Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout04162001CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF APRIL 16, 2001 The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in regular session this sixteenth day of April, 2001, at 6:30 p.m. in the Port Townsend Council Chambers of City Hall, Mayor Geoff Masci presiding. ROLL CALL AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Councilmembers present at roll call were Geoff Masci, Joe Finnie, Bill Wolcott, Alan Youse, Allen Frank, and Syd Lipton. Mr. Garrison was excused. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy. CHANGESTOTHEAGENDA Mr. Timmons requested adding item 10.B to New Business: Resolution 01-021, Authorizing the City Manager to enter into contracts with Jefferson County Historical Society for fund raising, architectural services, project management, and marketing materials, not to exceed $92,000 in connection with the proposed City Hall restoration and rehabilitation project. Mr. Youse requested that item 9.B, Resolution recommending that the Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners adopt an ordinance prohibiting the display of wild and exotic animals, be postponed until the next regular business meeting. PRESIDING OFFICER'S REPORT Mayor Masci introduced Lyn Hersey, new member of the Planning Commission. Mayor Masci announced the appointment of Allen Frank to the Community Development Committee to replace Joe Finnie. Mayor Masci read a proclamation recognizing the Sesquicentennial Year of Port Townsend, Washington's Victorian Seaport (150th birthday), and displayed State and County Sesquicentennial proclamations. Marl Mullen, Director of the Main Street Program, explained that several events were being planned during the year to recognize this milestone. Mayor Masci read a proclamation recognizing Earth Day. Finance Committee recommendation to appropriate additional funds for PEG studio equipment City Council Meeting Minutes 1 April 16, 2001 Motion: Mr. Frank moved to allocate an additional $2, O00 from the council's discretionary funds and use it in combination with the $5,000 already allocated to purchase a new router and Porta-Cam for the PEG studio. Mr. Lipton seconded. Vote: The motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote. Formation of Citizens Affordable Housing Committee Mr. Masci stated he placed this item on the agenda to stimulate council conversation over the proposal. Mr. Wolcott, Community Development Committee chair, stated that a citizen committee is one avenue to address the issue; assigning it to the city staff is another. He noted that every community has dealt with the issue in some way and the whole process may be expedited if staff reviewed and prepared a list of the issues and proposals and after the review was complete, a citizen panel could tackle it. Mr. Youse added that a staff review would bring professionalism to the project.. Mr. Finnie urged caution about the amount of projects council tasks to the staff. He noted that at the last Community Development Committee meeting, staff was asked to define an approach to some changes that would not require Municipal Code or Comprehensive Plan Amendments. He stated it would be good to finish the first assignment, then it may be appropriate for the CDC to propose a citizen work team to provide input on the proposals. Mr. Wolcott agreed that reviewing the staff product at the next CDC committee meeting would be the first step and a discussion of the committee could come after that. Mr. Lipton added that the staff is getting several difficult assignments, so perhaps the City Manager should work out a schedule with timeline and tracking mechanism. The committee could be formed when the staff research and recommendations are in place. Mr. Masci summarized the discussion by saying the council is nominally in favor of forming a citizen's advisory committee but WOuld prefer to wait until some information has come back from various pre-existing staff assignments. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Timmons gave an update on the progress of System Development Charge (SDC) ordinance. He stated that while it seems lie a simple process, there are a number of interconnected issues related to the finances of the utility, state requirements, etc. He stated he thinks that a better program can be developed and hopes for the opportunity to prepare this for the council in a form they will find acceptable. He anticipated this would City Council Meeting Minutes 2 April 16, 2001 take another two or three weeks and added that the scope of the change will probably be greater than was originally tasked. A report is scheduled to come before the Community Development Committee at their next meeting. Mr. Timmons noted that some customers are concerned about putting their applications on hold awaiting the changes; he recommended that the council declare their intention that the effective date of any ordinance affecting system development charges be retroactive to this date. Motion: Mr. Finnie moved to declare the intention of the council that the effective date of any ordinance affecting system development charges be retroactive to April 16, 2001. Mr. Wolcott seconded. The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice vote. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC (re consent agenda items and items not on the agenda) Nancy Dorgan: questions term "affordable" housing and noted the absence of the term within certain motions that have been made regarding the Community Development Committee work plan. She asked if the term is simply a smoke screen for developers. She stated that growth should pay for growth as the new impacts to the delivery of city utilities lead to costly upgrades. Zaryn Dentzel: challenged the council to reconsider their actions against the Port Townsend Carousel Association which implied criminal behavior, and defended actions of the Association. Earl Boysen: requested that if an ordinance is adopted concerning system development charges, the private home builder gets the same break as a developer. Mr. Lipton stated it is time somebody defined "affordable housing" as there seems to be some confusion about the matter. He also asked what is a developer . Mr. Finnie suggested that staff develop some working definitions, understanding that they can be debated. Mr. Timmons clarified the city's actions regarding the Carousel Association, saying that neither the City Manager nor the City Attorney are threatening anyone with charges of criminal intent. It is the city's goal and intention to clarify the misunderstanding and restore the money to be used by the school district for the purpose stated in the contractual agreement. CONSENT AGENDA Motion: Mr. Youse moved for approval of the following items on the consent agenda with correction of typographical errors on pages 4 and 7 of the April 2 minutes. Mr. Lipton seconded. The motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote. City Council Meeting Minutes 3 April 16, 2001 Approval of Bills, Claims and Warrants Vouchers 75744 through 75933 in the amount of $524,356.68. Approval of Minutes Regular meeting of April 2 Special meeting of April 9 Study session of April 9 Actions Authorization for the City Manager to execute a Professional Services Agreement with Moss Adams LLP for financial analysis assistance as needed. Adoption of a policy stating the city's intent to fully fund the Firemen's Pension Fund over a five-year period, starting in 2002. Authorization for the City Manager to execute an Inter-Agency Cooperative Agreement for the 2000/2001 School Year Swimming Instruction Program UNFINISHED BUSINESS No unfinished business was scheduled NEW BUSINESS RESOLUTION 01-020 RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND AMENDING CITY COUNCIL RULES OF PROCEDURE BY ESTABLISHING A CITY COUNCIL TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE Staff Presentation Mr. Watts presented the resolution, stating that at the study session on April 9, the council discussed the need to establish a Transportation Committee at this time, even though earlier discussions had suggested the formation would occur when the current work of the Capital Facilities Committee ended. It was thought that the number of transportation issues facing the city is critical and none of the standing committees is dealing with them at this time. The resolution establishes the membership as the chair persons of the Community Development Committee, Public Works Committee, and Community Development Committee. Public Comment Nancy Dorgan: favors the standing Non-Motorized Transportation Committee reporting to the council's Transportation Committee and stated that the formation of this committee City Council Meeting Minutes 4 April 16, 2001 is long overdue. She added that a better statement than "should the city establish a comprehensive trail network..." would be "how can the city facilitate creation of a comprehensive trail network" since the Comprehensive and Non-Motorized Plans both recommend the establishment of the trail network. Council Discussion Motion: Mr. Youse moved to adopt Resolution 01-020, Resolution of the City Council of the City of Port Townsend Amending City Council Rules of Procedure by Establishing a City Council Transportation Committee. Mr. Lipton seconded. Several changes were suggested and discussed regarding the wording of the resolution. Motion: Mr. Lipton proposed a friendly amendment to restate the first WHEREAS as follows: "WHEREAS, as identified in the City's Comprehensive Plan, the City faces major transportation issues including but not limited to the items identified in the Transportation Element of the Comprehensive Plan" with all the following bullets stricken. The amendment was accepted by the maker of the motion.. Vote: The motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote. RESOLUTION 01-021 A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND AUTHORIZING THE CITY MANAGER TO ENTER INTO CONTRACTS WITH JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY FOR FUND RAISING, ARCHITECTURAL SERVICES, PROJECT MANAGEMENT, AND MARKETING MATERIALS, NOT TO EXCEED $92,000 IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED CITY HALL RESTORATION AND REHABILITATION PROJECT Public Comment None Council Discussion Mr. Frank expressed his concern that if the Historical Society is unsuccessful in its efforts to raise sufficient funds for restoration of City Hall that the funding burden will come back to the citizens of Port Townsend. Mr. Timmons answered that the only way the city could address taking responsibility for the project would be through a vote of the people. He added that he is pleased with the efforts of JCHS to date and that they are moving forward with their plan. Mr. Finnie commented that h~ was not pleased about receiving a resolution fifteen minutes before the beginning of a meeting and stated he would be more comfortable proceeding if the City Manager and a representative of JCHS would agree to brief the City Council Meeting Minutes 5 April 16, 2001 Capital Facilities Committee on the issue; he would feel better prepared to vote on these resolutions if he information earlier. He asked who would get the $16,000 allotted for managing the project and asked for the name and credentials of that person. Mr. Timmons replied he would get information from JCHS and bring it to the Capital Facilities meeting on April 24th. Mr. Wolcott suggested monthly presentations to the council regarding the project. Motion: Mr. Wolcott moved to adopt Resolution 01-021, A Resolution of the City Council of the City of Port Townsend Authorizing the City Manager to Enter into Contracts with defferson County Historical Society for Fund Raising, Architectural Services, Project Management, and Marketing Materials, not to Exceed $92,000 in Connection with the Proposed City Hall Restoration and Rehabilitation Project. Mr. Lipton seconded. The motion carried unanimously, 6-~ by voice vote. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 8:01 p.m. Attest: Pamela Kolacy, CMC City Clerk City Council Meeting Minutes 6 April 16, 2001