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HomeMy WebLinkAbout11-10-2003 - MinutesMEDINA CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MINUTES November 10, 2003 Medina City Hall 7:00 PM 501 Evergreen Point Road CALL TO ORDER Mayor Becker called the meeting of the Medina City Council to order at 7:00 p.m. ROLL CALL Present: Council members Miles Adam, Drew Blazey, Thomas Morgan, Todd Nunn, Bob Rudolph, Deputy Mayor Mary Odermat and Mayor Dan Becker Staff Present: City Manager Doug Schulze, City Attorney Kirk Wines, Police Captain Jeff Chen, Public Works Director (PWD) Shel Jahn, Planning Director Joseph Gellings, Finance Officer Jan Burdue and Recording Secretary Caroll Wedlund Consultant: Kristin Hoffman, Otak ANNOUNCEMENTS Council member Blazey relayed last month in Executive Session, the Council by consensus had agreed to cap health care costs. Mayor Becker stated this issue could be discussed under "J", New Business. Council member Blazey also announced he would later be distributing a memo regarding the illegal election flyer distribution Council member Adam stated the only option Sound Transit was presenting was a toll plaza in Medina, if they were to charge tolls, and suggested the city request other options. If the four -lane option were picked, there would be no LIDs in Medina. The only time LIDS would come into play would be if there were a minimum six -lane bridge. He suggested sending a notice to Medina citizens concerning these issues. He suggested the Council start establishing a trend line so they would not miss the thought process of Medina citizens. He also wanted at some point to discuss facilities strategy, and suggested a survey of Medina citizens be conducted to garner their opinions regarding this issue. In response to Council member Adam's inquiry during a prior meeting regarding permit streamlining, City Manager Schulze stated Bellevue used a special program for this, which cost several thousand dollars to join. Mayor Becker announced for those present to hear the Medina Store Historical Use Permit Application issue, the PC had continued their November 4 meeting to November 11, 2003. Therefore, the Council would not consider it until they received the PC recommendation. CONSENT AGENDA Council member Rudolph moved, seconded by Deputy Mayor Odermat, to accept the consent agenda. Council member Morgan stated item 3 of the Finance Officer's report confused him, as he thought the header column should be labeled October rather than September. Finance Officer Burdue stated she would correct it. With regard to the October 13 minutes, Council member Adam stated the Council decision was that city hall should be open five days a week. The consent agenda was unanimously approved as modified. E-1 Minutes from October 13, 2003 Council Meeting E-2 Minutes from October 27, 2003 Council Study Session E-3 October 2003 Checks and Finance Officer's Report E-4 Ordinance No. 743, Tree and Vegetation Code - adopted AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Steve Broback, 3225 Evergreen Point Road, indicated he was keeping abreast of DOT issues facing the community. He distributed two brochures authored by the Transportation Infrastructure Financing Alternatives (TIFA) Legislative Oversight Committee, noting state law did not require local comprehensive plans to set aside land that was required for building state transportation improvements. The result was land acquisition costs could substantially increase during the time it took to develop and fund a state transportation improvement. The DOT had identified projects which would require future land purchases in the statewide transportation plan, yet there was no way to compel local jurisdictions to reserve land or to rezone specific properties for future projects. Mr. Broback urged the Council to be involved. He also offered his e-mail address, steve(a�avondalemedia.com. City Attorney Wines and Planning Director Gellings will collaborate to prepare a response to the TIFA comments that Mr. Broback distributed. REPORTS Police Department —In Chief Knapp's absence, Captain Chen gave an overview of MPD activity during October: a. An officer apprehended a male suspected of kidnapping a 10-year o'd boy from the Spokane area. Corporal Dan Yourkoski did an excellent job in apprehending the suspect. City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2003 Page 2 b. Four forced residential burglaries occurred within the past 10 days all in the north part of Evergreen Point Road. The suspect stole a bicycle, ditched it in Fairweather Nature Preserve, and eluded MPD officers. A i unit was called in to assist. The dog lost the scent when the suspect dove off a dock into Fairweather Bay and hid aboard a boat until the next day, when he committed the fourth and final burglary. MPD also recovered the bag containing stolen merchandise, and the goods were subsequently returned to the owner. MPD also gathered fingerprints and forensic evidence, and Captain Chen was confident they would be able to identify the suspect. c. MPD has organized a 7:00 p.m. crime prevention meeting on Novemc)er 19 at Bellevue Christian School. d. Approximately 400 residents now received Community E-lert messages, and the amount was growing daily. e. A project called Child Safe has furnished MPD with 500 gunlocks, which are available free to citizens. Planning —Planning Director Gellings outlined his credentials and work experience for the Council. Public Works—PWD Jahn referred to the Public Works activity report and opened the meeting to questions. A Council member emphasized items with budgetary consequences s-iould be forwarded to the Council for approval. PWD Jahn requested additional clarification, noting the failing small retaining wall in Medina Beach park had been funded in the 2003 budget and approved by the Council. He rioted it was quite time consuming for the PB to request approval of every proposed project. City Manager Schulze did not know whether or not the Council was interested in the design and engineering of a retaining wall, as they would approve the actual construction project anyway. A Council member relayed if there were any projects on -going, the boards could recommend a course of action, but final approval was the Council's responsibility. City Manager Schulze stated typically project design was a staff -level decision. It was suggested PB members would like to participate in this discussion as well, and this topic should be moved to a Study Session to determine the interests and concerns. By consensus, the subject was tabled with the intent to discuss at a future Study Session. Mayor Becker thought the fence issue between the Simonyi and Pigott properties had been resolved a few years ago. PWD Jahn responded the documents showed the property line location, and a survey was being conducted. The current chain link fence line was not on the newly established property line, per the agreement. That was why a survey was needed. Council member Blazey asked about the buckled walkway in the city right-of-way between NE 12'h Street and NE 14`h Street on 801h Avenue NE. PWD Jahn responded it was in the Capital Improvements Plan. Also, the PW crew planned to work on the green belt on 80'hAvenue NE at Medina Park Place before the end of this year. Deputy Mayor Odermat inquired about the ten-year land use permit with Puget Sound Energy. PWD Jahn replied there was no cost for the permit. However, there were a lot of costs associated with getting everything in place. Council member Rudolph gave a recap regarding what had transpired at the SR-520 open house. Tolls would be included, to be collected automatically with transponders. A tollbooth was also planned. Three LIDs were anticipated, at 761h Avenue NE, 84'h Avenue NE and 92nd Avenue NE, which would cost about $60 million each. The SR-520 Bridge was anticipated to open by 2014. A Council member urged the Council to push for collecting from the 1-5 side of the bridge, as opposed to the east side. PWD Jahn volunteered he had 4, 6 and 8 lane depictions available for view. He noted the SR-520 cut through Medina actually sliced into part of Medina Circle. However, these were preliminary design alternatives. Park Board —On behalf of the Park Board, PB member Brazen requested Council support to designate and illuminate a holiday tree with white lights in Medina Park. The PB had identified the giant sequoia in Medina Park near the 5-corners intersection area of the Park as being an excellent candidate for the proposed holiday tree. He pointed out such an endeavor would create a good community spirit and could be seen from all five corners at the entrance to Medina. Council member Adam moved, seconded by Council member Blazey, that the Council support the holiday tree. Mayor Becker objected. PWD Jahn stated the total one-time cost for the lights and electrical connection was estimated at $450, and could be funded from the Miscellaneous account in the Parks Department budget. The motion carried, with four Council members in favor, two opposed, and one abstaining. Finance Committee --Council member Rudolph reported local retail sales tax receipts were below the projected budget by for this time of year by S220,412. Building permit receipts were $95,913 below the budget projections for this time of year. Investment interest was 516,749 below the projected budget amount. Overall, the city was $232,000 below budget. He predicted the city's financial outlook would be better by the end of the year. City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2003 Page 3 Personnel Committee —No personnel report. Emergency Preparedness --Council member Blazey relayed an Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting would be held November 19 at 5:00 p.m. in City Hall. Council member Morgan added information was forthcoming from Bellevue Police Department regarding an upcoming bio-terrorism conference, and thought Captain Chen and other PD personnel would be interested in attending. City Manager's Report —City Manager Schulze reported the 2002 audit exit interview on October 30, 2003 resulted in a clean audit with no findings. There would be a couple of recommendations provided by the auditor to the city staff as areas for improvement. Council member Rudolph attended this meeting with the auditor and staff, and he read aloud the auditor's comments, noting strong internal controls and the city's commitment to preparing timely and accurate financial reports. PUBLIC HEARING Pubic Hearing--2004 Budget —City Manager Schulze referred to his November 6, 2003 memo to the Council recommending direction for the final 2004 budget. He noted the following policy decision were required of the Council: a. Identify expenditure reductions to be made, b. Determine whether the city's utility tax rate would be increased, and c. Determine the amount of reserves/carryover to be used for the 2004 budget. City Manager Schulze referred to the updated copies of the budget, noting this version included an increase in the 2003 projected year-end revenue, which would still bring the total revE:nue projection well under the budgeted 2003 amount. He projected an increase in the ending fund balance for 2D03 and 2004 beginning fund balance by about $123,000. 2004 projections were what the Council had seen in the past. City Manager Schulze continued during the last meeting, the Council had asked staff to determine $400,000 worth of cuts, which he had identified for discussion. He requested direction from the Council regarding the utility tax rate and determination of carry over of reserves to the 2004 budget. City Manage Schulze referred to agenda item H-1 (b), noting he had also identified a group of Medina residents who had expressed interest in serving as a sounding board for key issues facing the community. These individuals represented a diverse cross-section of the community, including young families, long-time inhabitants, new citizens and retired residents. Via e-mail, he had presented the following three options to the group to address the problem of revenue decline and to get some background on the budget the city was facing: a. Use reserve funds as a sort -term solution, b. Decrease expenditures and service levels, and C. Increase and diversity revenues. City Manager Schulze had cut and pasted the e-mail responses as part of the Council packet, and what could be learned from those responses was: a. The budget/fiscal problem has not been effectively communicated to residents. b. Expenditure constraints and reductions will be a necessary and acceptable element of any strategy, but most likely not to the extent that services will be noticeably reduced c. Revenue increases may be acceptable, but only if explained, justified and accompanied by expenditure reductions. J. A long-range financial strategy that is explained and communicated to the residents will support the necessary policy decisions and increase public confidence in the local government. e. Residents really do care and appreciate opportunities to participate, but it will not happen if the opportunities are offered as part of the public meetings. The city has to find ways to encourage public participation that fits the lifestyles of today. City Manager Schulze referred to agenda item H-1(c), a memo from a report he had recently received entitled "Good Management During Times of Fiscal Distress", noting the contents were good points to be followed. He reviewed and recommended expenditures, and also distributed background information regarding temporary space costs. A Council member requested a copy of the e-mail City Manager Schulze sent to the resident sounding board group. City Manager Schulze cautioned due to the Open Public Meetings Act, Council should not discuss such information among themselves or with him outside of Council meetings. He relayed the sounding board was a City Council Meeting Minutes November 10. 2003 Page 4 group of 20-15 residents who had been identified through input received at meetings, contacts at City Hall, and staff members who had identified people they communicated with on a regular basis. Initially, there had been 30- 40 e-mails inviting people to participate. He noted this was not a scientific study, but rather an opportunity to obtain community feedback. City Manager Schulze offered to furnish the Council with a list of names of those residents who participated. Council member Morgan was interested in the cross-section representation of these Medina citizens, and requested the entire comments. City Manager Schulze replied he had only deleted the headers to protect their ability to offer individual comments. Council member Adam thought the Council should squeeze down some of the consulting dollars. He was not sure this was the time to add more staff, and suggested delaying the hire of eny additional employees until the Council had addressed the facilities strategy. Council member Adam also thought the public should be involved. Council member Morgan inquired about the $96,320 reduction in force from the MPD. City Manager Schulze stated that issue should be discussed in Executive Session. A Council member wanted clarification regarding how much savings the city would see between using consultants and hiring permanent employees, and how much of their cost would be covered by the fee schedule. City Manager Schulze stated it would be helpful to have received advance notice, rather than having another hanging issue that had not yet been answered. The Council member stated a response was not needed tonight, and suggested the November Study Session or the December meeting would be adequate. He also wanted to know how much of the $400,000 savings the Council would be able to project through other sources. Council member Rudolph recalled hiring in-house staff versus consultant fees had been an issue the Council had discussed previously, and it had been a Council majority rule the city would hire staff to replace consultants. He inquired about space needs for the new in-house employees. In his capacity on the Finance Subcommittee, he reviewed consultant fees each month, and the city had spent $31,000 for them this past month. Council member Rudolph continued the City Manager had projected a substantial savincis by using in-house employees. He also suggested making sure the building permit review process was self-sustaining. His recollection was City Manager Schulze had stated $120,000 in additional revenue could be garnered, if the fee structure were revised for the actual services provided. City Manager Schulze indicated it was still in that range, but would depend greatly upon the amount of permit activity. Three fairly large projects were anticipated within the next one to two years, and he did not see that activity reducing significantly within the next several years. Council member Rudolph inquired if it was possible for the consultants to cut their hourly rate in an effort to save money on consultant costs. A Council member suggested fees be increased to cover 100 percent of the city's costs, rather than subsidizing them, and inquired whether next year's fee structure was adequate to cover all of the costs. City Manager Schulze noted there had been a challenge to Medina's permit fee structure not long ago, and that information had been provided to the Council regarding prorated costs and the revenuE the city received. He offered to provide this information. It was suggested the Council give City Manager Schulze a spending target, rather than go through the budget line item by line item. Deputy Mayor Odermat asked the City Manager to relay his thoughts regarding what he would like the Council to do with this information. City Manager Schulze recalled at the last meeting, the Council had requested identification of $400,000 in expenditure reductions, with no direction regarding the level of service or if the Council wanted to entertain subsequent service reductions. He noted the Council wanted to improve customer service and other improvements, which contradicted trying to find some management efficiencies and reduction of expenditures. He thought there were some improvements that could be made without reducing expenditures. The list attached to item H-1 had been compiled to determine $400,000 of reductions, based on minimal input on policy decisions regarding what would go into those reductions. The Council had stated in the past they did not want level of service reductions. If that was changed, the suggested list could be approached differently. City Manager Schulze noted there were many things the Council could consider for service reductions, and gave some examples. However, the Council would not want to eliminate the parity of ARCH $10,000 contribution each year, noting some cities participated in ARCH every other year. A Council member recalled the Council had also discussed adding a utility tax. He was not pleased with eliminating the lifeguard program, but anything the Council cut would be painful. Another Council member asked if there was a possibility of squeezing out an extra $200,000 through increased efficiencies. City Manager Schulze responded the amount of time the consultants spent at City Hall for meetings could be reduced. However, there were some real efficiency concerns in other areas of City Council Mecting Minutes November 10, 2003 Page 5 operation that would be impacted by doing that. He wanted to find different ways of communicating with consultants before suggesting any changes. Mayor Becker opened the meeting to comments from the audience. Ron Santi, 7842 NE 8th Street, was against any kind of property tax increase. He noted the S90,000 amount for a landscape consultant seemed to be excessive. He assumed the S50,000 amount under Legislative Services was for a lobbying influence, and thought that amount was too much. City Manager Schulze responded that was for the 2003 budget. Mr. Santi thought there were areas where cuts could be made, such as reducing newsletter costs, spending less for consultants, and reducing PD overtime. He also suggested there were community members who would like to become involved. Further, after so many years of surpluses, it was permissible to dip into reserves a little bit. City Manager Schulze requested direction from the Council in the form of a motion regarding what he was supposed to do with the proposed 2004 budget. With regard to the expenditure reductions, he asked whether the Council wanted him to continue to identify cuts. He also needed direction regarding the utility taxes. City Manager Schulze also inquired what level of accumulated reserves the Council was interested in using for 2004. He asked if the Council wanted him to look at the consultant cost revenue analysis. He also queried whether the Council wanted him to provide a little more information on government efficiencies via reducing consultant costs. A Council member suggested going along with the dollar amount of expense reductions the City Manager had identified. He noted taking out the additions and costs saved on the items he had identified would be $325,000. This $325,000 amount should be the cost goal for City Manager Schulze to determine line item expenditure reductions in the budget. It was suggested two items that may be a little expensive were the ARCH contribution and eliminating the lifeguards from the summer program. City Manager Schulze clarified it was a reduction in the ARCH contribution made for projects. Council member Adam added the city would still be contributing $10,000, A Council member suggested broad, general guidelines should be given to the City Manager to follow in formulating the suggested 2004 budget. It was pointed out eliminating the lifeguards would be painful, and the Council would hear about It. Also, a lot of people did not want to increase the utility tax because they did not want backlash. A Council member announced Medina was one of the few cities that (lid not have a utility tax. He emphasized Medina had a utility tax before, and a 3% utility tax would provide an extra $200,000 to $300,000 per year. Such a tax would not be a big hit on any individual household. It was speculated many citizens would rather have a 3% utility tax than to have services reduced. City Manager Schulze guessed the utilities tax could be in place around February. It was recalled the city could save $50,000 to $100,000 if Hunts Point and Medina's permit activity were consolidated. City Manager Schulze stated Council approval for the permit consolidation and direction to start hiring staff members to replace consultants would take approximately three months. It would also take another month for notices to be given and to actually have the employees on board, assuming the consultants in those positions were interested in becoming Medina staff members. A Council member stated eliminating consultants and replacing them with staff would save the city $79,000. A Council member suggested the Council wait until they had received further subcommittee input regarding the facilities strategy. City Manager Schulze noted there would be initial start up costs the first year when hiring staff to replace consultants. He explained there were some other areas that could be reduced, and used as examples capital projects design work for Medina's smaller projects, construction oversight and management that staff could do. City Manager Schulze continued the work generated by assuming the Hunts Points permits amounted to roughly ten percent of the Medina workload. There had been discussion of being able to do this when Medina had adequate in-house staff. He emphasized those efficiencies could rot be created with consultants who were part time, and who also served other clients. Following a straw poll taken of the Council, Mayor Becker announced the proposed utilities tax was still on the table for consideration. Council member Rudolph noted the city would and up with some expense cuts, and the Council would then decide whether or not they wanted to take the extra expenses out of reserves or split them between reserves and a utility tax. It was noted the City Manager would work on a new fee schedule, and if he found revenue in that way, the Council could pull back on some of the cuts and leave the reserve constant. Mayor Becker suggested the City Manager come up with other options, and th(� Council would then look at the structural issue. Deputy Mayor Odermat clarified the Council was not going to make the budget decisions tonight, and suggested the City Manager be given direction regarding the Council recommendations tonight. City Council Meeting Minutes November 10, 2003 Page 6 City Manager Schulze requested the Council to review item H-1(c) in the packet entitled "Good Management During Times of Fiscal Distress". He indicated there were some very clear statements in that memo which pointed out very specific sound management strategies to avoid dangerous quick fixes for budget problems. Due to the revenue reductions Medina had experienced and the city's heavy reliance on sales tax and property tax, a real dependency had been created on sales tax, which fluctuated monthly. He requested the Council develop long- range financial policies regarding how to approach these budget problems. Mayor Becker suggested continuing 2004 budget review to the November Study Session, and the Council agreed by common consent, with the following requests: a. Send the Council a list of sounding board participants; b. Consultant cost revenue analysis, c. Response to consultant costs in general, d. Reductions should be $325,000 with consultants out and staff in and e. Identify management efficiencies regarding structural changes. Consider Adoption of Ordinance No. 764 Setting Property Tax Levy for 2004—City Manager Schulze referred to his memo of October 31, 2003, and recommended Council adoption of Ordinance No. 764, Settling 2004 Property Tax Levy. He noted the Council must set the 2004 property tax levy and submit it to King County no later than November 15, 2003. City Manager Schulze also relayed the levy amount could be decreased after November 15, but may not be increased. He indicated the ordinance would set the 2004 property tax levy at $2,055,701, which was the maximum statutory levy increase of 1%. Council member Morgan moved, seconded by Council member Blazey, to adopt Ordinance No. 764, Setting Property Tax Levy for 2004, and the motion carried unanimously. Ratify Labor Agreement between City of Medina and Teamsters Local No. 763 — Public Works Employees —It was noted agenda item 1-2, Ratify Labor Agreement between City of Medina and Teamsters Local No. 763 — Public Works Employees, had been taken off the agenda. Discussion of Historical Use Permit Application — Medina Store —Planning Director Gellings announced he had been hoping for a PC recommendation. However, the PC had been unable to complete its deliberations last week, even though their meeting went past midnight. They had a special continuation meeting planned for November 11, 2003. It was suggested the Council defer discussion until they received a full PC recommendation. City Attorney Wines recommended continuing this agenda item to a date certain. City Manager Schulze added there had been published notice for a public hearing this evening. If the PC completed their work tomorrow evening, at any point the Council could continue the hearing to that date. The Council agreed by consensus to continue the public hearing for the Medina Store Historical Use Permit Application to December 8, 2003. NEW BUSINESS Health Care Costs —A Council member recalled health care costs had been discussed during the Council's last Executive Session, with the thought the city would not pay any more for health care costs. City Manager Schulze clarified his understanding was the contract that was approved did not irclude any cost sharing for the term of that contract. The consensus had been for cost sharing three years in the f-iture. However, there could likely be new people on the Council at that time, and seven different people three years from now could make a totally different decision. A Council member suggested for historical purposes, the Council should pass a resolution reflecting the discussions during Executive Session regarding capping health care costs. If the Council found this was not applicable in the future, they could rescind such action. It was recommended the Council make those decisions when the contracts were reviewed in the future. Another Council member recalled the Council had agreed non - collective bargaining health care costs would be capped starting next year, and they had decided it was too late for those under collective bargaining agreements. City Manager Schulze relayed he had taken that as a commitment to file away for future negotiations. Council member Morgan volunteered to help Council member Blazey propose a resolution for Council consideration. Follow-up with Reopening Investigation into 2001 Campaign Flyer —Council member Blazey distributed a memo entitled "Campaign 2001 Flyer Investigation", emphasizing this issue should be addressed in an open and fair manner. Since MPD had not revealed all the information they 1-ad at the time, Council member Blazey suggested an outside agency such as the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPC) or the FBI conduct an investigation. Two other Council members also wanted an outside agency to reopen the 2001 campaign flyer investigation. City Manager Schulze distributed a memo from Chief Knapp entitled "Allegations of City Council Meeting Minutes November 10. 2003 Page 7 Election Campaign Irregularities, November 4, 2001" which indicated Chief Knapp had contacted the Washington Attorney General's office, the King County Assessor's Office (Election Division), the city's Deputy Prosecuting Attorney, and the Public Disclosure Commission, and had basically come to the same conclusion. He referred to the last paragraph of Chief Knapp's memo suggesting that parties to this matter could file a citizen action when they believed some provision of RCW 42.17 had been violated. City Manager Schulze also promised to check with WASPC and other departments. Deputy Mayor Odermat thought going any further at this point was probably overkill. EXECUTIVE SESSION At 10:25 p.m., the Council by consensus adjourned into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters per RCW 42.30.110(g), and land acquisition, per RCW 42.30110(c), and reconvened at 10:58 p.m. ADJOURNMENT Council member Rudolph moved, seconded by Council member Morgan, to adjourn the meeting at 10:58 p.m., and the motion carried unanimously. Daniel Becker, Mayor Attest: Caroll P. Wedlund, Recording Secretary