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HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-12-1998 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES January 12, 1998 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 Potts. The meeting was recorded on audio tape. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmembers Daniel Becker, Lynn Benz, Suzanne Cohen, Tom Morgan, Steve Preston, Grahame Ross and Mayor Susan Potts. Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Asst. City Mgr./City Clerk Woody Edvalson, Acting Police Chief Doug Ambrose MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING Councilmember Morgan moved the approval of the minutes for the December 8, 1997 Regular Council Meeting. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. A question of quorum was raised within the Council. Mayor Potts announced that a brief break would be taken to allow the arrival of Councilmember Ross. Upon the arrival of Councilmember Ross, the motion was restated by the Mayor and approval was unanimous. ANNOUNCEMENTS Councilmember Becker reported information from a recent Eastside Transportation Partnership (ETP) meeting. He said that the Washington State Department of Transportation would be proposing to the legislature that diamond lanes be used as general purpose lanes during the day. He said comments could be made to the legislative committees or the transportation commission. Councilmember Becker continued by informing the audience that there would be a resolution to the transportation commission asking for endorsement of the Trans -lake Medina City Council Minutes January 12, 1998 Page 2 Study. Additional information may be forthcoming. Finally, the RTA announced that there is an additional $80 Million available for transportation projects in the region of which Medina is a part. He proposed further Council discussion to review any potential benefit to the City. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Wilma Edmonds, 7721 NE 24th St., mentioned that her files on the Evergreen Point Road park-n-ride had been in storage. She offered to retrieve them if the City still had an interest. Mrs. Edmonds also complained about the number of non -conforming signs around the City. She encouraged stricter enforcement. AZ%HKOIA07931410 Councilmembers Suzanne Cohen, Susan Potts, Steve Preston and Grahame Ross were given the oath of office as Councilmember by City Clerk Edvalson. STAFF REPORTS PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS Acting Chief Ambrose reported briefly on the occurrence of several incidents in Medina including car prowls, mail theft, attempted burglary, possession of drugs and a recovered stolen vehicle. ELECTION OF MAYOR AND MAYOR PRO TEM City Manager Schulze noted for the audience that the Revised Code of Washington RCW) provides for the biennial election of mayor and mayor pro tem from among the elected councilmembers. The elections are held at the first regular meeting of the year. Mayor Potts opened the nominations for the position of mayor. Councilmember Morgan moved the nomination of Dan Becker. Councilmember Benz provided a second to the motion. The vote was unanimous with no opposition voiced. Mayor Becker conducted the nominations for the position of mayor pro tem. Councilmember Benz moved the nomination of Thomas Morgan. Councilmember Preston provided the second. The vote was unanimous with no opposition voiced. Medina City Council Minutes January 12, 1998 Page 3 POINT OF PRIVILEGE Councilmember Morgan suggested that in view of the inclement weather, the Council might alter its order of business and consider only those items requiring immediate attention. By general consent the Council agreed to the proposal. Agenda items numbered 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 and the executive session were identified by the Council and staff as business items that should be heard. All other business items on the agenda, items 13, 15 and 16 were postponed. DISCUSSION APPOINTMENT OF STANDING COMMITTEES Mayor Becker encouraged Councilmembers to limit committee membership to three per committee. He proposed the four previous committees of finance, personnel, public safety and public works. He also proposed a fifth committee that would be tasked with special projects that may not fit easily within one of the other committees. After some discussion, the Council agreed by general consent to the following committee appointments: Finance - Councilmembers Benz, Cohen and Preston Personnel - Councilmembers Benz, Potts and Ross Public Safety - Councilmembers Becker, Cohen and Ross Public Works - Councilmembers Becker, Morgan and Preston Special Projects - Councilmembers Benz and Morgan. A third person on the special projects committee would be appointed on an as needed basis. ORDINANCES ORDINANCE NO 636 - ESTABLISHING EQUIPMENT REPLACEMENT AND PARK PROPERTY ACQUISITION FUNDS City Manager Schulze explained that this ordinance would establish two funds that had been used in the preparation of the adopted 1998 Fiscal Year Budget. The two funds were the Equipment Replacement and the Park Property Acquisition Funds. After some brief discussion, Councilmember Morgan moved to adopt the ordinance. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. Approval was unanimous. Medina City Council Minutes January 12, 1998 Page 4 DISCUSSION INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR JOINTLY FUNDED TRAFFIC STUDY City Manager Schulze reported that this agreement resulted from the November discussions of the Points Community Traffic Committee. The purpose of the study would be to address the concerns of the Points Communities with one consultant within one study. The proposal would put Medina as the lead agency to coordinate the contract and supervise the work being done. Each community would contribute up to 5,000 on an equal share for the study. Councilmember Morgan questioned what kind of input the Councils would have in determining the scope and substance of the study. City Manager Schulze suggested that the Public Works Committee might be the appropriate group to provide that input. Councilmember Ross suggested that problems should be identified first before a scope is developed. He also objected to the form of the agreement and responsibilities placed on Medina as lead agency. Councilmember Becker mentioned that he had broached the subject with WSDOT and Metro about a grant to fund the study. He suggested that if the communities defer for a time, there may be funds made available to finance the work. Councilmember Benz spoke in favor of action. She said that citizen input clearly indicated a concern about the growing traffic problems. She also suggested that the traffic committee make recommendations about the problems to be addressed in the study. By general consent, the Council chose to table the item until the next regular meeting. They asked Mr. Schulze to convey to the other communities that their action did not indicate a lack of interest. CONSIDERATION OF UTILITY CONVERSION PROGRAM City Manager Schulze summarized the basic interest of the 18th St./Rambling Lane neighborhood in a utility conversion that would place the overhead utilities underground, upgrade the electric service and preserve the street trees in the neighborhood. Representatives of the neighborhood have asked the City to contribute $35,000 toward the cost of utility burial. The cost estimate for the project is approximately $98,000 or 6,100 per benefiting property. The City Council discussed the pros and cons of contributing to the project. It was proposed that one way of providing assistance would be to make the re -paving of Rambling Lane a 1998 capital project. This would have the effect of moving the project up two years on the City's capital improvement program and paying for the re -paving of Rambling Lane after the utility trenching was completed. The value of the re -paving project is estimated to be $18 - $20,000. Read Langenbach, 1659 Rambling Lane, reviewed the numbers for the utility conversion. He said that all the contributions to the project from Puget Sound Energy, the Gates project and the neighbors leaves approximately a $31,000 shortfall in funding Medina City Council Minutes January 12, 1998 Page 5 for the conversion project. He asked the City to develop a series of policies that would financially help neighbors who band together to accomplish the burial of utilities. He asked further that the City contribute the $18 - $20,000, at a minimum, by moving the re -paving project up at this time. After some further discussion, Councilmember Ross moved that the re -paving project for Rambling Lane be accelerated on the capital improvement program to become a 1998 project. His motion included having the Council Public Works Committee recommend whether all the projects should be re -prioritized to allow the re -paving project to be moved up, or whether reserve funds should be used to simply add the project to this years capital program. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. All were in favor. AMENDMENT OF MINUTES-- RECOGNITION FOR SUSAN POTTS Councilmember Ross asked that the record show what a great job Susan Potts has done during her tenure as Mayor. He noted that it was a difficult job to step into, particularly for a woman who was already so busy in the community. He asked that the record show the Council's appreciation for the great job she has done. His comments were followed by general applause from the Council, staff and audience. The motion was accepted by general consent. STORM DEBRIS DISPOSAL PROGRAM Assistant City Manager Edvalson explained that this program would provide residents with free vouchers from the County, allowing residents to dump storm debris at the County's dumps and transfer stations following declared emergencies. The City would then be charged by the County for the usage. The City could in turn seek reimbursement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Mr. Edvalson recommended this program as the most reasonable for the City to assist the residents with cleanup after a severe storm. Councilmember Morgan moved to authorize the City Manager to execute the MOU with King County for the disposal of storm debris. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. All were in favor. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 8:20 PM, and under authority of RCW 42.30.110 Mayor Becker announced that the Council would hold an executive session to discuss personnel issues. He announced the session would conclude at 9:00 PM with no further action by the Council before adjourning the meeting. Medina City Council Minutes January 12, 1998 Page 6 ADJOURNMENT At 8:50 PM, the Council reconvened the regular session. Councilmember Morgan moved to adjourn. Councilmember Ross seconded the motion. All were in favor. Attest: i2UM4-N - arwood T. Edvalson, City Clerk Daniel Becker, Mayor