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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-27-2000 - Minutes (2)MEDINA CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION MINUTES November 27, 2000 4:00 P.M. Medina City Hall 501 Evergreen Point Rd. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Becker called the Study Session of the Medina City Council to order at 4:05 p.m. Present: Council Members Suzanne Cohen, Paul Demitriades, Jim Lawrence, Mary Odermat, Steve Preston and Mayor Daniel Becker Absent: Council Member Tom Morgan Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, City Planning Director Jenny Schultz, Public Works Superintendent Carl Burris, Finance Officer Jan Burdue and Interim City Clerk Caroll Wedlund ANNOUNCEMENTS Council Member Demitriades reminded Council Members of the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) Trans -Lake meetings on Thursday, November 29 and on Friday, November 30, 2000. Mayor Becker relayed that WSDOT was going to expand Interstate 520, and that the purpose of the meetings was for residents to relay their visions for the expansion. He noted that a number of Medina residents would be representing the City's interests at these meetings. Council Member Demitriades distributed a policy document entitled Endangered Species Act (ESA) 4(d) Rule, Principle and Policy Guidelines for ESA Compliance for review by the staff and the City Council. He announced that on January 8, 2001, the ESA (4d) rule would become effective. Council Member Demitriades recommended that the Mayor and Council endorse the Interlocal Agreement (WRIA 8), and that in order to protect the City, they should pass a resolution at the December meeting that would adopt the ESA guidelines. He also stressed that the interlocal agreement should be signed before the ESA (4d) rule became effective on January 8, 2001. Council Member Demitriades pointed out that on that date, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would begin enforcing the ESA (4d) rule, and that any party not in compliance could be subject to a third party lawsuit. Council Member Demitriades also suggested that under Central Services, the King County Water and Land Resources section of the proposed budget should be changed to WRIA 8. Council Members agreed that this should be done, but to leave the allocated amount as submitted. 2001 BUDGET City Manager Schulze reported that 1997 was the first year that Medina had experienced a surplus of any significance in the general fund or the operations portion of the budget. He explained that any surplus was carried over to the next year. City Manager Schulze stated that he had taken the safe approach to dealing with the sales tax and increasing the projection beyond what it had been the previous year. He noted that the final surplus for the year would not include the reimbursement from Bellevue. Mayor Becker pointed out that the City had spent $2 million for projects this year. Council Member Lawrence City Council Study Session November 27, 2000 Page 2 suggested raising the amount charged for sales tax, noting that the projection for next year did not even forecast breaking even. Mayor Becker indicated that the expenditures were increasing and the revenues were decreasing. He predicted that the City would be unable to maintain the current level of service. Council Member Preston was concerned about the capital projects, particularly maintenance of Medina streets. He emphasized that the City should have a plan in place for those projects, and until the Council determined the policy for them, they should defer. Council Member Preston was of the opinion that these expenses should be covered with building fees, rather than sales tax. He recommended that the Council pass the budget with the realization of amendment in the future. Mayor Becker was concerned about the overhead issues. City Manager Schulze indicated that every department had a percentage of time that was used for building -related activities. By charging a portion of that overhead to the planning and building functions, even if the amount of activity reduced the income from that area, it would also reduce the amount of time personnel were spending for this service. He continued that then it would be appropriate to charge those services back to property taxes at a greater rate. Council Member Preston was of the opinion that all the Council could do during this meeting was to agree that they wanted to try to recover those costs. Council Member Cohen wondered if the Council needed to pass a budget amendment to reflect the full time equivalents (FTEs). City Manager Schulze stated that budget amendments were confusing, because one must track the ordinance that passed the amendment. Council Member Cohen recommended that the Council proceed with the code enforcement position with 100 percent pass through to the projects for which code enforcement was being conducted. Council Member Demitriades suggested that the Council pass the total budget, including all requests. He also recommended that the Council only fund the code enforcement and the Police Department supervisor positions. City Manager Schulze noted that the hearing examiner position was a pass through amount that could be handled the same way as for the building official. It would be a pass through if there were more hours and expenses than what had been budgeted. City Manager Schulze also stressed that the cost for the code enforcement position must be projected. Council Member Demitriades indicated that he would like to see the revenue estimate for the fee increase and handle it with the budget amendment. Council Member Cohen declared that the Council had made a conscious decision to upgrade the Police Department. Mayor Becker relayed that if the Council was establishing an operating level that was higher than it had been, they must increase the 2001 tax levy. Council Member Cohen emphasized that the City Manager was conservative with how he estimated sales tax, and that there was a very good chance the 2001 budget was totally balanced. Mayor Becker cautioned that the City was eating into its surplus now, and that no major capital programs were planned for the coming year. Council Member Lawrence noted that the City was already receiving some payment for applications heard by the Board of Adjustment and the Planning Commission under the current system. He added that the fees would be changing to cover those expenses, plus the incremental costs of a hearing examiner, along with an increase in fees for other things. City Manager Schulze explained that the direction the Council wished to go with the building and planning fees was that the base permit fee would cover administrative and overhead expenses. Any consulting fees and expenses above the administrative overhead cost would be a pass through, and the hearing examiner position would be treated the same way. Council Member Lawrence wished to balance the budget by increasing the sales tax revenue. He also suggested that $300,000 be added to the street fund for road maintenance. Council Member Odermat agreed that funding was needed for road maintenance, and thought the sales tax should be elevated. She also was in favor of the hearing examiner and the code enforcement officer positions. Council City Council Study Session November 27, 2000 Page 3 Member Odermat suggested that the other issues could be discussed early in 2001. Council Member Preston wished to move ahead, but to leave the planning and building -related expenses in the budget. He was of the opinion that code enforcement was a much -needed service, and that the Council would find a way to recoup the necessary revenue. Mayor Becker asked City Attorney Wines what the City's liability would be if there were no Planning Commission or Board of Adjustment. City Attorney Wines responded that no variances would be granted. He added that a lot of Medina properties were nonconforming, and no building activity could occur without variances for these parcels. He predicted that the property owners would complain that they could not obtain relief. Mayor Becker summarized that the Council would adjust the budget for hearing examiner costs, that the Council would add $300,000 for road maintenance, and that both the code enforcement and police captain's positions would be added. Council Member Preston indicated that he would like to have anticipated replacement in place for a transition period before the building official's retirement. The Council agreed by consensus to adjust the sales tax projection from $700,000 to $950,000. City Manager Schulze explained that there were three projects that were large enough to have a noticeable impact upon sales tax. Mayor Becker asked about increasing the cost of building permits. City Manager Schulze responded that he could prepare an estimate of planning and building fee adjustments for the December Council meeting. He also noted that the Planning Department budget would be adjusted for an estimated hearing examiner cost. The Council also requested an ordinance amendment to clarify the language regarding how the pass through would work. City Manager Schulze announced that the Town of Hunts Point had agreed to the increase in their police services contract to $130,000. Council Member Demitriades reported that the Tree Preservation Committee had requested Otak to reduce the tree preservation inventory, and that it would be combined with some other studies. Council Member Cohen suggested that the tree preservation inventory be totally cut from the budget. Council Member Demitriades indicated that such action was possible. Council Member Lawrence expressed a desire for underground utilities in Medina. City Manager Schulze briefed the Council regarding the history of this issue. Council Member Lawrence relayed that the Undergrounding Utilities Committee wished to proceed with installation of underground utilities, but the cost would be prohibitive. Mayor Becker pointed out that with deregulation, there would be a change in Puget Sound Energy's structure regarding the who would do the underground work. He cautioned that it might be worthwhile to wait. City Manager Schulze explained that because Puget Sound Energy owned the distribution system, they would have to design the underground structure for compatibility. Council Member Demitriades stated that he could obtain a management intern for the City Manager at no cost. City Manager Schulze replied that if he could obtain a quality intern that would not take a lot of time, he would be happy to have that person. Council Member Preston suggested including the recording secretary position because it was a reflection of the increased activity in Medina. He made this recommendation based upon the assumption of a large increase in pass through revenues. City Council Study Session November 27, 2000 Page 4 City Manager Schulze indicated that the projected conference area had been put on hold, and that staff had devised a much less expensive plan. He continued that the revised plan included a partition that would slide back to mount flush against the wall. Chief Knapp requested the Council's input about continuing with the DARE program, as he had received comments regarding whether or not it was an effective resource allocation. He pointed out that the schools were very enthusiastic about the program. Chief Knapp announced that Officer Plancich had received DARE training to teach three days a week at Medina's three schools. Council Member Cohen commented that in essence, Medina was giving a police officer to the schools every week during the school year. Chief Knapp explained that the DARE reimbursement was based upon the population of Medina. Council Member Cohen suggested that perhaps the City should not be implementing the DARE program at all. Mayor Becker commented that there was a rapport between the children and the officer. Chief Knapp stated that it was a positive program, but it could be reduced in scope. He suggested that the entity utilizing the service should also have a corresponding obligation to pay for it. Mayor Becker expressed concern about the private schools. Chief Knapp promised to check into private school contributions to assist with the DARE program cost. Chief Knapp announced that the emergency management consultant contract had been signed, and that the emergency management plan should be in place next year. He continued that the evaluation system should also be complete by next year. City Manager Schulze relayed that the way the emergency medical services section was set up, the City could split the amount dedicated to that portion of the proposed budget. He reported that fire control services were through Bellevue. However, if the County Council did not provide the additional funding, the expenditures for next year would be reduced. Council Member Demitriades suggested, and the Council concurred, that a letter should be written to Council Members Hague and McKenna, Co-chairs of the King County Council Budget Committee, stating that the City did not wish the EMS funding amount to be reduced. Mayor Becker suggested that the detail reference in the budget should be changed from FTE to FTE/Consultants, because the Council still needed to determine whether or not the positions should be FTEs or consultants. City Manager Schulze explained that the Parks Department lifeguards worked from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. seven days a week from Memorial Day through Labor Day. He added that the lifeguard budget figure included $10 per hour for the head lifeguard and $8.50 for the other ones. The Council requested that Public Works Superintendent Burris review the lifeguard budget figures for further discussion at the December Council meeting. The Council suggested that Park Board members attend a Council meeting to discuss the master plan and that Otak consultant Keith Bates be present to review the master plan highlights. Following discussion, the Council requested that $15,000 be added to the Parks budget for Fairweather maintenance, but that the gym portion of the 2001 budget should be removed and added back in as a separate line item. City Manager Schulze explained that the Police Department Chevrolet Impala had been sold to another department, with the net result that there had been a $2,000 loss. Council Member Lawrence suggested adding a transfer from the general strengthen the street fund reserve. City Manager Schulze explained that the street fund focused upon maintenance -related issues, City Council Study Session November 27, 2000 Page 5 and the capital projects fund upon projects issues. The Council requested further identification of items in the street fund. Mayor Becker asked if anything more needed be done with Medina's storm drains this year for ESA compliance. Public Works Superintendent Burris replied that a risk assessment should be completed this year. However, the City would not have to determine upgrade expenditures until about 2003. Mayor Becker inquired about the $9,552 amount for traffic control devices. City Manager Schulze replied that a couple more traffic counters were needed to identify vehicle lengths, number and speeds of vehicles. He continued that if the City moved toward a fee for construction projects, traffic counters would help to determine the amount of trucks coming in and out of the City. City Manager Schulze noted that they would also help with Police Department issues in monitoring traffic speeds. He added that these devices were portable and gave a more detailed report than a hose on the street. City Manager Schulze noted that also included in this projected budget amount were new street signs, substitution of signs that were no longer reflective, replacement of intersection signs and some specialty "no parking" ones used near the St. Thomas Church site. Planning Director Schultz volunteered to write some ESA comments for inclusion in the December Council meeting packet. Council Member Demitriades suggested that the City include an ESA compliance checklist as a part of its future application packages. He asked City Planning Director Schulze how she would implement the requirement for a biological assessment and the ESA checklist effective January 2001. Planning Director Schultz noted that applicants were already having biological assessments done as part of the permit process. Mayor Becker stated that the City did not need to impose such a restriction if the Army Corps of Engineers was already doing so. Both Planning Director Schultz and City Attorney Wines suggested making the biological assessment subject to approval by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Council agreed by consensus that the City should implement this requirement. POINT OF ORDER At 6:25 p.m. and under authority of RCW 42.30.110, an Executive Session was held for the purpose of discussion of pending litigation. By unanimous consensus, Council members closed the Executive Session at 6:35 p.m. At 6:35 p.m., the Council reconvened the regular study session. ADJOURNMENT Council Member Cohen moved, seconded by Council Member Preston, to adjourn. Council Members agreed by consensus to adjourn the November City Counc S Jy Session at 6:35 p.m. i Da F. Becker, Mayor Attest: Caroll P. Wedlund, Interim City Clerk