HomeMy WebLinkAbout98-047Resolution No. 98- O ~r]
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND
APPROVING A FIVE-YEAR LEASE TO RENT SPACE IN THE REDEVELOPED
WATERMAN-KATZ BUILDING AND AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE
LEASE ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND
The City Council of the City of Port Townsend, Washington, makes the following
Findings and Recitals in support of this Resolution:
I. FINDINGS AND RECITALS
1. At the Port Townsend City Council's 1991 Retreat, the Council identified as a
priority of the City of Port Townsend, the need to resolve City work space needs, including
particularly, the administrative office space needs of the Public Works and Planning and
Building (now BCD) departments; and
2. Resolution of office space needs was again identified as a top City priority at the
1996 City Council Retreat. At the January 1996 Retreat, the Council reviewed an "Office
Space Study" and directed the Council's Parks, Recreation and Properties Committee to work
actively on interim and long-term solutions, and reaffirmed the Council's intent that City
offices remain downtown. At the June 26, 1996 Retreat, the City Council identified as a
"major priority" the consolidation of administrative office space to better serve the public; and
3. At its January 24, 1997 City Council Retreat, the Council identified as a high
priority project, the resolution of interim and long-term City administrative office space needs,
directing staff and the Council to resolve the problem during the 1997 calendar year, and
4. At its January 14, 1998 Retreat, the City Council unanimously approved a
motion to honor and work toward completing all previously identified Council priorities; and
5. The City of Port Townsend currently owns and rents administrative office space
scattered throughout the city, creating substantial inefficiencies in service to the public; and
6. In the 1997 City Budget, the Port Townsend City Council set a budget priority
of creating "one-stop shop" permit review for land development applications, whereby the City
Building and Community Development and Public Works departments would be better
coordinated and housed in one location, providing the most efficient service to the public; and
7. In the 1998 City Budget, the City Council approved departmental budgets which
implemented the priorities of the City Council, identified since 1991, to resolve City's office
space needs on an interim basis, through the occupancy of leased office space in the
Waterman-Katz Building; and
8. The Port Townsend City Council has chosen to phase out and substantially
eliminate contracts for outside engineering services, and create an Engineering Division of the
Public Works Department, with the goal of providing more efficient and cost-effective service
to the public; and
9. Prior to execution of the Lease for space in the Waterman-Katz Building, the
City of Port Townsend has owned and/or leased the following administrative office space:
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
City Administrative Offices (Mayor, Building & Community Development, City
Clerk, Finance Director, and Utility Billing) housed within City Hall;
City Attorney and City Administrator, housed within the Bartlett Building, 823
Water Street (leased space);
The Department of Public Works administrative offices, housed at 5210 Kuhn
Street;
City Water Quality Division, housed in the Good Templars Building, 280
Quincy Street (leased space);
The City Shops, Water Department, Street, Sewer, Storm, and Equipment
Rental offices at 1818 Beech Street;
The Port Townsend Engineering Division, housed in the Uptown District, at
617 Tyler Street (leased space).
The City maintains other administrative and shop facilities, including police,
fire and library, located throughout the city; and
10. The 1996 Port Townsend Comprehensive Plan Facilities and Utilities Element,
drafted prior to creation of the City Engineering Division, prior to location of the City
Administrator in the Bartlett Building, and prior to loss of Water Quality Division office space
in the public school building (necessitating additional rented space), stated the following:
Currently, most City Hall offices designed for one employee are being used by
at least two employees, and three employees work out of leased office space in
another location. Space for record storage, public information, and meeting
rooms is insufficient for current needs. The configuration of the building
considerably decreases useable space as well; approximately 2,200 of the 3,600
square feet are actually available for use as City office space. Because City
administrative employees are housed in widely separate locations,
communication between departments is less efficient and cost-effective, and
citizens most often travel from one location to another to conduct business with
the City;
and
2 } es. 98- 0 qq
11. The Comprehensive Plan set a minimum acceptable level of service (LOS)
standard at 695 square feet per 1,000 population (nearly one-half the level of service of
comparable cities, based upon a study of comparable cities). However, since the drafting the
Capital Facilities and Utilities Element, City office space needs have increased substantially
(with currently leased space exceeding the minimum LOS standard), the deleterious effects of
cramped and scattered office spaces have more sharply come to light, and the City Council has
become acutely aware of a growing inability to provide adequate service to the public with the
current administrative office space configuration; and
12. The level of service standards adopted in the Comprehensive Plan are minimum
acceptable levels. The adoption of minimum level of service standards for a particular public
service or facility does not mean that the service or facility must remain at a minimum LOS,
despite the availability of solutions which improve the public service, facility and amenity; and
13. The Capital Facilities and Utilities Element generally anticipates the need to
allocate revenues for the acquisition and construction of publicly-owned facilities between
competing needs. Publicly owned administrative office space has proven inadequate and
inefficient, and the City faces an inevitable demand to rent or acquire additional space in the
future. At present, publicly owned space is inadequate, even to accommodate public meeting
needs; and
14. Over the past several years, the City has studied numerous options for the
consolidation of City offices and improvements of public service. The City Council has
reviewed and rejected several options to resolve the growing public service needs of Port
Townsend residents. Currently, the Port Townsend City Council has temporarily relocated
public meeting space to the Port Townsend/Jefferson County Community Center (rented
space), with the City Council chambers temporarily converted to administrative office space;
and
15. In 1997, Ballenas Property Management, Ltd. approached the City with a
proposal to provide the City with administrative office space in the renovated Waterman-Katz
Building. The Waterman-Katz Building space provides an opportunity for the City to
terminate all leases of City office space currently scattered throughout the city, and consolidate
administrative office space within City Hall and the Waterman-Katz Building. The close
proximity of the Waterman-Katz Building to City Hall should greatly enhance the City's
efficiency and improve the City's ability to serve the public; and
16. The Waterman-Katz redevelopment proposal and lease enables combination of
the City's administrative offices with offices and classrooms for Peninsula College within the
renovated building, allowing the City and Peninsula College to maximize space and efficiency
through joint use of several rooms and common areas within the building; and
Rcs.
17. The Economic Development Element of the Comprehensive Plan anticipates the
City's active involvement and partnership with public education institutions to create
opportunities to enhance educational opportunities in Port Townsend as a key strategy of
promoting the economic development of Port Townsend. The Plan envisions the City
eventually purchasing and leasing land for a "training/education campus.' The Plan sets forth
numerous implementation policies for the City to promote the location and development of
college-level education facilities in the City, including:
1. Promote vocational training and educational opportunities which strengthen and
increase the skills available in the worlfforce.
13. Work with Main Street, the Chamber of Commerce, EDC, and other local
entities to ensure that informational and recruitment publications emphasize Port
Townsend as the "City that supports culture and education on the Olympic Peninsula."
See, Comprehensive Plan Economic Development Element, pages VIII-10 through VIII-11;
and
18. The economic development and revitalization of Port Townsend's historic
downtown have long been central policy objectives of the City Council. These policy
objectives are embodied in the Comprehensive Plan's Land Use Element, which establishes
important policies for the preservation of Port Townsend's historic structures. These include
the following:
Goal 15:
Policy 15.2:
To preserve historic and cultural resources to retain our connection to the
past, enhance community values, and leave a historical legacy for future
generations.
Encourage the retention of significant historic and cultural resources
which foster community identity and pride.
15.2.2
Develop incentives that promote the adaptive reuse and preservation of
historic buildings ....
15.2.3
Work with downtown property owners to seek grant funding to
rehabilitate and seismically retrofit historically significant structures.
15.2.4
Promote commercial historic district revitalization strategies that
recognize and capitalize on the historic traditions of Port Townsend.
See, Comprehensive Plan Land Use Element, pages IV-31 through IV-32; and
4
Res. 98- O c/r7
19. The goals and policies in the Comprehensive Plan are the outcome of a public
process beginning in 1992 with the adoption of the County-Wide Planning Policies. The
community values represented in the Plan were derived from over 1,400 hours of citizen
discussions occurring in Ueoffee hours" held in living rooms throughout the community. This
process (the ?T 2020 Process") led to the City's citizens preparing a ~Community Direction
Statement," which constitutes the organic guiding document of the Comprehensive Plan. The
Plan itself was developed through over 50 publicly advertized citizen work group meetings and
31 legislative workshops, meetings and hearings; and
20. The Council finds that the City's participation in the redevelopment and lease of
the Waterman-Katz Building advances important City and community policy objectives, falls
squarely within the direction of the Comprehensive Plan to promote downtown historic
preservation, education and historic revitalization, and provides the City with a unique
opportunity to address pressing needs for improved public service while promoting the historic
preservation and economic development of Port Townsend in a concrete, meaningful and
positive way; and
21. At the April 21, 1997 City Council meeting, the City Council directed City staff
to explore the proposal for City administrative office use of the renovated Waterman-Katz
building, and to negotiate with Ballenas to advance that goal; and
22. In May-June, 1997 Ballenas requested that the City provide it with a
"commitment letter" to express the City's commitment to rent the space upon completion of the
planned renovation work. A "commitment letter" was necessary for Ballenas to proceed with
building acquisition and procure all necessary financing to complete the renovation project.
The Council approved the Commitment Letter by Resolution No. 97-78, as amended by
Resolution No. 97-109; and
23. In accordance with RCW 35A. 11.020, the City Council possesses the exclusive
authority to acquire and lease space needed for conducting municipal business. The Council
declares that leasing space in the Waterman-Katz Building in accordance with the attached
Lease implements legislative policy goals and priorities identified since 1991, is the outcome
of substantial study, deliberation, and public process spanning many years, and clearly
advances the public interest; and
24. The City Council's Finance Committee met in a public meeting on March 27,
1998 and reviewed the proposed Lease. The Finance Committee unanimously recommends
that the full Council approve the Lease in substantially the form attached hereto,
NOW, THEREFORE, BASED IJI~N THE ABOVE FINDINGS AND
RECITALS, BE IT RF_~OLVED, by the City Council for the City of Port Townsend as
follows:
H. RESOLUTION
The Port Townsend City Council approves the attached Lease and authorizes and
directs the Mayor to sign the Lease between the City and Ballenas, Inc., in substantially the
form attached hereto, for the location of City administrative office space within the renovated
Waterman-Katz Building.
ADOPTED by the City Council of the City of Port Townsend and signed by the Mayor
on this day of April, 1998.
Attest:
Pam Kolacy, City Clerk
~cCullo , y
Timoth~L/l~cM~han, City Attorney
03/31/98 [97-25] CA§Res(WICLease.res)
6 Res. 98- 047