this time. The cost estimate was around $63,000
for 19 spaces which would not provide sufficient relief during events. There are no un- allocated
funds at this time for this project. Chris Waarvick suggested there may need to be future
discussion regarding whether Franklin Park is the appropriate venue for the large -scale events
such as Sunfair Race and Folk -life Festival. Councilmember Cawley indicated he felt we may
need more picnic shelters at the park.
Bill Cook and Brett Sheffield provided an update of the Grade Separation project which is "on-
hold" pending resolution of a right -of -way issue with BNSF. It has been estimated that delay is,
costing $30,000 a month, and we are entering our third month of delay. Staff and our consultant
are evaluating alternatives.
Bill Cook and Michael Morales presented a concept for reorganization in the Engineering
Division to include the intent to hire Doug Mayo, current Wastewater Plant Superintendent, as
City Engineer /Engineering Division Manager. The reason for this action is to improve
communication and planning efforts between the Engineering division and the utilities, and to
assist current Engineering staff in project management and customer service. Michael indicated
this would be . a budget policy issue.
Transit items on the agenda were compressed since another meeting was scheduled to begin in
Council Chambers at 5:30 p.m. It was noted that Transit and Transportation matters were both
very important and the Committee may want to rotate topics on meeting agendas monthly. Chris
Waarvick summarized that Union Gap bus service will terminate on November 12, 2008. This
item will be brought back to this Committee for more discussion.
The Fare Increase Policy Proposal was briefly discussed. A public hearing is required by
Federal Transit guidelines when a rate increase is proposed. A public hearing will be held on
August 26 the findings of the hearing will be reported and discussed by this Committee on
September 17 the Yakima City Council will hold a final Public Hearing on October 7 If a rate
increase is approved, new rates will take effect on January 1, 2009. Dick Zais noted that bus
service hours could be extended for the public hearings. This would assure people that they
could get to and from the meeting because it is after hours.
The meeting adjourned at 5:40 p.m. The next regularly scheduled meeting is August 20, 2008 at
4:00 p.m.
Approved by: 1 .. / •
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