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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-12-1998 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES October 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 Becker. The meeting was recorded on audio tape. ROLL CALL Present: Councilmembers Suzanne Cohen, Susan Potts, Steve Preston, Grahame Ross and Mayor Daniel Becker. Absent: Councilmember Thomas Morgan Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Asst. City Mgr./City Clerk Woody Edvalson, Acting Police Chief Doug Ambrose ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Becker announced the September 30 resignation of Councilmember Benz. He noted that she had changed residence and now lived outside the City limits. He expressed appreciation for her contributions to the Council and community. He also noted that Lynn's husband, David Krull, had served on the Planning Commission, and that a vacancy had been created there as well. Mayor Becker thanked those who helped in the interview process for the police chief candidates. Participating in the interviews from Medina were Suzanne Cohen, Grahame Ross, Mayor Dan Becker, Paul Demitriades and Woody Edvalson. From neighborhing communities were Mitch Wasserman and Police Chief Bill Archer from Clyde Hill, and Mayor Erselle Eade from Hunts Point. Mayor Becker announced that the Council would hold an executive session at the conclusion of the regular agenda. He added that he anticipated the Council would return to open session to take some action. Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 2 City Manager Schulze provided a brief update on the Trans -Lake Washington Study Committee meeting of October 7. He said the Washington State Department of Transportation held a variety of informational meetings. A majority of the time at the Oct. 7 meeting was spent summarizing the comments received at those meetings. At the Nov./Dec. meetings, concepts will be narrowed to a short list in. Debate will follow in Jan./Feb. meetings, with evaluation of the consensus in Apr./May. meetings. A final study report will be crafted in the June/July meetings. He noted that nearly a third of the projected study time had already been used to try and arrive at a problem statement. City Manager Schulze also reported on the Points Community traffic study meeting held in September. About 40 people were in attendance. A meeting summary was included in the October Newsletter. He had received some input as a result of that article. The consultants are in the process of preparing a final report. CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember Potts moved approval of the consent agenda as follows: A. The minutes from the regular Council meeting of September 14, 1998; B. Approval and acceptance of September 1998 Warrants/Treasurer's Report with approval for the following warrants: September warrants #11681 - 11786 & 911664 - $281,407.95; and September personnel warrants #16222 - 16277 - $77,432.78. Councilmember Cohen seconded the motion. Approval was unanimous. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Charles Pigott, 8723 Overlake Drive West, and Charles Simonyi, 111 84th Ave. NE, asked that the City Council reconsider the necessity of the lawsuit to clarify property rights at the southern end of 84th Ave. NE. They suggested that a Council subcommittee be appointed to discuss and negotiate the issue, and that the suit be withdrawn. Mr. Pigott expressed dismay that his first notice of the situation was through contact from the City Attorney rather than a Councilmember. He suggested that the City seek a second opinion before proceeding with what could be a very expensive suit. Mr. Simonyi added that he was surprised at the magnitude of rights sought on the part of City. Councilmember Potts and Mayor Becker commented that the City had done much background work with the Krengels when they owned the property at 103 84th Ave. NE, and that the lawsuit was precipitated by Mr. Simonyi's desire to erect a fence and further develop the property he had purchased from the Krengels. City Attorney Wines added that the City was unclear as to what it owned in that area, and that the Council did not want to abrogate any of the public's rights. Paul Demitriades, 2254 Evergreen Point Road, asked that the Council take action to reduce the impacts of heavy truck traffic on NE 24th St. He recommended that the Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 3 Council redirect track traffic so that projects developing in the south on Evergreen Point Road use NE 12th St. Projects developing north would use NE 24th St. He also asked that random traffic counts be taken to make sure developers were not exceeding the limitations imposed on large projects. He also asked that the cumulative effects of all building permits in a given area be evaluated for street impacts. Former Mayor Thornton Thomas, 3335 Evergreen Point Road, spoke in agreement with Mr. Demitriades. Jim Lawrence, 822 Evergreen Point Road, added that the Planning Commission has stipulated on large projects that trucks should not be on -site before 7:00 a.m. The Council discussed the issue, referring it to the Public Safety Committee for recommendations. REPORTS PUBLIC SAFETY REPORTS Acting Police Chief Ambrose reported on criminal activity occurring in the month of September. He noted a burglary in the 1000 block of Evergreen Point Road which occurred during a 30 minute period when the wife was taking the husband to work. Entry was made through a rear screen door. He added that two mail thefts occurred in town, along with credit card theft and fraud in excess of $10,000 by a guest in the home of a resident. Marine Patrol Supervisor Mark Marcroft made a report on behalf of the Mercer Island Marine Patrol.. He noted that efforts had been made during the past year to improve the units performance and visibility on the waterfront. He felt that a lack of appropriate information may have been to blame for misconceptions on the part of the Council. A change in their patrol tactics may have led to the perception that there was a lack of enforcement on the part of the patrol. He also noted that the total number of stops had increased from 58 in 1997 to 267 in 1998. CALENDAR City Manager Schulze discussed with the Council the need for public works and finance committee meetings to discuss the proposed budget. Mayor Becker also suggested that a meeting of the public safety committee be scheduled the following week. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS ORDINANCE NO. 645 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE DEFINITION OF RECONSTRUCTION Councilmember Cohen reported on efforts to prepare Ordinance No. 645 to amend the definitions of reconstruction. She said her approach in working with Kirk in the preparation of this ordinance was to clarify and simplify the ordinance from previous drafts, and to draw a distinction between the reconstruction of non -conforming Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 4 structures and a new term called the renovation of non -conforming structures. The Council favored allowing work to be done within or on the existing building structure of a non -conforming structure without the need for a variance. The Council discussed the proposed ordinance and reached a consensus on many of the issues. City Attorney Wines was directed to prepare the ordinance with the recommended changes for review at the next meeting. Henry Paulman, 1415 80th Ave. NE, questioned the ordinance's impact on his property particularly in the event of natural disaster. He was advised that he would not need a variance to replace his house under those circumstances. Councilmember Cohen suggested that the definitions contained in Medina Municipal Code 17.12 need to be clarified as a basis for any further amendment of the Code. The Council discussed various options and re-emphasized the need for a review and update of the code. ORDINANCE NO. 646 - AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE TRANSFER OF $7,500 FROM THE RESERVES FUND TO THE GENERAL FUND FOR THE PURPOSE OF CONDUCTING A COMMUNITY SURVEY City Manager Schulze provided a short report on the proposed community survey. He reported that the item was not a budgeted item in the 1998 Fiscal Year Budget. He explained that this ordinance would allocate funds to proceed with the survey. Councilmember Ross moved to approve Ordinance No. 646. Councilmember Preston seconded the motion. All were in favor. Councilmember Cohen asked if the questions had already been formatted. City Manager Schulze explained that a sample survey had previously been circulated to the Council and had received input from Councilmember Morgan. He said that the consultant would like to start anew and meet with interested Council and city staff to receive input on the type of desired information. Mayor Becker indicated that except for the most recent issues, the sample survey largely contained the type of information the Council desired. In order to expedite the survey process, City Manager Schulze was directed to work with the consultant to make sure that the appropriate issues were covered. RESOLUTION NO. 256 - A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF MEDINA WASHINGTON AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR SURFACE TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM FUND EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE CITY OF MEDINA AND KING COUNTY FOR PROGRAM YEARS 1999 AND 2000 Assistant City Manager Edvalson provided a brief staff report. He explained that the proposed resolution authorized participation in the same type of program that the City had entered into last year to swap the City's allocation of ISTEA funds for an equal amount of County road funds. He said that Medina would have difficulty meeting all of Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 5 the requirements for the ISTEA grant. The County road funds could be used for any type of street maintenance project. Councilmember Ross moved the approval of Resolution No. 256. Councilmember Cohen provided the second. Approval was unanimous. RESOLUTION NO. 257 - AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR A JOINTLY FUNDED POINTS COMMUNITIES LOOP TRAIL City Manager Schulze reported that this interlocal agreement was to formalize the relationship between the Points Communities that places Clyde Hill as the lead agency on the project to finalize the Points Communities Loop Trail. Councilmember Preston moved to approve Resolution No. 257. Councilmember Cohen seconded the motion. All were in favor. RESOLUTION NO. 258 - AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO EXECUTE AN INTERLOCAL AGREEMENT FOR JOINT REPRESENTATION FOR TCI NEGOTIATIONS City Manager Schulze explained that the Points Communities had met to discuss having Medina join the other Points Communities' negotiation with TCI on a new cable franchise. He added that the Council had given previous approval to participate in the negotiations, and that this interlocal would authorize Medina to share in the costs of legal representation during the negotiations. He said that given the rapidly changing conditions of technology, the term sought for the franchise agreement would be five years. Henry Paulman, 1415 80th Ave SE, asked why City Attorney Kirk Wines was not representing the City. He praised Mr. Wines knowledge of telecommunications issues. City Manager Schulze responded that the attorney currently working with the other cities had successfully negotiated several agreements with TCI for other jurisdictions, including Issaquah and Woodinville. Councilmember Ross moved to approve the resolution. Councilmember Preston made the second. Council assent was unanimous. DISCUSSION PROCESS TO FILL VACANT CITY COUNCIL POSITION City Manager Schulze explained that the Municipal Code does not address vacancies on the City Council. He added that the Revised Code of Washington was essentially silent except to say that the Council should fill the vacancy. He suggested that the personnel committee receive applications and make recommendations to the full City Council with the full Council making the appointment. Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 6 The Council discussed various options for filling the Council vacancy expressing concern that the candidate mesh well with the seated Council. Councilmember Preston expressed his opinion that because of the importance of the position, the Council as a whole should interview candidates and make an appointment. Councilmember Ross proposed that if interviews and recommendations were done as a whole, then an appointment should require a 5/6 super -majority, affirmative vote. Council consensus was to adopt this approach. OFFER OF LOANED ARTWORK FOR MEDINA PARK City Manager Schulze reported that Mrs. Mary Shirley had offered to temporarily display a large sculpture in Medina Park. She had offered to insure the sculpture for property damage, but would seek a hold -harmless agreement from the City on liability issues. The Council referred the offer to the Park Board for a recommendation. RETIREMENT OF GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS City Manager Schulze advised the City Council that the City's 1987 general obligation bonds could be retired early with a net savings of approximately $26,740 to the City. He added that a budget amendment would be needed to fund the expenditure. The Council consensus was to have an ordinance prepared and presented when appropriate. STRUCTURES IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY City Manager Schulze explained that there had been an issue where the Board of Adjustment had approved a retaining wall within the right-of-way that, perhaps, was not in the City's best interest. He said the City code gives the Board of Adjustment authority to hear variance requests for structures in the right-of-way, which are typically smaller items. He advised that the City Engineer and Building Official be involved in proposed variances that substantially impact the right-of-way. The Council agreed to consider proposed changes at a future meeting. NEW BUSINESS NEW OR REVISED CONSTRUCTION PARKING ORDINANCE Councilmember Cohen expressed a need for a new or revised construction parking ordinance. She complained about the number of vehicles parked in the right-of-way at the north end of Evergreen Point Road. She noted that one contractor had dumped landscape dirt in the street, blocking an entire lane of an already narrow street, rather than placing the dirt on the property's driveway. The Council discussed the issues. City Manager Schulze commented that there had recently been greater enforcement of the ordinance with some positive results. The Council consensus was to wait and see what impact the increased enforcement would have. Medina City Council Minutes October 12, 1998 Page 7 EXECUTIVE SESSION At 9:20 p.m. and under authority of RCW 42.30.110 Mayor Becker announced that the Council would hold an executive session to discuss matters of potential litigation. He announced the session would conclude in twenty minutes with no further Council action. ADJOURNMENT On a motion by Councilmember Preston and a second by Councilmember Ross, the executive session was concluded and the Council meeting adjourned at 9:50 p.m. DanisFBecker, Mayor Attest: - Ha ood T. Edvalson, City Clerk