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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes 03/18/2003 4905 CITY COUNCIL MEETING Port Angeles, Washington March 18, 2003 CALL TO ORDER - Mayor Wiggins called the regular meeting of the Port Angeles City Council to order REGULAR MEETING: at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Mayor Wiggins, Councilmembers Braun, Campbell, Erickson, Headrick, Rogers, and Williams. Members Absent: None. Staff Present: Manager Quinn, Attorney Knutson, B. Collins, M. Connelly, G. Cutler, C. Hagar, McKeen, T. Riepe, and G. Roggenbuck. Public Present: D. Arpin, P. Lamoureux, and T. Price. PLEDGE OF The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag was led by Councilmember Rogers. ALLEGIANCE: PUBLIC CEREMONIES, Proclamation Recognizing ,lulio Garcia, State Champion High School Wrestler: PRESENTATIONS AND Mayor Wiggins read a proclamation recognizing Julio Garcia as an outstanding athlete PROCLAMATIONS: and scholar. Mr. Garcia thanked both the City Council for its recognition of his efforts and the community for helping with fund-raising which enabled him to attend camp and Proclamation Recognizing various tournaments. Julio Garcia, State Champion High School Wrestler 2003 Human Services 2003 Human Services Funding Recommendations: Patty Hannah, Executive Director Funding of United Way, also recognized the efforts of Mr. Garcia and stated that he is a perfect example of the good that can be achieved through Human Services funding. She also thanked the City Council for showing its leadership through the fluoride vote. Ms. Hannah stated that the Dental Health Care Programis again overloaded with a three- month waiting list, and the fluoride vote should help to alleviate this problem. Ms. Hannah informed the Council that ten agencies were supported in 2002 and ten agencies will be funded in 2003, but not necessarily the same agencies. She stated that funding is again being recommended for the Boys & Girls Club, but she suggested that money not be released until the 2002 year-end report has been received from them. Ms. Hannah stated that 56,000 individuals were helped in 2002, but many were turned away from services and this number increases yearly. This is mostly due to the agencies having to contract the provided services, so the City's funding is even more important than ever. She assured the Council that 85% of those served were indeed City residents. Mayor Wiggins stated that, while attending the National League of Cities Conference in Washington, D.C., he attended a presentation regarding a program dedicated to children up to age five. He asked Ms. Hannah how much of the Human Services fund- -1- 4906 CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 18, 2003 2003 Human Services ing is utilized for children in this age group and asked if some of the money should be Funding (Cont'd) redirected to that area. Ms. Hannah stated that while she does not have exact numbers, the Boys & Girls Club is all children, the First Step Family Support Center is all children with some help for the parents, and Healthy Families serves families, many of which consist of young mothers with very young children. So while many children are served, they are not necessarily in the zero to five range. Ms. Hannah then reviewed the changes made from last year's funding. She stated that representatives from the City of Sequim, City of Port Angeles, and Clallam County sat down together to ensure that some programs were not double funded, while others were left with nothing. She stated it was very nice collaboration and cooperation in working this way. Ms. Hannah reminded the Council thatthere was $20,000 less available in funding this year, but requests for funding were doubled from the past. A brief discussion ensued regarding funding of Family Planning, with the Mayor pointing out that the City had provided the seed money for the male mentor program in the schools. Those agencies receiving funding for 2003 include: Mt. Angeles Boys & Girls Club, Family Planning, First Step Family Support Center, Healthy Families, Lutheran Social Services to be used for supervised family visits, Olympic Community Action to be used for Health Care Access Program, Peninsula Community Mental Health for respite care for families with children, Peninsula Dispute Resolution Center, Serenity House for childcare at the Family Village, and the YMCA for combined youth programming. Mayor Wiggins thanked Ms. Hannah for her time and efforts on the City's behalf. Presentation by John Mayor Wiggins introduced John Goldman, Washington State University - Spokane, Goldman re: WRICOPS 668 River Point Boulevard, Spokane, Washington. Mr. Goldman thanked Council for Onsite Assessment in Port the opportunity to speak, stating he was present atthe invitation of Police Chief Tom Angeles Riepe. Mr. Goldman informed the Council that the Community Policing Institutes were part of the United States Department of Justice, Office of CommunityOriented Policing Service, or the COPS office. The primary mission of this service is to aid communities in the development of community policing initiatives to help solve some of the problems contributing to crime in their communities. Mr. Goldman gave a brief history of the organization, which covers a five-state area, and informed the Council of other communities helped by this organization. He then explained the process involved in completing the Assessment, how long it would take to complete, and what type of report is generated upon completion. Mr. Goldman indicated this is really an interview process that provides information regarding the expectations of the community for its police department. Following the interviews, an exit report will be provided to Chief Riepe, and a draft of the final report will be presented about two months later. This process has the ability to assist agencies in transitioning toward their goals of communitypolicing, or to give a base line if an agency intends to initiate a new strategy in terms of community policing and public safety. Mr. Goldman then offered to respond to questions. Mayor Wiggins felt this was a timely issue, as the City may not have as many officers as it should and the dollars must be stretched further and perhaps this assessment can help the City to achieve its goals. Chief Riepe expressed his appreciation to Mr. Goldman for appearing tonight and felt this assessment would be a tremendous asset to the community. Councilmember Rogers asked staff to notify those to be interviewed in order to ensure they are available during the time Mr. Goldman and the Assessment Team are present. ChiefRiepe asked the Council for any suggestions about whom they felt should be interviewed. Manager Quinn said it was his impression that the purpose of this study was to move -2- 4907 CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 18, 2003 Presentation by John the City in the direction of being more efficient and more effective, to look at all Goldman re: WRICOPS resources used in police servicing. He further understood that its purpose was not to Onsite Assessment in Port justify additional police services, personnel, or dollars and asked Mr. Goldman if this Angeles (Cont'd) was correct. Mr. Goldman replied affu-matively and stated this study was to examine relationships and how they are used to build partnerships to address problems collaboratively. Mr. Goldman concluded by thanking the Council for its time and attention to the issue, and inviting the Council to call should other questions arise. WORK SESSION: Emergency Preparations Plan Update: Mayor Wiggins stated that this item was placed on the agenda because it is apparent that things are coming to a quick resolve Emergency Preparations in the National Security business. Therefore, he asked for an update as to how well the Plan Update City is prepared, given the current environment. Fire Chief McKeen narrated a PowerPoint Presentation that he and Chief Riepe had prepared, stating that the focus of tonight's presentation is Planning, both preparation and response planning, as well as Recovery, Prevention, and Public Education. Chief McKeen then reviewed planning preparation, to include completion of a risk assessment of the critical infrastructures, inventorying existing equipment, and identifying "gaps" in order to submit grants. He explained the planning response and informed the Council of the emergency alert systems. In the event of an emergency, radio stations 1450 and 1610 will be used to broadcast information. Also, Northland Cable has a remote system that can be activated from anywhere in the City and is separate from the radio stations. Therefore, should the radio stations go down, Northland Cable would still be able to broadcast. ChiefMcKeen stated staffis still working on mutual aid agreements and that two large- scale disaster drills are planned for the near future. He stressed that a very important aspect of emergency preparedness is utilization of community resources such as volunteers. ChiefMcKeen then enumerated the local, state and federal responsibilities and explained the planning necessary for the recovery process. Chief McKeen stressed the importance of prevention and deterrence which included vulnerability and risk assessment of critical city infrastructures and information sharing between law enforcement agencies. He stated that pre-incident education such as emergency preparedness lectures, has been requested by and provided to several different groups. Also, the newspaper will run articles approximately every two weeks on emergency preparedness, and the intemet is also a wealth of information. In conclusion, Chief McKeen quoted Francis Bacon who stated "Knowledge is power. The more one knows, the more one will be able to control events." Chiefs Riepe and McKeen then responded to questions posed by the Council. Mayor Wiggins asked if there were good communications established between city and county agencies. He noted that during the Challenger disaster, the hand-held radios were useless, and most of the communications were conducted via ham radio. Chief Riepe agreed that communication was a big issue and staff is working on it. Grants have been applied for in order to obtain new technology, but currently the Police Department and Sheriff's Department are able to communicate by radio. Councilman Williams said a similar discussion was held during the Clallam Transit Board meeting. He encouraged City staff to network with Transit in order to be able to communicate needs, such as for buses to help evacuate. ChiefMcKeen stated staffrecognizes there are some deficiencies in being able to talk to one another. It is a high priority in grant funding, but it will take a tremendous amount of money to solve the problem. This is currently being addressed through a unified command. When dealing with a large incident, it is ensured that all agencies are there at one command so the information can go out in the most efficient manner. -3- 4908 CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 18, 2003 WORK SESSION: Further discussion ensued, and Councilmember Rogers noted the importance of being (Cont'd) able to notify more citizens via the news media. She recommended using the television satellite system, stating that Peninsula News Network has a contract with KIRO TV and Emergency Preparations Port Angeles Television has a contract with KING TV. This would enable satellite Plan Update (Cont'd) users to be alerted through the Seattle television stations. Also, she asked if web sites would be used. Chief Riepe informed the Council that there is an immediate fax alert to all the local news media, which includes Peninsula News Network. Councilmember Rogers also mentioned the use of Canadian stations, if and when necessary. CouncilmanWilliams asked about a City-wide alert system, as there were air raid sirens in the past. Chief McKeen said the City-wide alert system was through the radio, relying on the fact that the radio signals would be operating. As a back-up, personnel would be sent out in squad cars using bull horn and public address systems. The Council thanked Chiefs Riepe and McKeen for their time and attention to this matter, and asked that information regarding Port Angeles as a haven be brought to a future meeting. LATE ITEMS TO BE Mayor Wiggins asked that Valley Creek be added to the agenda as Item 2 under Other PLACED ON THIS OR Considerations. FUTURE AGENDAS: Mayor Wiggins asked that the second Council meeting in April be changed to Monday, April 14, as he will be unavailable on April 15. It was agreed to change the meeting date. Daniel Arpin, 112 West First Street, Apt. 313, Port Angeles, suggested a computer web site that he felt would be instrumental in achieving peace in the community. The address is http://peace.adidam.org. He said he would continue to attend Council meetings and looked forward to shaking hands with each Councilmember. FINANCE: 1. Northwest Public Power Association/Electrical Safety Consultants International (ESCI) Contract for 2003 Northwest Public Power Association/Electrical Public Works & Utilities Director Cutler reviewed the information pertinent to the Safety Consultants issue. After brief discussion, Councilmember Erickson moved to approve and International Contract for authorize the Mayor to sign the contract with Northwest Public Power 2003 Association/Electrical Safety Consultants International in the amount of $19,113.12. Councilman Campbell seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. Peabody Heights Reservoir 2. Peabody Heights Reservoir Cover Contract: Cover Contract Director Cutler reviewed the information regarding the issue, and Councilman Braun expressed concern over the physical condition of the reservoir. Director Cutler assured the Council that the reservoir had been carefully inspected. There were some minor repairs needed to the bottom of the liner which will be taken care of when the reservoir is drained, but other than that, it was in excellent condition. Councilman Williams inquired into the security of a floating cover versus a rigid cover. Director Cutler stated that, as there is fencing and barbed wire, the floating cover was a reasonable approach for the reservoir. Also, there are alarms on the reservoir in the event of failure. After further limited discussion, Councilman Campbell moved to award the contract for Peabody Heights Floating Cover, Project No. 00-26, to C.W. Neal Corp. of Santee, California, in the bid amount of $319,034.19 and to authorize the Mayor to sign the contract. Councilman Braun seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA: Couneilmember Erickson moved to accept the Consent Agenda, to include: 1.) City Council Meeting Minutes of March 4, 2003; 2.) Expenditure Approval List - March 10, 2003 - $436,370.93; 3.) Electronic Payments -March 10, 2003 - -4- CITY COUNCIL MEETING 4909 March 18, 2003 CONSENT AGENDA: $1,868,011.50; 4.) Appointment of Kathy Steinkamp to the Law Enforcement (Cont'd) Advisory Board for the period March 1, 2003 - February 28, 2007; and 5.) Approval of April 27, 2003, as Benefit Dump Day from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Councilman Headrick seconded the motion. Mayor Wiggins asked for a correction to the minutes referring to page 37 of the packet, paragraph three, first sentence. He felt it was more accurate to read "Mayor Wiggins asked if the Council wished to reconsider their previous decision on fluoridation based on public comments at this meeting." Mayor Wiggins also asked Chief McKeen for clarification of a sentence dealing withMedic I charges, which he provided. Councilman Williams stated he would abstain from voting on the minutes, as he was absent from that meeting. A vote was taken on the motion, which carried 6 - 0. Break Mayor Wiggins recessed the meeting for a break at 7:20 p.m. The meeting reconvened at 7:40 p.m. CITY COUNCIL Councilman Braun reviewed the educational project at the high school. It was a COMMITTEE beautiful project accomplished by the students of what they perceive for economic REPORTS & development of the community. He also attended a Clallam County Transit meeting CALENDAR: and noted that currently when transit purchases vehicles they have a 20% match and the governmentpays the balance. The Senator from Colorado is proposing that the match be changed to 50%, which will seriously injure small communities like Port Angeles. Councilman Campbell attended the National League of Cities and reported on a workshop on e-commerce and tax equity. He felt it was significant, as he had thought the issue of taxing electronic commerce was definitely tabled. However, the Interact Tax Freedom Act expires November 1, 2003, unless it is renewed. Several bills have been introduced into Congress to make this moratorium permanent. One item of interest is that, through the National Conference of State Legislatures, a task force was formed in 1998 to address the problem of declining revenues due to the increase in e- commerce. The idea for a uniform, streamlined sales tax system was generated for all participating states. One way to deal with this is to convince Congress to let the Interact Tax Freedom Act die, and the other is to lobby Congress to enact enabling legislation so that this uniform agreement can come into being. He informed the Council that he had brought back written information on this topic should anyone wish to read it. Councilman Williams reported that he also attended the National League of Cities Conference and attended the COPS presentation. He made a point to Senator Murray regarding the number of dollars for Homeland Security that had reached Port Angeles. He reported that Senator Murray was very surprised at the small amount of funding Port Angeles received and informed him that it was a struggle to balance population versus actual impact and exposure issues. Councilman Williams attended the Grand Opening for the new Downtown Hotel located upstairs from the Cornerhouse Restaurant. He urged anyone who had not yet done so, to tour this new facility. Councilman Williams felt it would be a very nice draw. Councilmembers Braun and Williams attended the presentation by Washington §tare University of Clallam County which was held at the library. Councilman l~raun reported that the talk revolved around the change in the County's demographics during the 1990's. Councilman Williams noted that this was the firstin a series of lectures. Councilmembex Rogers attended a Parking Committee meeting where a comprehensive solution plan was unanimously endorsed. Economic Development Director Smith will bring a formal report to the Council at a future meeting. Councilmember Rogers attended the National League of Cities Conference and felt much was accomplished and the workshops were informative. She brought back information on Homeland Security, which will be distributed to the Police and Fire Chiefs. -5- 4910 CITY COUNCIL MEETING March 18, 2003 CITY COUNCIL Since her return from the Conference, Councilmember Rogers has followed up on all COMMITTEE action items discussed with Senators Cantwell and Murray and Congressman Dicks. REPORTS & She will continue to keep them posted. CALENDAR: (Cont'd) Regarding the Graving Yard, Councilman Rogers announced that Todd Shipyards had attempted to introduce legislation, which has failed to go forth. They have not contacted the Congressman's office yet. Representatives Buck and Kessler continue to champion for Port Angeles. Currently, Senator Hargrovc is working on thc Senate side of Bill 5899, which deals with telecom regulations £or the Public Utility Districts. Additionally, the hotel/motel tax bill has to do with the lodging industry wanting to change the way the City receives lodging tax dollars. Councilman Rogers felt the City would want to retain its rights to distribute these funds. Mayor Wiggins mentionedthat there is also a possible amendment to SHB 2198, which deals with LEOFF 1 contributions. I£approved, the employer's contribution rate would increase by almost 15.5%. Mayor Wiggins said another amendment concerned formation of a street utility, which wouldbe beneficialto the City. Therefore, Council should support this amendment and oppose the hotel/motel tax amendment. Mayor Wiggins went on to state that Bill 5680 would allow for Clallam County to be excluded from the GMA update requirements. Community Development Director Collins will look into this and report back to the Council as to whether or not it should support this Bill. Councilmember Rogers thanked Manager Quinn for all his efforts on behalf of the Council during this Conference. Referring to the Calendar, Manager Quinn reminded the Council that the OPS Awards Luncheon would take place on Wednesday, March 19, 2003, and Council is welcome to attend. Service pins will also be presented at the luncheon. Manager Quinn stated that he had registered for an ICMA Conference to take place in Tacoma, Washington, on March 20-21,2003. This is a "best practices" symposium, and he will look into the case studies presented to see if any can be applied in Port Angeles. ORDINANCES NOT None. REQUIRING PUBLIC HEARINGS: RESOLUTIONS: None. OTHER 1. Olympic National Park Waterline Right-of-Way Permit: CONSIDERATIONS: Director Cutler reviewed the pertinent information provided in the packet. Discussion Olympic National Park ensued, and Director Cutler provided explanations and clarifications regarding the need Waterline Right-of-Way for the permit. Couneilmember Eriekson moved to authorize the City Manager to Permit sign the Right of Way permit on behalf of the City. Councilman Headriek seconded the motion. Following brief discussion regarding protection of the waterline as it travels uphill, a vote was taken on the motion, which carried unanimously. Valley Creek Land 2. Valley Creek Land Donation Donation Parks & Recreation Director Connelly used the overhead projector to display a map showing 80 acres of land the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) wishes to donate to the City of Port Angeles. Director Connelly explained that the DNR approached the City some time ago proposing to transfer about 80 acres of school trust lands to the City. Director Connelly then described where the property lies in conjunction with the City limits. This issue was brought to the Park Board in February, and it was unanimouslyrecommended this be brought before the Council for approval. The Real Estate Committee also met on this topic, and echoed the recommendation of the Park -6- CITY COUNCIL MEETING 4911 March 18, 2003 Valley Creek Land Board. Director Connelly pointed out that there were a number of benefits to owning Donation (Cont'd) this property, one of which is that it is contiguous to the City limits, and secondly that it will enable the City to help preserve and protect stream ravines and water sheds. This donation will also preserve future trail connections to the Lower Valley Creek, which is a long-term City goal. Director Connelly informed the Council that there is a trail on this property that the County, in cooperation with Choice School and the DNR, presently maintains. He would recommend the City enter into an agreement with those same parties to continue this activity. As this is school trust land, Director Connelly said there is a program in the State Legislature that transfers properties that are unlikely to be harvested and to provide future revenue for schools. There is a funding bank so when the lands are transferred, the amount of value the land might have held for timber harvest will be transferred into an account and held for one time expenditures to support future school funding needs. Councilman Headrick asked if there was a downside to this donation. Director Connelly stated the only "problem" he could see was inheriting trail maintenance at a time when the City is struggling to stretch resources to maintain the existing park system. However, he did feel that by extending the agreement with Choice School, which is a valuable program to train youth to build trails and maintain habitats inthe environment, maintenance would not really be an issue. He suggested due diligence reports on any environmentalimpacts on the property, if those mm out fine, he felt this was a very positive thing for the City. Following further discussion and clarification, Councilman Williams moved to accept the donation of 80 acres of land from the Department of Natural Resources. Councilman Braun seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. QUASI-JUDICIAL: PUBLIC HEARINGS - None. OTHER: INFORMATION: None. EXECUTIVE SESSION: None. ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 8:20 p.m. ~ Gl~un Wiggins, Mayor ~ecky 5. 0~n,--'-C~ Cl~rk I -- -7-