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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-13-1998 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES July 13, 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 Becker. The meeting was recorded on audio tape. Tel W07±11 I Present: Councilmembers Lynn Benz, Suzanne Cohen, Tom Morgan, Steve Preston, Grahame Ross and Mayor Dan Becker. Absent: Councilmember Susan Potts Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Asst. City Mgr./City Clerk Woody Edvalson, Acting Police Chief Doug Ambrose ANNOUNCEMENTS City Manager Schulze noted that Medina Park Improvements would be discussed later in the meeting. In response to an inquiry, he answered that the City had no anticipated problems with the Year 2000 software concerns. He also asked that the Council add the contract award for the Overlake Drive West Pedestrian Path storm water facilities and paving to the agenda. CONSENT AGENDA Under a single motion by Councilmember Morgan and a second by Councilmember Benz, the Council approved the complete consent agenda with the items listed below: A. The minutes from the regular Council meeting of June 8, 1998; B. Approval and acceptance of June 1998 Warrants/Treasurer's Report with the following warrants: June warrants #11420 - 11496, for $96,471; and June personnel warrants #16050 - 16101 with #'s 16016 and 16023 indicated as void, in the amount of $81,435.95. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 2 C. Salary Range for Police Chief Position - $58,000 to $67,000 D. Authorization for the City Manager to execute a contract with Waldron & Associates recruitment of the Police Chief Position. E. Council Confirmation of the City Manager's Re -appointment of Paul Demitriades and John Dern-Palmer to the Civil Service Commission. F. Approval of an increase in All Right -of -Way Permits to $100. Approval of the consent agenda was unanimous. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Lisa Jelinek, 7914 NE 24th St., presented copies of a petition circulated in her neighborhood asking the police to more consistently radar patrol NE 24th St. along the upper avenues for speeding. Jim Lawrence, 822 Evergreen Point Road, informed the Council regarding the mitigation plans for some of the large residence construction projects on Evergreen Point Road. His concern was that the plans route dump trucks down NE 24th St. He expressed concern for the steepness of the hill on 24th, and asked the police chief to be vigilant for speeding trucks. Mayor Becker asked that speeding be a topic of discussion for the next Public Safety Committee meeting. Councilmember Morgan expressed concern for the increasing delays at 84th Ave. NE and NE 24th St. because of the trucks. Bob Rudolph, 1455 Evergreen Point Road, reported on the number of planes that are still flying directly over Medina in spite of the FAA's implementation of the Flight Modulation System (FMS). He surmised that either the FMS was mis-calibrated, not being consistently used, or that the planes are perhaps not appropriately equipped. He also noted that flight takeoff and landing hours seem to be increasing into the early morning and late evening. Councilmember Ross asked if there was evidence that during south flow, planes were cutting the four corner plan short and flying over Medina. Dr. Rudolph said that the data seemed to support this conclusion. He suggested that it may be time for the Council to meet again with the FAA Tower Director at SeaTac, Dan Boyle. The Council consensus was to set up a meeting and invite Clare Nordquist, the Eastside cities representative on the Port Commission to also attend. Arthur Dietrich, 707 Overlake Dr. E., asked about the police chief search. City Manager Schulze explained that the search was underway with Waldron & Associates. Final interviews were anticipated near the end of September. POINT OF ORDER With no representative of TCI yet available, Mayor Becker moved the meeting into the Reports section and invited Joseph Brazen to report on preparations for Medina Days. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 3 REPORTS MEDINA DAYS Joseph Brazen, 3204 Evergreen Point Road, reported that the preparations for Medina Days were going well. He announced the participation of the Washington Wind Symphony in concert in Medina Park on Tuesday evening, August 11. He added that Wednesday and Thursday nights would be occupied by the softball tournament. The Championship game would be played on Saturday afternoon. Friday would be used for block parties. Saturday would include the traditional parade at 10:30 am, activities at Medina Beach Park from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm, and dinner, dancing and fireworks in the evening. PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS Acting Chief Ambrose said that the past month was pretty quiet. There was an arrest for trespassing, report of a theft of a wallet and several reports of malicious mischief The latter were attributed to an individual damaging the new trees at the Beach Park. Chief Ambrose noted that he had appointed Emmet Knott as an acting sergeant to assist Acting Sergeant Skinner with supervision of various police shifts. FIRE DEPARTMENT REPORT City Manager Schulze explained that the report included in the Council agenda packet from the fire department was for the month of May, and included statistical information compiled from the beginning of the year. COMMUNITY PRESERVATION COMMITTEE Councilmember Morgan reported that the Neighborhood Preservation Committee was continuing to meet and was making progress. They hoped to have an update or recommendations by the August Council meeting. CALENDAR Mayor Becker confirmed with members of the committee a Public Safety Committee meeting on July 27th at 6:00 p.m. Topics for discussion were speeding on residential streets and the emergency preparedness plan for the City. TRANS -LAKE WASHINGTON STUDY Mayor Becker reported on the meetings of the Trans -Lake Study Committee. He said their last meeting was a tour of many of the highways to be included in the study. He said the next meeting would be at the Bellevue Regional Library on August 5, from 1 to 4 pm. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 4 EASTSIDE TRANSPORTATION PARTNERSHIP (ETP) MEETING Mayor Becker said that he recently attended an ETP meeting where Sound Transit made a presentation about commuter rail starting in the year 2000. Community Connections, a regional bus service will start in 1999. Also discussed was the near certainty of a future closure of the bus tunnel in Seattle and efforts to develop fare integration with a smart card system. This would allow one fare card to be used universally between the ferry and bus systems. TRAFFIC STUDY At Mayor Becker's request, City Manager Schulze reported on the recent Mayor's Meeting where the traffic consultants met to discuss the study. He said that six alternatives were discussed with three recommended approaches for further consideration, i.e. do nothing, do nothing on the arterial streets but improve the interchanges to reduce impacts on the community, and close or close on a limited basis 84th Ave. NE, Points Drive NE and NE 30th St to thru traffic. He added that an open house was planned to receive public input. DISCUSSION 1998 STORM DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT CONTRACT AWARD City Manager Schulze explained that the City had recently held three bid openings. Engineering Consultant Jay Hummel described the projects. He recommended that the apparent low bid on the storm drainage improvement projects be rejected due to non- compliance with the bid. He said the bidder had failed to include references and a list of previous work completed. He concluded by recommending that the City award the contract to the next lowest bidder, Kemper Construction. At the conclusion of Council discussion on the item, Councilmember Preston made the following motion, "I believe that the information requested in the bid proposal concerning prior work was reasonable and necessary to evaluate the ability of the bidder to successfully perform the contract. Therefore, I move that we accept the recommendations of our city engineer, reject the apparent low bid of Earthwork Enterprises, Inc. because the bid was not responsive to the information required in the bid proposal forms, and that the city award contract #3-98, 1998 Storm Drainage Improvements, to Kemper Construction Corporation in the amount of $44,597. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. All were in favor of the motion. 1998 STREET OVERLAY CONTRACT AWARD City Manager Schulze introduced project #98-4 indicating that the apparent low bidder was Western Asphalt from Maple Valley for $65,132.00 Engineering Consultant Hummel explained that Western Asphalt has previously done excellent work in Medina. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 5 Councilmember Cohen moved to award the street overlay project #98-4 to Western Asphalt of Maple Valley, WA in the amount of $65,132. Councilmember Benz provided a second to the motion. The vote was unanimous and affirmative. Councilmember Morgan asked concerning the status of the proposed burial of utilities project on Rambling Lane. City Manager Shulze responded that the residents were still organizing and talking to Puget Sound Energy about the project. Councilmember Ross moved that the City Manager be authorized to issue, as needed, a change order for Schedule B - Additive Alternate for Rambling Lane. Councilmember Preston made the second. All were in favor. Councilmember Morgan asked the City Manager to investigate the Council commitments made to the Rambling Lane community for assistance in their utility burial efforts. OVERLAKE DRIVE WEST PEDESTRIAN PATH PHASE I CONTRACT City Manager Schulze explained that this project was for the storm drainage portion of the pedestrian path project. He said the landscaping would be done at a later date. Engineering Consultant Jay Hummel said the apparent low bidder was Gary Harper Construction, Inc. of Redmond, WA, who bid the project at $189,844. He added that he had checked the references provided, and had had positive responses. He recommended that the Council award the project to Gary Harper Construction, Inc. Councilmember Morgan moved that Overlake Drive West Pedestrian Path Phase I, Contract 2-98 be awarded to Gary Harper Construction, Inc. Of Redmond, WA for 189,844. Councilmember Cohen made the second. Approval was unanimous. PUBLIC HEARINGS TCI-- NOTICE TO CORRECT DEFICIENCIES City Attorney Wines suggested that since no representative appeared for the noticed hearing, the Council could close the hearing and defer any decision to a later date. City Manager Schulze confirmed that TCI had been laying cable in preparation for an August 1 cut -over of the system. He added that the City had received a copy of literature mailed to TCI customers outlining the new channel lineup to be effective the morning of August 1. Councilmember Morgan expressed concern that the City preserve all of its rights should TCI fail to accomplish the promised changes. City Attorney Wines reassured the Council that their options remained open. By common consent, the public hearing was closed and the record to reflect that TCI had failed to make a public appearance and had only responded in writing. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 6 ORDINANCES ORDINANCE NO. 643 - AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF 37,500 FROM THE RESERVES FUND TO THE CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF PARK IMPROVEMENTS City Manager Schulze explained that several complaints had been received this year about the appearance of the rest rooms in Medina Park. He noted that the public works staff have implemented a twice daily check of the rest rooms, cleaning them as needed. He said that he had randomly checked the rest rooms and found them to be clean. He said the continuing complaints seemed to sustain the concern that the questionable cleanliness could largely be attributed to past vandalism of the facilities. He recommended that the rest rooms be refurbished according to a plan developed by the public works staff. He said the cost would be approximately $12,500. A second recommendation was to line the paths in Medina Park with metal edging. He said the edging would help maintain the gravel paths and be sufficiently flexible to withstand the continuing subsidence of certain portions of the park and path. Purchase of the edging and additional gravel was estimated to be $25,000. The Council discussed the two recommendations, but was uncomfortable with the recommendation for metal edging on the paths. Councilmember Morgan asked that the issue of paths be referred again to the Park Board. Councilmember Ross moved that Ordinance No. 643 be adopted transferring $12,500 from the Reserves Fund to the Capital Projects Fund for the purpose of rest room improvements. Councilmember Benz seconded the motion. All were in favor. ORDINANCE NO. 644 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING VARIOUS SECTIONS OF MEDINA MUNICIPAL CODE CHAPTER 18.12 GOVERNING ACTIVITIES ON STEEP SLOPES AND SENSITIVE AREAS Councilmember Morgan explained that this ordinance was based on a three part recommendation that came from the Planning Commission to the Council two years ago. The Council was favorable to this part of recommendation but did not take action at the time because of needed discussion on the other portions. City Attorney Wines added that the ordinance followed closely the language of the recommendation from the Planning Commission. Councilmember Morgan moved approval of Ordinance No. 644. Councilmember Benz made the second. Approval was unanimous. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 7 DISCUSSION 84TH AVE. NE RIGHT-OF-WAY ISSUES City Manager Schulze briefly reviewed the history behind the question of public right-of- way at the southern end of 84th Ave. NE. He recommended that the Council assign the Special Projects Committee to work with the City Attorney on the issue. Mayor Becker suggested that the issue be held for discussion in executive session because of the potential for litigation. By common consent the issue was held for discussion in executive session. AUTHORIZATION FOR CITY MANAGER TO RE- NEGOTIATE TCI FRANCHISE City Manager Schulze explained that other Points Communities were engaged in re- negotiating franchises for cable TV service with TCI. He suggested there may be strength in a unified bargaining position for all of the Points Communities. He added that a new franchise agreement might be structured to clear up some of the current ambiguities and to update some of the technological terms and considerations. Some concern was expressed by the Council, but the consensus was in favor of allowing negotiations. Councilmember Ross suggested that one of the results should be that Medina become a high speed access showcase. Councilmember Preston moved to authorize the City Manager to re -negotiate the franchise with TCI. Councilmember Benz made the second to the motion. The vote was unanimous. NEW BUSINESS MARINE PATROL The Council expressed displeasure with the service being rendered under agreement with the Mercer Island Marine Patrol. Councilmember Morgan noted that a buoy identified earlier in the year for replacement had not yet been replaced. Several of the Council also felt the patrols into Fairweather Cove were ineffectual and almost non- existent. By common consent, the City Manager was asked to investigate alternatives. WATER TESTING Councilmember Morgan asked that the City arrange to test the water at Lake Lane and 84th Ave. NE docks. City Manager Schulze said that staff would look into asking Dept. of Natural Resources to test these sights when they test the Beach Park. Medina City Council Minutes July 13, 1998 Page 8 PROPOSED ORDINANCE ON CONSERVANCY PROTECTION Mayor Becker asked about the status of an ordinance to protect the City's interests in properties that had been placed in conservancy. City Attorney Wines said that he would follow up with a proposed ordinance. BASIS FOR RECONSTRUCTION VALUATION Mayor Becker asked about the status of a redefinition for reconstruction. City Attorney Wines said that a memo was circulating for comment among concerned staff and consultants. He suggested that it be a topic for the planning commission. Mayor Becker responded that he felt the commission had a full agenda, and asked that it be brought directly to the Council. STREET STRIPING AND PAINTING Councilmember Ross inquired about the starting of the street striping and painting. Assistant City Manager Edvalson responded that street striping and painting which would involve a special process would be starting the week of July 27. LANE JUMPERS ON 84TH AVE NE. Councilmember Morgan asked why the Medina officers no longer patrolled in the evenings at the SR520 entrance off of 84th Ave. NE. City Manager Schulze replied that it was a matter of jurisdiction between Medina and the state patrol. He said it is the enforcement area of the state patrol. EXECUTIVE SESSION At approximately 9:55 PM, and under authority of RCW 42.30.110 Mayor Becker announced that the Council would hold an executive session to discuss personnel issues and matters of potential litigation. He announced the session would conclude at 10:25 PM, and would not be followed by further Council action. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember Ross moved to adjourn the regular meeting at 10:08 PM. Councilmember Preston seconded the motion. Approval was unanimous. Daniel Becker, Mayor Attest: arwood T. Edvalson, City Clerk