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HomeMy WebLinkAbout011717CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE CITY COUNCIL BUSINESS MEETING OF JANUARY 17, 2017 CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Port Townsend City Council met in regular session on the 17th day of January 2017 in the Council Chambers at 540 Water Street. Mayor Deborah Stinson called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Councilmembers present at roll call were Pamela Adams, David Faber, Robert Gray, Amy Howard, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, and Deborah Stinson. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney Steve Gross, Public Works Director Ken Clow, Finance and Administrative Services Director Nora Mitchell, City Engineer David Peterson, and City Clerk Joanna Sanders. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were none. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Public comment Emelia deSouza spoke about Council's support of the municipal equality index. She encouraged Council to adopt a proposed resolution to designate Port Townsend as a human rights city. CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Bills, Claims and Warrants Vouchers 155832 through 155837 and Electronic Fund Transfers in the amount of $323,911.49. Approval of Minutes: January 3, 2017 Motion: Amy Howard moved to approve the consent agenda as written. Robert Gray seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. UNFINISHED BUSINESS - NONE NEW BUSINESS City Council Business Meeting January 17, 2017 Page 1 of 5 Resolution 17-003 Accepting a Donation from Willene Jaqua McRae for the Sculpture "For Willene" City Manager David Timmons gave the staff report, including the background of the City's relationship with artist Russell Jaqua, and the significance of this public art project to locate the "For Willene" sculpture. Clarifying questions from Council related to material used for the sculpture, signage placement and material, ongoing maintenance, and safety. Willene Jaqua McRae spoke about the story behind the creation of the sculpture and gave her thanks and gratitude to those who supported the project. There was no public comment. Motion. Michelle Sandoval moved to approve Resolution 17-003 Accepting a Donation from Willene Jaqua McRae for the Sculpture "For Willene." David Faber seconded. Vote. motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Ordinance 3165 Relating to Contracting Indebtedness; Providing for the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of not to Exceed $12,000,000 Aggregate Principal Amount of Limited Tax General Obligation and Refunding Bonds for the Purpose of Financing Sidewalk Improvements, Repaving Water Street, Rehabilitating Carnegie Library and Other Projects, to Refund Certain Outstanding Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds of the City and to Pay the Costs of Issuance and Sale of the Bonds; Fixing or Setting Parameters with Respect to Certain Terms and Covenants of the Bonds; Appointing the City's Designated Representative to Approve the Final Terms of the Sale of the Bonds; and Providing for Other Related Matters Mr. Timmons gave the staff report seeking authorization for the City to issue, sell and deliver limited tax general obligation and refunding bonds. Following a review of Council's previous discussions and prior authorizations in the timeline, he reminded that the initial plan included refinancing the 2008 bonds through an advance refunding and $3.2 million of additional new money to repay interfund loans, make capital improvements at the Carnegie Library, and fund matching dollars for sidewalk and street improvement projects (including frontage improvements at the Visitor Center). At the prior meeting, there was also a suggestion to add $800,000 to the new money amount to fund other items on the suggested Complete Streets list. After reviewing bond financing options, he said staffs recommendation is to proceed with the original recommendation of $3.2 million of new money and fund the originally - identified list of projects. Other projects totaling $800,000 could be considered in a future refunding of the 2010 bonds in 2018 or 2019. Two additional projects on this agenda that had not been approved by Council are the Jefferson Street and Visitor Center Parking projects. Staff is proposing they be funded as a part of the bond refunding. City Council Business Meeting January 17, 2017 Page 2 of 5 Bond Council Nancy Nerraes explained the delegation ordinance. Security for the debt is the General Fund. She reviewed the parameters on page 6 of the ordinance. Scott Bauer of Northwest Municipal Advisors spoke about interest rates, refunding savings, and the bond sale timeline. Questions to which Ms. Nerraes and Mr. Bauer responded related to the ordinance pledge of taxes, impact to debt capacity, voted versus non - voted bonds, impacts to bond rating, and additional borrowing capacity. There were additional questions and discussion of whether to borrow the original recommended $3.2 million of new money or to add an additional $800,000 for projects that have not had the required resources defined, including staffing capacity to complete the project. Mr. Timmons discussed alternatives for addressing wants and Council's option for authorizing the additional projects. There was no public comment.: Significant discussion ensued about staffs comfort with the rough costs associated with the transportation improvement projects if Council were to authorize an additional $800,000. Mr. Timmons reminded the Council that accessibility routes are prioritized in the non -motorized plan. If the City wants to fund larger infrastructure projects like sidewalks and curbs, the City could try to leverage additional grant funding or use other funding sources such as real estate excise tax revenues and Recreation Conservation Office funding. Council would be the one to decide on choices and options for the additional $800,000. While there were concerns over setting new priorities for projects not yet identified without better estimates of cost and staff capacity, there was interest in taking advantage of the low interest rate to fund trail projects. There were also some comments in favor of maximizing the State's paving project on SR 20 from Four Corners to the ferry terminal to expand the Visitor's Center and/or Water Street overlay projects. Ms. Nerraes said the ordinance language is flexible enough to include an additional $800,000 if desired. Discussion continued about priority projects such as Discovery Road between Town Pointe and Rainier. There was a reminder that other transportation needs, including bike lanes, sidewalks, and streets go beyond non -motorized plan. Mr. Timmons suggested staff might be able to identify/map improved "accessibility" routes. If $800,000 were part of the bond refinancing, then Council could continue discussion about what projects might be considered. Scott Bauer reiterated that the ordinance language of "not to exceed $12 million" regarding the aggregate financing amount is adequate whether the Council approves $3.2 million or $4.0 million of new money. Motion: Catharine Robinson moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3165 Relating to Contracting Indebtedness; Providing for the Issuance, Sale and Delivery of not to Exceed $12, 000, 000 Aggregate Principal Amount of Limited Tax General Obligation and Refunding Bonds for the Purpose of Financing Sidewalk Improvements, Repaving Water Street, Rehabilitating Carnegie Library and Other Projects, to Refund Certain Outstanding Limited Tax General Obligation Bonds of the City and to Pay the Costs of Issuance and Sale of the Bonds; Fixing or Setting Parameters with Respect to Certain Terms and Covenants of the Bonds; Appointing the City's Designated Representative to Approve the Final Terms of the Sale of the Bonds; and Providing for Other Related Matters. David Faber seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. City Council Business Meeting January 17, 2017 Page 3 of 5 Resolution 17-004 Approving the Design Concept for the Visitor Center Parking Improvement Project and Authorizing the City Manager to Sign all Contracts for the Project City Engineer David Peterson gave the staff report reviewing the conceptual design in the packet. There were many questions about safety improvements to be included as part of the design, parking, and restroom facilities planned. There was no public comment. Motion: Michelle Sandoval moved to approve Resolution 17-004 Approving the Design Concept for the Visitor Center Parking Improvement Project and Authorizing the City Manager to Sign all Contracts for the Project. Pamela Adams seconded. Vote: motion carried, 6-1 by voice vote, Robert Gray opposed. At 8:25 p.m., Council recessed for five minutes for the purposes of a break. At 8:30 p.m., the meeting resumed. Resolution 17-005 Authorizing the City Manager to Sign a Transportation Improvement Board Grant Agreement for Sidewalk Construction on Jefferson Street (Taylor to Washington Street) and Amending the 2017-2022 Transportation Improvement Program Public Works Director Ken Clow gave the staff presentation and addressed questions from Council related to parking, crosswalks, and other challenges to work through in the design. In response to concerns about the $253,000 in matching funds that could be used for projects in other areas of the City, staff explained the ranking of the project and criteria for approving the grant related to Safe Routes to School. There was no public comment. Motion: Catharine Robinson moved to approve Resolution 17-005 Authorizing the City Manager to Sign a Transportation Improvement Board Grant Agreement for Sidewalk Construction on Jefferson Street (Taylor to Washington Street) and Amending the 2017-2022 Transportation Improvement Program. David Faber seconded. Vote: motion carried, 6-1 by voice vote, Robert Gray opposed. Tasking the City Manager to plan for the inclusion of trail improvements in the 2017 updates to the Capital Improvement Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, and in the 2018 Budget Mr. Peterson gave the staff report. He responded to questions during Council discussion and clarifying questions about the map of projects. There was no public comment. Motion. Catharine Robinson moved to approve directing the City Manager to prioritize the Complete Streets Plan project list, and to incorporate the prioritized list into the 2017 updates to the Capital Improvement Plan and Transportation Improvement Program, and in the 2018 Budget as appropriate. David Faber seconded. City Council Business Meeting January 17, 2017 Page 4 of 5 Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Approval of Letter Commenting on Navy Draft Environmental Impact State (DEIS) City Attorney Steve Gross reviewed the agenda bill and noted his letter incorporates the more detailed letter by reference. There was no public comment. Motion: David Faber moved to approve authorizing the Mayor to submit a comment letter in substantially the same form as proposed by staff. Pamela Adams seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. PRESIDING OFFICER'S REPORT Mayor Stinson reported that she was present and carried out the ceremonial flipping of the switch of new filtration system at the Water Treatment facility. SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT OR FUTURE AGENDA, REGULAR MEETING AND/OR STUDY SESSION Councilmember Sandoval recommended that the resolution proposed by Emelia deSouza be added to a future agenda. COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL Ms. Robinson reported Sheriff Stanko is soliciting comments about the Sheriffs office strategic plan. ADJOURN There being no further business, adjourned at 9:02 p.m, Attest: Joanna Sanders, CMC City Clerk City Council Business Meeting January 17, 2017 Page 5 of 5