Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-12-2003 - MinutesMay 12. 2003 - 00 PM MEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES CALL TO ORDER Meoma --it/ Hall, 50r Evermeer Porn- Roac Mayor Becker called the meeting of the Medina City Council to order a'- 30 p m ROLL CALL Present: Council members Drew Blaney Pau; Demitriaaes. Tnomas Morgan T odd Nunn Robert Rudolph, Deputy Mayor Mary Oaermat and Mayor Dar Becker Staff Present. City Manager Doug Schulze. City Attorney Kirk Wines Police Chief Michael Knapp. Public Works Director Shel Jahn, and City Clerk Caroll Wedlund CANCELLATION OF MAY STUDY SESSION Mayor Becker polled the Council regarding canceiing the May Study Session Public Works Director Jahn relayed he had planned to snare some of the slight adjustments made to the Capital Improvement Protect. with an opportunity for the Council to ask questions Mayor Becker recommended questions be handled via e-mail. with no individual making a directive for change- The Council voted to cancel the May Studv Session, and to respond by e-mail to the Capital Improvemen-, Project information that would be sent to them ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Becker suggested the city recognize Costco CEO Mr. Sinegal and his company for copying the identity theft booklet, which will soon be available for citizens He also indicated the City of Clyde Hill, had challenged Medina to a baseball tournament September 6-7 2003. in honor of their 50" annrversarv. Medina was asked to contribute a team consisting o` at least one Council member and/or the Mavor_ and Mayor Becker had responded Medina would meet the challenge. Council member Demitriades advised the following. a. The first special Legislative session in Olympia began today- Only the leadership was present to study the issues, and to close a 82 5 billion deficit. In approximately two weeks the rest of the Legislature would be recalled to pass the budget. Id. The King County Special Park Levy Election will take place May 20 20C3 c. On May 22, 2003, a WRIA meeting will be held on Mercer Island from 3.30 to 5 30 o-m d WSDOT and Sound Transit will hold their draft 1-90 EIS open house and public hearing at Bellevue City Hall on May 22, 2003 from 4 00 to 7:00 p.m. Mayor Becker stated discussion of agenda item H-7. Consideration of Service Delive-v Alternatives, would be moved to H-1. under Other Business He also suggested Henry Paulman's request to open the quarterly Medina Newsletter to citizen comments be discussed under New Business during tcnigh`s meeting. Council member Blazey commended the Park Board and the Public Works Department for their hard work to improve Medina Park CONSENT AGENDA Council member Blazey moved, seconded by Council member Demitrjades to accept the consent agenda_ Council member Rudolph requested agenda item D-1. April 14, 2003 Council minutes, be pulled and discussed under Other Business. Mayor Becker noted during the Aprjl 28. 2003 Council Retreat. Hen y Paulman had asked the Council to discuss Including citizen comments in the quarterly Medina Newsletter Council member Rudolph amended the motion to remove Consent Agenda items D-1 and D-2 April 28. 2003 Council Retreat meeting notes. seconded by Council member Morgan and the motion carried. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Mayor Becker invited audience members to comment regarding non -agenda items Art Dietrich, 707 Overlake Drive East, referred to a flyer signed by Mayor Becker ind!cating t-ie city weuid take no position regarding hearings before the Hearing Examiner. He was of the opinion was endorsing the Medina Grocery application which to him was inappropriate because a private party would gain. Further the City could profit via sales tax and higher property taxes and that should no- be the motivation in suppor'-. of an application. Councl Meetin_c Minutes Mav 12. 200'- r'aae City Manager Schulze responded number five of `,ne Council 2002-20013 coals was to deveiop a plan wqn the Medina Grocery owner for reesta'olishing the use Further the city always TOOK a positio❑ via staf` reports for public hearings. recommending either approval or denial of an application He noted what M: Dietrich was probably referring to was one chance to the flyer The flyers first two paragraphs explained what was occurring as wel! as gave a proposed structure description. The third paragraph nac beer changed after City Manager Schulze proofread it from __express your opinion to _express your support and tna: was the oniy wording which could possibly suggest a city position_ Deputy Mayor Oderma: read or page ter, from the Comprehensive Plan, as follows. `It is important to the community tha: facilities such as the post office and the Medina grocery be retainec because of their functional anc historic contributions to the city The historical character of these buildings and appropriate uses should be retainec for future generations She noted that had been the basis for the Councils position. City Attorney Wines stated no response was required. as no legal issue was involved. Mayor Becker relayed the flyer woulc remain as presently worded Henry Paulman, 1415 — 80`h Avenue NE, expressed agreement with Mr Dietrich adding he felt a response was necessary. He suggested the city adopt a pro and con format like that used for state election ballots Mayor Becker responded the city had stated in open session as one of its goals the development and maintenance of the store. Further the purpose of the public hearing was to 'near the issues_ Mr Paulman objected to the city paying for the flyer. Deputy Mayor Odermat suggested the citizens committee would probably be agreeable to obtaining financial sponsors for the flyer out she did not think it was necessary. Councii member Nunn clarified payment was no: required Steve Broback, 3225 Evergreen Point Road, announced an Eastside Citizens for Responsible Development fundraiser for the SR-520 issue as well as a Transportation Choices Group meeting advocating the R-213 alternative for 1-90. REPORTS Police Department —Chief Knapp announced the following a. MPD represented the city in several forums as they observed National Police Week- One was through an exhibit at Bellevue Mall with a number of other police departments- The organ;zer had stated Medina's exhibit was the most popular one. b. One burglary. a dumpster arson with W500 damage at Ovenake Goif & Country Club. and three minor domestic family squabbles occurred during the past month. c. The E-lert program continued to grow in popularity and a jurisdiction in North Carolina wished to use the name, Additionally, MPD issued four E-lerts last month. d. Officer John Kane, a certified EMT. joined Iv1PD effective May 1. 20C3 e, The Lifeguard Program was underway. and the Kirkland Parks Departmen- would assist with training f A resident recently donated a new defibrillator to MPD, and this person was willing to underwrite more of these lifesaving devices if matching donations oould be obtained from residents, g. Corporal Dan Yourkoski. recently recalled to military active duty planned to return to MPD in July. h_ An Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting is being scheduled_ Five citizens volunteered, in addition to the original eight a number of whom had attended the Emergency Preparedness Conference last month. Kris Finnigan is coordinating an emergency preparedness section for the city s website. Council member Biazey added Boy Scout Troop 603 was very receptive to helping distribute a survey regarding citizen needs, skills and ability to assist in the event of an emergency_ Chief Knapp supplemented a number of first aid kits, available for purchase will be exhibited during Medina Days. Public Works Director Jahn interjected Public Works employees were obtaining training from Puget Sound Energy regarding how to deal with gas situations during an emergency. Chief Knapp advised information was on the city's website regarding how to respond to a number of different emergencies. Mayor Becker suggested an emergency preparedness flyer be distributed. Chief Knapp explained Kris Finnigan Was working on the city s website regarding emergency preparedness He also mentioned she had been working on an Emergency Operations Center grant application through FEMA He prom'ised to share it with Mayor Becker and to either use that format for citizens or to summarize and make It more specific to our city. MPD was asked to consider sponso,ing an Explorer Post Citv Council Meetin_a Minutes Ma•; 12 2003 Gage 3 In response to a question regarding to HAZMAT transcortaton on SR-.`,2C and on 1-9C Chief Knapc advised there were no restrictions against moving hazardous matenais or SR-�E20 However, i-90 nad restrictions during times when servicing fire sunpress,on equirmen- in the tunnels Deputy Mayor Odermat referred to the number of traffic warnings in the monthly Police Repo- giver for Hunts Point versus those for Medina She noted warnings issued in Medina were more than, twice as mucr as those given in Hunts Point Chie` Knapp responded numerous warnings were given last year fo, HOV violations. However due to manpower problems the PD no longer did this He continued the only wav to enforce HOV violations was to Issue them in Hunts Point Deputy Mayor Odermat voiced concerned about parking spaces fo, citzens wishing to participate in Medina Days events, noting there was nowhere to park their vehicles. Chief Knapp replied ticket writing was a last resort. To the extent the offending vehicle created a public safety issue, the police officer was obliged to write a ticket if unable to find the driver. Chief Knapp pointed out MPD was now at full strength and so would be able to better handle the parking situation. Mayor Becker commented there was parking at the school and suggested transportation back and forth should be made available. Public Works Director Jahn pointed out the Medina Days Parade would occur during the middle of the 82''c Avenue NE project. Public Works—PWD Jahn corrected his monthly report to reflect the irrigation topsoil project would begin this week. He also indicated Bellevue Utilities would be conducting a smoke test of their sanitary sewe, system in the Medina Circle area on Friday. May 16, to find the sources of connections from storm drains to the sanitary sewer. He added notifications had been distributed to affected residents. On another note, PWD Jahn announced a Public Works employee had been injured as a result of tripping over a television cable buried in the grass, and the Department might be without that person for a while PWD Jahn announced Medina wished to test the outflow to the golf course. He was of the opinion pords dredged within the last couple of years still did not work well enough PWD Jahn though: detention systems should be required for each residence built in that particular drainage system. He also relayed this would be presented as part of ordinance drainage concerns in and around Medina Council member Odermat inquired about the temporary land use action signs. and PWD Jah❑ responded public notices were posted whenever a land use action hearing was scheduled. He continued the new posting kiosk in Medina Park was for routine public notices. However, land use action signs would be used in the future for any public hearing involving that usage. PWD Jahn declared WRIA Technical Committee meetings were focused upon stream enhancements that did not involve Medina. Further. the Technical Committee consisted of biologists trying to develop projects for a watershed area having nothing to do with our city. PWD Jahn stated attendance was not a good use of his time, and he did not plan to be at future meetings. Council member Demitriades noted he would continue attending Park Board —Chair Connie Gerlitz indicated the Park Board was receiving comments via e-mail phone calls and mail that Medina parks looked much better. She commended the Public Works Department empioyees for their efforts on behalf of the city's parks. Chair Gerlitz relayed the Board dealt mainly with dogs irrigation and the statue During the May Park Board meeting, they planned to visit Viewpoint Park to obtain recommendations for completion. She continued the Board was constantly being questioned about dogs in the park adding she did not want Medina Park to be a dog park The Boards thrust for that park was for dog owners to act responsibly and to pick up their animals feces She added the Board was on a campaign to educate citizens regarding these issues by distributing brochures. Finance Committee —Council member Rudolph explained income and expenses were on track. and pass through revenue was twice as high as expected. Council member Blazey inquired if there was a legal requirement to have each check itemized City Manager Schulze replied the Council was suoposec to review the checks to see what was being paid and which ones had been written. Council member Nunn suggested the Council continue with its review City Council Meeting Minutes May 12. 200- Page 4 Personnel Committee —Council member Demitriades referred to the recert tragedy involving the Tacoma Police Department, and inquired if MPD had a domestic violence ooilcy for its officers City Manager Sc'nulze replied that was part of the oD policies and the accreditation process The city also 'nad a poilcy to address violence in the workplace. Chief Knapp added the PD nad adopted the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) and the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) policies by reference. Further, it was the PD s policy to relieve an officer of nis weanor and put hero on paid administrative leave until the allegations against that person had been Investigated He promised to specifically check the IACP policy Council member Demitriades requested information about city and MPD ooilcies regarding workpiace and domestic violence. OTHER BUSINESS Consideration of Service Delivery Alternatives —City Manager Schulze reviewed the April, Retreat results, and reminded the Council they had indicated at tonignts meeting two of the five consultant positions would be reviewed. He stated the costs were 13 percent of the salary benefits for each of the staff positions. He had also examined the Bellevue Fire services contract, and that figure was 11 9 percent of the Fire Departments operating budget. City Manager Schulze indicated he had reviewed an analysis of pass through charges and still felt comfortable with the original projections. He referred to the April Retreat and clarified the building inspector position was not full time, but rather 900 to 1.000 hours annually He had projected the building inspector position to be full time because it also would involve code enforcement responsibilities, projected at 20 hours a week. This would bring the position to a full time equivalent. He added the building official position was full time. Discussion ensued regarding code enforcement fees. City Manager Schulze also recalled proiected revenue could be generated through construction mitigation fees. Miles Adam, 8424 NE 10`h Street, wanted the city to add just three positions and thought an administrative assistant would be nice to have, but was not needed. He also felt the city could defer the bui'ding inspector position, and a consultant should do code enforcement He also was of the opinion there might be an overstatement of the building inspector consulting cost. Mr Adam was of the opinion the projected total savings was 5203,000 rather than 5265.000. He noted a discrepancy between the S37 per hour building inspector rate and code enforcement rate of 5105 per hour vet one person was projected to fil' this combined position. Mr. Adam suggested if the consultant at the lower rate did code enforcing the city could save money Council member Demitriades read aloud a letter from State Representative Rodney Tom. P O Box 594. Medina, which indicated he did not believe the city should add additional staff until a thorough review of the Building Department and the permit process had been conducted. The letter also stated architects and contractors had complained about the difficulty of and extended timelines for obtaining a permit. It also suggested the city should survey recent building permit holders and their architects/contractors regarding building experiences. Following further discussion, Council member Nunn moved. seconded by Council member Blazey, to authorize the City Manager to add the five employee positions City Manager Schulze commented the plan had been to identify the services and the staffing issues, which would drive the space needs. At the April Retreat, the Council had discussed the fact that several consultants already used City Hall space Moving the Police Department would open up space in City Hall. If a consultant gave notice of leaving the city. City Manager Schulze would try to fill the position with an employee. The Council authorized the additional staffing positions as proposed, with Council members Morgan. Demitriades and Mayor Becker against and the others in favor. Consideration of Ordinance No. 752, Variance Criteria —City Manage, Schulze relayed Ordinance No. 752. Variance Criteria. established new criteria for granting variances, The prior criteria had been rendered ineffective by a Court of Appeals decision stating it only applied to applications to vary the use of the property. Further, the former Hearing Examiner had stated the variance criteria were not sufficient to deny many variances. He referred to City Attorney Wines memo of April 29 2003 indicating the proposed criteria had been taken from a number of ordinances thoughout the state of Washington so that al' criteria used within the state were included within the seven elements set forth in Ordinance No. 752 City Manager Schulze continued there were numerous undersized lots in Medina that were legitimate parcels under the Innocent Purchaser Doctrine. City Attorney Wines wanted some room to argue that if a citzen was going to purchase the smallest lot in the neighborhood, they should build the smallest house in the neighborhood. He Criv Council Meetma Minutez Mat, 1 2. 200- Paae ` Was of the OplhlOn n0 variance ShoulG become ? breceaerlt tC othersas tne4 srcui- onk ne granted i, exigent circumstances. City Attorney Wines also exp ainec Section B or Ordinance Nc 752 was state law Miles Adam, 8424 NE 10'11 Street, emphasized Meoma Municipal Code 1- 6C C30 addressed regulation o, nonconforming structures and was of the opinion if the nonconformity was not expandeda variance was not needec. He added the Planning Commission review had included that issue Mr Adam commentec Ordinance No 752 had been analyzed by several Hearing Examiners and by several people a. CtaK in response to two different Hearing Examiners saying Medina ordinances did not make sense Lisa Fleischman, 764 NE 12th Street, reviewed the 'nistory of her denied variance acpl!cat,on. Iv s Fleischman indicated she had purchased her home with the unaerstanding expanding it woul-- not be a problem because they planned to enlarge the upper wing with no footprint increase The Counci: reauested a copy of the staff report and the Hearing Examiner Notice of Decision fo- this variance acplicaTlon. Following further discussion the Council advised City Attorney Wines to prepare Ordinance No 752. Variance Criteria_ in final form for a June Publi:_ Hearing Discussion of 1-90 Draft EIS Review and Comments —It was notes the Eastside Transportation Program opposed Alternative R-8A City Manager Schulze cautioned by calling attention to problems or objections to any of the alternatives the involved agencies must analyze and address those issues. He added it could simply be there were no reasonable alternatives and there was no realistic mitigation. Mayor Becker recommended, and the Councii concurred, a letter should be sent, objecting to Alternative R-SA and supporting R-2B. Discussion of Intra-Council Communication —Council member Rudolph voiced nis increasing concern with decisions sometimes made by a few members on behalf of the Council without the benefit o` that body as a whole It was suggested the Council should act. as a unified group. rather than for the benefit of a select few Examples given were cancellation of the January 2003 Study Session, the hiring of Wiley Brooks for an SR-520 public relations campaign and press conference trips not pre -approved by the Council, photocopy machine usage and correspondence postage for which the Council was not furnished copies Council member Odermat inquired about the dollar amount spent for Council correspondence during the last eight to ten months. City Manager Schulze repliea he did not have postage amounts readily available and the photocopy machine did not show detailed enough information. due to copying Council packets as well Council member Demitriaaes conceded he generated copies but did not use the city s letterhead. He promised to stop doing it. Further, he did not have hard copies avallabie of correspondence that had been generated. because he threw paperwork away afterwards. Council member Odermat suggested a personal disclaimer be placed on correspondence not preauthorzed by the Council as a whole indicating this was an individual position rather than that of the Council. Mayor Becker suggested members be furnished with their own letterhead, and a disclaimer be part of any correspondence generated by one member as opposed to a Council consensus of opinion. It was suggested the Council review internal procedures to enhance intra- Council communication, as a uniform approach was needed Mayor Becker apologized for any miscommunication_ He was of the opinion 99 perce^t of the time the Council as a whole should make any decisions However sometimes in extraordinary circumstances when four members were unable to attend a meeting, it did not make sense to call the ethers to determine whether or not it should take place. The Council directed the City Manager to prepare an executive summary of the Protocol Manua'. and to pu'. it or. the agenda for Council consideration at a future meeting. Confirmation of Park Board Reappointment —Mayor Becker relayed Connie Gerliz was willing to be reappointed to the Park Board and the Council agrees by consensus to do so. Approval of Civil Service Commission Appointment —City Manager Schulze noted John Dem-Palmer, who had served on the Civil Service Commission since 1992. was willing to complete anot'ner term He clarified members of the Civil Service Commission were appointed by him with approval of the Coun;il Citv Manager Schulze relayed the lob of the Commission was to validate the testing and bart:cipants in certification of eligible police officer candidates City .Attorne Wines added the union presently,- reara grievances, however if MPD officers decertified their pa ticipation the Civil Service Commission might: return to hearing grievances. The Council approved reappointment by City Isanager Schulze of John Dern-Palmer City Council Meeting Minutes May12 2003 Page o Palmer as Civil Service Commissioner. Council member Demitriades suggested a Civil Service Commission annual report be furnished to the Council. He also recognizes City Clerk Wedlund for her efforts as Civil Service Examiner, in addition to serving as City Clerk Consideration of Jail Advisory Group Interlocal Agreement —Deputy Mayor Odermat moved seconded by Council member Demitriades to approve the Jail Advisory Group Interlocal Agreement. The motion carried. with Council member Morgan abstaining NEW BUSINESS Including Citizen Comments in the Quarterly Medina Newsletter —Mayor Becker asked i" the Council wished to allow citizen comments in the quarterly Medina Newsletter City Manager Schulze responded after the quarterly Medina Newsletter had been initiated, some citizens wanted to return to the monthly format When reminded the city sent a monthly Medina Newsletter as well, a number of residents had stated they were not receiving it He continued many cities provided information via the city website, the Internet, quarterly newsletters.. special flyers and monthly notices. City Manager Schulze emphasized it was important to provide citizens with information in a number of different ways. A number of Council members thought the newsletter should be opened to citizen comments. City Manager Schulze inquired who should decide what would be published and what would not be, adding he did not know of any other city that used the newsletter as a public forum The vote was Council members Morgan. Rudolph and Demitriades in favor of allowing citizen comments in the quarterly Medina Newsletter. and Mayor Becker. Deputy Mayor Odermat. Council members Todd and Blazey against it. The issue did not pass, due to lack of a majority vote. Councii member Nunn suggested a comment page be inserted on the city website. Mayor Becker added such comments could be posted for ten days. and then removed. Amendment to April 14, 2003 Minutes —Council member Rudolph recalled during the April 14, 2003 meeting one of the issues discussed was if a group of citizens came to the Council and wanted an LID. the Council would be receptive but would not want to spend the money. It had been suggested the people who really wanted an LID should be required to furnish the necessary expenses and that money would be recompensed to them if the LID passed. Council member Rudolph requested this amendment to the April 14 2003 minutes, for placement on next month's consent agenda. Correction to April 28, 2003 Retreat Minutes --Council member Rudolph recalled at the April 28, 2003 Retreat. the savings had been estimated to be S74.000 per year, and he thought them to be in the range of $250,000 to $300,000 He requested this change be made to the fourth paragraph of the April 28 Retreat minutes. City Manager Schulze clarified the S74,000 savings was for just one of the positions. Council member Morgan explained the correct amount was 5263.038. Council member Nunn moved, seconded by Council member Demitriades.. to change the savings amount in the April 28 Retreat minutes from S74,000 per year to $263,038. and the vote was unanimous. Follow-up on Police Report —Chief Knapp explained the PD had an eight -page domestic violence policy from WASPC through IACP. He added the PD maintained a policy of zero tolerance for domestic violence. ADJOURNMENT Council member Nunn moved, seconded by Council member Blazey. to adjourn the meeting at 10 18 p m.. and the motion carried unanimously r Daniel, F Becker, Mayor Attest Caroll P. Wedlund. City Clerk Citv of Medina Cm _Council Retreat Session April 28. 2003 Meetine Notes Council Members Present: Becker, Blazcy, Demitriades.. Morgan. Nunn. Odermat and Rudolph Other Attendees: Craig Fischer. Deputy Clerk. Shel Jahn. Director of Public Works, Mike Knapp Police Chief. Doug Schulze. City Manager. Miles Adam, Arthur Dietrich. Gerard Kern. Dave Martin. Mark Nelson. Henry Paulman. Craig Shank, Dee Endelman. Facilitator Mayor Daniel Becker called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. All Council members were present Mayor Becker made announcements regarding the appropnation for SR 520 based on recent legislation. Council Member Demitriades made additional announcements regarding legislative changes including the five -cent gas tax to go into effect on July 1. 200 3. The Mayor then asked Dee Endelman to facilitate the balance of the meeting. Endelman handed out a suggested agenda and the same set of ground rules as were distributed at the February 24, 2003 retreat. She reviewed the desired outcomes with the Council who engaged in a discussion of whether they would make a decision regarding service delivery, as stated in the desired outcomes. The Council agreed to first hear the staff presentation on service delivery before determining whether they would make a decision tonight. City Manager Doug Schulze gave a power point presentation regarding the possibility of replacing consulting services in the Planning, Building and Engineering functions. The City Manager estimated the annual savings for this change in service deliver} methods to be approximately S263,038 per year. Staff recommended that consulting services be replaced with five FTE's: Associate Planner, Building Official. Building Inspector, Engineering Technician and Administrative Assistant.' There were numerous questions from both Council and citizens present regarding the presentation and staff s recommendation. Topics included: understanding the reporting effects of these changes; direct and indirect cost savings estimates: the impact of new building costs, etc. After much discussion, the Council instructed staff to assume the houslna of an additional five people when coming to Council with its recommendations regarding facilities. Council members decided not to vote formally on bringing some, or all, of the fiee recommended positions in house at this retreat. They took a "straw poll" which indicated that six of the seven Council members support replacing at least some of the consulting work �s ith betty°een two and five FTE's. The Council agreed to take a formal vote regarding staffing at its May meeting. The meeting adjourned at 9:00 p.m. The Adminisnati%e Assistant position is not currcntI� bcin�_, p-rformed b_%a consultant [t is an additionaI position - Prepcn ed br;lgreemerN Dynamics, lnc Ya,e I