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HomeMy WebLinkAbout05-13-2002 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES May 13, 2002 Medina City Hall y 501 Evergreen Point Rd. 7 00 PM Mayor Becker called the regular meeting of the Medina City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Council members J. Drew Blazey, Paul Demitriades, Thomas E Morgan, Todd Nunn, Mary Odermat, Robert Rudolph and Mayor Dan Becker Staff Present. City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Police Chief Michael Knapp, Planning Director Jenny Schultz and City Clerk Caroll Wedlund Park Board Chair Connie Gerlitz ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Becker announced an Association of Washington Cities meeting would be held in Yakima in June Council member Demitriades relayed a WRIA 8 forum was planned for May 16, 2002 regarding salmon recovery water quality in Lake Washington. He also noted the Town of Hunts Point would hold a hearing regarding their plan to treat milfoil with chemicals in Fairweather Bay. Council member Demitriades suggested residents comment at this hearing. Council member Morgan conveyed he had written to Senator Patty Murray regarding increased use of the Duwamish, and she had referred the matter to the FAA for response. Council member Rudolph indicated the National League of Cities was conducting a Leadership Institute forum entitled "Strengthening Council Effectiveness" in Montana June 27-29, 2002. Mayor Becker proclaimed the week of May 12-18, 2002 as Police Week, and May 15, 2002 as Peace Officers' Memorial Day, in honor of law enforcement officers. POINT OF ORDER In accordance with RCW 42.30.110(i), Mayor Becker announced an Executive Session would follow tonight's Council meeting to discuss potential litigation issues CONSENT AGENDA Council member Morgan moved, seconded by Council member Demitriades, to adopt the consent agenda. Council member Rudolph stated he would like Consent Agenda item D4, Consider Award of Contract for NE 8`h Street Pedestrian Safety Project, to be placed under "Other Business" for discussion by members of the audience. The vote was unanimous to approve the consent agenda, minus item D4. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Mayor Becker requested that the Audience Participation portion be placed after the Consent Agenda and before the Reports section of the meeting in the future. He opened the meeting to the audience for non -agenda items. Dave Martin, 3205 Evergreen Point Road, thanked the Council for their consistent persistence regarding WSDOT and the SR-520 corridor. He emphasized if the SR-520 corridor project were implemented, large segments of property north and south of the SR-520 Bridge would be impacted, which would have a direct bearing upon Medina's tax revenues. John Broback, 3223 Evergreen Point Road, agreed with Mr. Martin, and expressed concern regarding the proposed SR- 520 corridor project. He was of the opinion an adequate study had not been conducted, and the new communities north of Bellevue would be better served by an alternative location. Mr. Broback cautioned Medina property values might be adversely affected. He also warned about the increased pollution that could result, and suggested the gas tax be fought in every way possible if it would be used for the SR-520 corridor project. Irene Hildonen, 7617 NE 24t" Street, requested a grandfather clause be applied for a variance request to skirt her carport, and also suggested a reduced fee permit should be granted. The Council requested a discussion item be prepared regarding reduced permit fees for the July Study Session. REPORTS Public Safety Report -- Chief Knapp briefed the Council regarding the rash of home -occupied burglaries within the past month. He also conveyed seven car prowls had taken place, and all but two vehicles had been unlocked. Chief Knapp cautioned those present to obtain and activate a home alarm, and to lock their residence doors. He also reported `P215 had been taken from a vehicle at Medina Chevron when the owner left it to pay for gas. Following up on the drive -by shooting, Chief Knapp explained the slugs had been identified as coming from the gun in the suspect's possession. He also advised the difficulty of filling police officer positions, noting of 41 candidates interviewed, only one had been hired City Council Meeting May 13, 2002 Page 2 Planning Report — Planning Director Schultz relayed the Swim-thru Fishway owners were planning to pursue a demonstration project, and hoped to obtain assistance from the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife or WSDOT. The Council decided against any further action regarding the Swim-thru Fishway project. Planning Director Schultz also noted building permit activity was increasing. Park Board Report — Park Board Chair Gerlitz announced Heija Nunn had recently been appointed to the Park Board. Mayor Becker requested Council committee announcements be added to the Report section of the agenda, including Finance, Personnel, Facilities and Emergency Management OTHER BUSINESS NE 8th Street Pedestrian Safety Project — City Manager Schulze relayed the pedestrian safety project had been advertised for competitive bids April 10-17, 2002. He noted the Council was required to take action on the contract within 30 days of the April 24, 2002 bid opening. City Manager Schulze added all requirements for award of the project had been met. The low bidder out of eight submissions was Mer-Con, Inc. for $144,978, and the second lowest bid was within one percent of that amount. City Manager Schulze noted all reference checks of the low bidder had responded favorably. He commented the project would be completed within 30 working days from the start of construction. Jim Lawrence, 822 Evergreen Point Road, congratulated the Council regarding the price of the NE 8`h Street project. Mr. Lawrence also distributed a memo indicating the vast majority of the residents in this Medina neighborhood did not consider the sidewalk necessary or desirable. Bill Kinzel, 802 — 80th Avenue NE, requested the Council reject acceptance of the bid for the pedestrian safety project. He stated there was nothing in the September 4, 2001 letter from Washington Cities Insurance Authority stating the Council would be liable for voting against an improvement on NE 8'h Street. Further, there was no instance where an individual Council member had been sued for voting against a pedestrian safety project. _ Nelda Brock, 850 — 82nd Avenue NE, stated a second sidewalk would not slow down traffic. Jessie Sites, 860 — 82nd Avenue NE, stressed the sidewalk was borne out of concern for pedestrian safety. She was of the opinion the project would make the street look wider and busier, which would encourage speeding. Ms. Sites also referred to the lack of police presence on NE 8'h Street. Chris Einsinger, 805 NE 8th Street, noted both an impartial engineer and the insurance carrier had recommended the sidewalk, and the majority of the Medina residents were in favor of the project. He added NE 8th Street was one of the heaviest traffic and pedestrian -traveled roads in Medina. Arthur Dietrich, 707 Overlake Drive East, noted most of the Medina children were chauffeured to school in their family automobiles. He did not believe a sidewalk on the other side of the road would improve pedestrian safety. Scott Sites, 860 — 82"d Avenue NE, requested a copy of the vehicular traffic count survey for NE 8'h Street. Margaret Maxwell, 8040 NE 8th Street, was not in favor of the sidewalk, as a lot of plants would be moved, and hedges impacted. She stated the contractor was only responsible for maintaining the plants for 30 days, and asked how they would be maintained after that period. She asked for a written understanding with the city that the property owners' trees would be maintained beyond the construction period. John Bethke, 8060 NE 8th Street, encouraged the Council to vote in favor of the project. Henry Paulman, 1415 — 80th Avenue NE, suggested the money allocated for this project might be better spent somewhere else, and suggested a LID to fund the proposed pedestrian safety project. Council member Nunn moved, seconded by Council member Odermat, to award the NE 8`h Street Pedestrian Safety Project to Mer-Con, Inc., and the vote was unanimously in favor. Discussion of Large House Policy Recommendations — Council member Nunn excused himself from the meeting, due to the appearance of possible conflict of interest. City Manager Schulze noted the intended focus for this agenda item was a discussion of the Planning Commission's large house policy recommendations. Council member Morgan emphasized the Planning Commission had not addressed anything to limit lot consolidation, and their recommendations had not gone in the direction the Council had requested. Planning Director Schultz replied the Planning Commission had been dealing with the mega house issue and how to reduce the impact of very large homes. Mayor Becker stated a clear definition had City Council Meeting May 13, 2002 Page 3 not been given to the Planning Commission, and they did not have a clear vision of what the Council had requested o them. He suggested the Council develop a policy statement for the Planning Commission so they could make adjustments to their recommendations. City Manager Schulze suggested the Planning Commission could review the policy statements proposed by the Council at the joint Study Session. Council member Morgan stressed the two problems were an absolute size limitation of a very large house, and addressing the question of scale of houses of a smaller size. Jim Lawrence, 822 Evergreen Point Road, did not want special use permits to go to the Hearing Examiner. City Manager Schulze stated the criteria that would apply could be adopted by ordinance to reduce subjectivity. He noted if some of the larger parcels were subdivided and each lot was developed individually, the result could be continuous construction on the same general parcel for a long period of time. The Council decided the policy statements should include a limitation of maximum house size and discouraging lot amalgamation. Council member Odermat suggested leaving the issue of lot amalgamation silent. Council member Morgan suggested trying to maintain a balance between the right of the homeowner to develop their property to the maximum and the right of the community to enjoy the ambiance of the city. He stated the mitigation should apply to every project, not just the to largest Medina homes. Council member Demitriades suggested a policy statement to discourage but not prohibit lot amalgamation, which passed with four in favor, and two against. The Council revised the Planning Commission's recommendations to reflect their comments as follows Development Standards 1. Discourage construction of out of scale houses in areas where smaller scale houses exist. 2. Discourage but not prohibit amalgamation of lots. 3. Establish a maximum limit on size of structures. 4. Maintain a sense of privacy. Procedures 1. The Council favors communication between adjacent property owners to prevent misunderstandings. _ 2. The Council encourages communication between adjacent property owners regarding redevelopment plans. 3. Consider site plan review for larger scale projects. Discussion of 2002 Medina Days — City Manager Schulze announced WCIA would be conducting an audit of parks and recreation in June. He noted the WCIA Risk Manager indicated the city had a responsibility for damages that may occur at such events as Medina Days. City Manager Schulze relayed the City Hall quitclaim deed specifically stated the sale or use of intoxicating liquors, narcotics or gambling was prohibited on the premises. Mayor Becker recommended the vendors sign hold harmless indemnification agreements. City Manager Schulze recommended the city be provided with certificates of insurance, and the vendors' insurance should name Medina as an additional insured. Council member Demitriades emphasized the city's should enforce not drinking at Medina Days, to reduce the risk of liability. Joseph Brazen, 3204 Evergreen Point Road, stated he could not recall any time there had been a drinking -related problem at Medina Days since its 1974 inception. Council member Morgan moved the city co-sponsor Medina Days. City Manager Schulze stated the fireworks display had been cut from the budget. Council member Rudolph amended the motion to include sponsoring the fireworks display, seconded by Council member Blazey. Council member Demitriades recommended amending the motion to support the City Manager in obtaining certificates of indemnity from the vendors. Mayor Becker suggested setting up a non-profit corporation to handle Medina Days and to reduce liability. Anne Demitriades, 2254 Evergreen Point Road, emphasized Medina Days had traditionally been for Medina families, but in the past few years, this event had reached massive proportions. She emphasized Medina Days was for Medina families, friends and the Points Communities. Following further discussion, the Council voted unanimously to have the City Attorney draft documentation for creation of a non-profit association to co-sponsor Medina Days. Discussion of Council Protocol Manual — The Council requested the City Manager to modify the Protocol Manual for consistency with the MMC and to provide it as a resource rather than as an adopted document. Home for the Holidays — The Council voted by consensus to deny the Master Builders request for a Home for the Holidays showcase event, as it would set a precedent. City Council Meeting May 13, 2002 Page 4 Extension of Large House Moratorium — City Attorney Wines stated the Council should conduct a public hearing at the June Council meeting regarding extending the large house moratorium. EXECUTIVE SESSION The Council recessed at 10:15 p.m., followed by Executive session to discuss potential litigation issues, per RCW 42.30.110(i). The regular meeting was reconvened at 10:50 p.m. ADJOURNMENT The Council voted unanimously to adjourn the meeting at 10: D n Becker, Mayor Attest: Caroll P. Wedlund, City Clerk