Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-08-1996 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 8, 1996 Medina City Hall 7:00 PM 501 Evergreen Point Rd. CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting of the Medina City Council was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor Taylor. The meeting was tape recorded. ROLL CALL: Present: Councilmembers Daniel Becker, Lynn Benz, Ray Cory, Thomas Morgan, Susan Potts, Grahame Ross, and Mayor Dewey Taylor City Staff Present: City Manager Papke, Police Chief Race, Public Works Superintendent Weigle, City Clerk Edvalson OATH OF OFFICE The Councilmember oath of office was administered to Daniel Becker, Lynn Benz, and Thomas Morgan by City Clerk Edvalson for their four year terms. MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING: Councilmember Becker requested the addition of language on the topics of traffic studies and jet noise in the minutes of the Council meeting of December 11. In response, Mayor Taylor offered the following sentences as additions to the minutes: City Manager Papke recommended the additional review of other problem areas as identified by Public Works Superintendent Weigle," and "Mr. Seymour commented that isolated incidents of higher decibel readings of approximately 100 plus were recorded but may have been contaminated by ambient noise. With those amendments, Councilmember Cory moved to approve the minutes of the December 11, 1995 meeting. Councilmember Becker seconded the motion. It was passed unanimously. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Earl Johnson, 8711 NE 4th St., requested that the Council speak directly into the microphones to accommodate his hearing loss. Mayor Taylor asked all seated at the Council dais to comply. SELECTION OF PRESIDING OFFICERS Mayor Taylor opened the nominations for position of Mayor. Councilmember Ross moved the nomination of Dewey Taylor to fill the two year term as Mayor. Councilmember Potts seconded the nomination. Councilmember Morgan moved to close the nominations. Councilmember Cory seconded the motion. The motion to close the nominations was approved. By hand vote, Mayor Taylor received unanimous support for a second term as Mayor. Mayor Taylor opened the nominations for the position of Mayor Pro Tem. Councilmember Cory nominated Councilmember Potts. Councilmember Ross seconded the nomination. Councilmember Cory moved to close the nominations. Councilmember Becker seconded closing the nominations. Motion to close nominations was approved by all. Mayor Taylor asked for hand vote to approve the nomination of Councilmember Potts to serve as Mayor Pro Tem. All were in favor of the appointment. Medina City Council Minutes January 8, 1996 Page 2 FINANCIAL REPORT Mayor Taylor reordered the agenda, and asked Councilmember Cory, a member of the Finance Committee, to move the approval of warrants. Councilmember Cory moved the approval of December's warrants numbered 8993 - 9073 for $123,649.28 and December payroll warrants numbered 14474 - 14533 for $81,544.20, except for the void warrants included within those numbers. Councilmember Potts seconded the motion. All were in favor. COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS Mayor Taylor reviewed some of the responsibilities of the Council Committees. Councilmembers Benz, Cory, and Morgan volunteered for the Finance Committee. Mayor Taylor appointed the three volunteers to the committee. Councilmembers Ross, Benz, Potts and Cory were appointed to the Personnel Committee. Councilmembers Ross, Becker and Mayor Taylor were assigned to the Public Safety Committee. Councilmembers Potts, Becker, Morgan and Mayor Taylor were appointed to the Public Works Committee. Mayor Taylor explained that the committees are to nominate their own chairpersons. The City Clerk will provide the Council with a list of assignments. ANNOUNCEMENTS Council Councilmember Potts suggested that staff open a dialogue with Medina Elementary to coordinate emergency preparedness plans, and hold an emergency preparedness seminar which would be advertised in the Medina Newsletter. City Manager Papke responded that City staff were in the process of reviewing a draft emergency preparedness plan. A committee of community representatives will then be established to review and finalize the plan. This committee will include school representatives. Staff City Manager Papke repeated the request that meeting participants use the microphones. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Bill Kinzel, 802 80th Ave. NE, addressed the Council requesting the installation of two street lights on 80th Ave. He noted that he had previously provided the Council with a letter signed by himself and neighbors. Mr. Kinzel spoke of their concern for pedestrian safety on the increasingly well traveled street. Public Works Superintendent Anne Weigle informed Council that the 1996 budget included funds to pay the energy costs for a limited number of additional street lights. She said that Medina Police had identified some 30 areas within the City where additional street lighting could be added to enhance safety. She thanked Mr. Kinzel for providing input from himself and neighbors. Patty Thompson, 840 80th Ave. NE, added that there was complete agreement among the residents on 80th Ave. that the street lights would be welcome. After Council discussion of the issue, Mayor Taylor summed the Council discussion by saying that staff should be authorized to install up to two lights, and leave it to staff to consult with Puget Power as to the best placement. Councilmember Cory made a motion incorporating the Mayor's wording. Councilmember Morgan seconded the motion. It was approved unanimously. Medina City Council Minutes January 8, 1996 Page 3 Council discussion on the topic continued with Councilmember Becker asking if the staff would have an analysis of the 30 sites before the next budget cycle. Councilmember Morgan asked if the citizens might be surveyed concerning public safety issues, such as sidewalks, street lights, etc. City Manager Papke responded that the 30 areas would be analyzed by the next budget cycle. She also said that staff had been considering conducting a survey to solicit citizen input for public safety and other concerns and issues. Wilma Edmonds, 7721 NE 24th St., asked the Council and City Attorney Wines if the TCI facilities in Medina will be upgraded to the level that has been reported for Seattle. City Attorney Wines responded that the City's franchise with TCI requires that they provide the same level of service to the City of Medina as other neighboring cities which includes Seattle. City Manager Papke said that she would contact TCI to remind them of their obligation. David Krull, 2451 78th Ave. NE, asked for an update on the RFP for the 520 consultant, and what strategies had been developed. City Manager Papke outlined the current time frame and some of the anticipated selection criteria for making a recommendation to the Points Communities' Mayors. Mayor Taylor provided background on the qualifications and responsibilities of the desired consultant as discussed by the Points Mayors. He noted that they wanted someone extremely knowledgeable in the topic, a sentry, who would keep the Councils informed and help them develop a plan with options for future action. Ideally, it would be someone who could also lobby if that is what the group decided was in the Cities' best interest. Henry Paulman, 1415 80th Ave. NE, spoke in favor of hiring a lobbyist to influence the legislation. Wilma Edmonds, 7721 NE 24th St., asked if notice of the meeting with the Points Communities Councils and the meeting results had been published in the Medina Newsletter. Both City Manager Papke and Mayor Taylor responded that it had not been reported. OTHER BUSINESS Cutting of Trees in City's Right -of -Way Councilmember Morgan asked for an update on the cutting of trees in the City's right-of- way as reported by Mr. Thornton Thomas at the last Council meeting. Public Works Superintendent Weigle reported that Puget Power had canceled the scheduled meeting on January 4th. She had spoken with Puget Power's forester who told her the process they followed for entering the City and cutting trees, but was not able to respond as to why City staff was not regularly contacted before the decision was made to remove trees. She will continue to pursue responses from Puget Power. Councilmembers discussed past history of difficulties with Puget Power's tree trimming in the right-of-way. Mayor Taylor and Councilmember Potts suggested that an item be added to the Planning Commission agenda to review this issue. City Manager Papke stated that staff would try and educate Puget Power and establish a positive working relationship whereby the power company would consult with Public Works Superintendent Weigle before removing trees from the right-of-way. City Attorney Wines said that he would contact Municipal Research for an update on the issue, and provide any pertinent information to the Council. Informational Meeting with Staff and Council Councilmember Morgan requested that an informational meeting be set up in an open meeting format to allow the new councilmembers to be educated on the City government's operations. After some discussion, January 25, 1996 at 7:00 PM was selected by consensus of the Council as the date and time for the meeting. Medina City Council Minutes January 8, 1996 Page 4 Changes to the Medina Newsletter Councilmember Benz requested that space be provided in the Medina Newsletter for an article by a citizen who would prepare a factual report on the events of the Council meeting. Such an article from the citizen perspective might include who attended, highlights of the discussion and concerns expressed at the meeting. Mayor Taylor asked Wilma Edmonds, 7721 NE 24th St., if she would write the first citizen article reporting on the events of the Council meeting. After further discussion, Ms. Edmonds agreed to write the first several articles. The Council also requested that staff report the outcome of action items at the Board of Adjustment and Planning Commission meetings in the newsletter. Mission Statement for City/Departments Councilmember Becker suggested that the Council and staff work on mission statements for the City and operating departments during the coming year. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Becker moved that the meeting be adjourned at 8:55 PM. Councilmember Ross seconded the motion. Passed unanimously. HaXwood T. Edvalson, City Clerk