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HomeMy WebLinkAbout071210CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL BUSINESS MEETING OF JULY 12, 2010 CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL Councilmembers present at roll call were David King, Laurie Medlicott, Kris Nelson, George Randels, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, and Mark Welch. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Public Works Director Ken Clow, Senior Planner John McDonagh, and Development Services Director Rick Sepler . CHANGES TO THE AGENDA There were no changes to the agenda. SPECIAL PRESENTATION(S): Main Street Quarterly Report Susan Windle, Chair of the Main Street Board of Directors, reported on Main Street's activities during the last quarter. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Melinda Szatlocky, program director for Homeward Bound, spoke in support of Resolution 10-024 (consent agenda) which would add two new properties to the affordable housing inventory. Jamie Maciejewski of Habitat for Humanity also spoke in favor of Resolution 10- 024. CONSENT AGENDA Ms. Nelson stated that one of the two parcels proposed to be added to the affordable housing inventory is across the street from property she owns. She added that although the City Attomey determined there is no legal significance in terms of her participation in the decision, she prefers to disclose this information. Motion: George Randels moved to approve the following Items on the consent agenda: A. Aoproval of Bills. Claims and Warrants Vouchers 11688 through 111701 in the amount of $3, 275.30 City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 1 of 10 Vouchers 111704 through 111745 in the amount of $367, 534.90 Vouchers 111746 through 111766 in the amount of $31, 520.81 Vouchers 111767 through 111774 (plus EFTs) in the amount of $201,940.10 Vouchers 111775 through 111818 in the amount of $147,595.77 Approval of Minutes May 17, 2010 with following corrections: Page 3 -revise last sentence in third paragraph to read "but wants data regarding need for such an expansion in order to protect businesses that have...'; Page 3 -correct typo "extension"not "extnsion",• Page 7, fifth paragraph under "Fire Service"in sixth line change "inequities" to "equities. " June 14, 2010 June 21, 2010 Resolution 10-022 authorizing the City Manager to enter into an automation system service agreement (CLAN) with Jefferson County Library Resolution 10.023 authorizing pilot testing of slow sand filtration and authorizing the Ciry Manager to execute all contracts within approved budgets related to the development, analysis and refinement of water treatment options necessary for compliance with the Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Treatment Rule Resolution 10-024 amending Resolution 09-035 City's Inventory of Property Suitable for Affordable Housing - to include two new properties Authorize City Manager to sign contract amendment for design of City Lake water line replacement. David King seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. PUBLIC HEARING(S) NONE SCHEDULED UNFINISHED BUSINESS Boiler Room Contract Mayor Sandoval stated she would recuse herself from the proceedings because her husband is now acting as Executive Director of the Boiler Room. City Attorney Watts noted there is no legal requirement for Ms. Sandoval to recuse herself but she may choose to do so. Deputy Mayor Randels assumed the role of presiding officer during Ms. Sandoval's absence. Mr. Timmons reviewed the packet materials. He said the police have been advised of neighborhood concerns and are working toward addressing these. City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 2 of 10 The city is also encouraging ongoing discussions between neighbors and Boiler Room representatives. Mr. Watts stated that the current scope of services reflects both ongoing activity and a special service through the remaining months of 2010 which is to establish the Port Townsend/Jefferson County Youth Consortium as part of a countywide Youth Initiative. He noted an inconsistency between Attachment 1 (Scope of Services} and Attachment 2 (Summary of Services) and confirmed that both documents should specify that the facility stay open at least 50 (not 40) hours per week. The Scope of Services will be changed to conform to the Summary of Services. Public Comment: Marty Gay, Executive Director of the Boiler Room, provided written comments in support of the Boiler Room and asked the Counci{ to approve funding. Jennifer Forbes, attorney for the Boiler Room neighbors, provided written comments and noted that her clients have suffered from the impact of the Boiler Room in its current location. She said she believed Mayor Sandoval recused herself too late in the process and her advocacy for the Boiler Room may make the contract void. She added that the proposed conditions to the contract were a result of talks with Boiler Room representatives. Brand Greene, president of the Waterman & Katz condo association stated that the Boiler Room is located in a downtown area which presents much temptation. He said that the neighbors are frustrated and have complained many times but feel unheard. He stated that any organization should have standard operating procedures and cited the Coffee Oasis in Bremerton as a model. Kevin Harris presented Andrew Reding's resignation from the Boiler Room Board of Directors to the Council. He stated the best way to solve Boiler Room problems is for the City to add requirements to the terms of the contract. He expressed concern about the homeless population sharing the Boiler Room facility. Darrell Kimmerly, resident of Waterman & Katz Building stated his main issue is the constant noise; he said he has complained many times but the staff changes so often he never talks to the same person. He added that even when the Boiler Room closes at 10 p.m., noise continues after hours and disturbs his sleep. Brita Kimmerly said that the response from the Boiler Room has been that they were here first and the real estate agent should have informed buyers of Waterman & Katz condos about the facility. She supports services for kids but believes there should be rules established. Danella Chase, condo owner stated there have been horrendous issues but Ciry Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 3 of 10 during the last six months things have been much more under control regarding the noise. She believes the issues reappear because there is constant rotation of managers and volunteers and there are no standard rules in place. She is worried about what will happen if the current management leaves. She also is concerned about the combining services for the homeless with the Boiler Room. Steve Gillard, an attorney recently appointed to the Boiler Room advisory board, stated that the Council is capable of imposing whatever conditions they wish on the contract. He asked why the interests of a small group would be protected at the expense of the larger community. Joe Daubenberger stated Boiler Room behavior is often inappropriate. He does not understand why the City is subsidizing the Boiler Room with taxpayer money when there are many other worthwhile organizations. Tiffany Wotford, current interim manager of Boiler Room, stated there is supervision at the facility. She said the board is working hard to address issues. She stated that the Boiler Room is not a shelter for the homeless. She added that no one under age 16 ever works alone at the Boiler Room and someone is always there who can take legal responsibility. Amy Smith said she came to Port Townsend as a homeless drug using youth ten years ago and that she is now clean and sober and president of the Board of Directors. She said she does not think the Boiler Room should be in a defensive position. They are working on on sound level agreements which will be signed by all volunteers. Mike Connell stated that the problem may be a result of turning commercial businesses downtown into residences. Matthias Booth, resident of Waterman & Katz Building has also frequented the Boiler Room. He does not think it unrealistic for the City to establish some rules. If the Boiler room is able to police itself, then they should not have a problem compromising with the neighbors. Bruce Marston, Board of Directors, has a deep history with the organization and noted that many people have turned their lives around because of the Boiler Room. He believes many of the problems result from a prejudice against teenagers. He stated the Boiler Room appreciates the support of the Council. Gabriella Kimmerly stated as a young resident of Waterman & Katz, she does not want to deal with the adult problems stemming from the neighboring Boiler Room. Mr. Timmons stated that in addition to the problems presented, there have been many successes by the Boiler Room that have not received much publicity. The Council has been hopeful that the Boiler Room would establish a business model to become more self sustaining. The Council did not act on funding at the City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 4 of ]0 beginning of the year in order to wait for the Boiler Room management transition. Mr. Watts stated in regard to legal concerns raised by Attorney Forbes, that the City is annually audited by the state auditor and none of the issues in her memorandum have been identified during audits. He does not believe any issues raised would prevent the Council from approving the contract. The City must be satisfied there are no legal issues outstanding prior to the City Manager executing the contract. Ms. Nelson asked Mr. Gay what specifically the Boiler Room staff was doing to solve the concerns in a permanent way. Mr. Gay noted that the dispute resolution process is ongoing. He stated that the Boiler Room is having experts come and discuss sound levels. He also noted some of the problems are broad in range and may not all be solved completely. He confirmed that the Board is working on specific policies that will guide those in charge at the Boiler Room for any given situation. Mr. Welch stated that he works with many young people and many of them see this as a valuable service providing opportunities they would not otherwise have. He noted the Boiler Room needed a management structure capable of moving forward in a positive manner. He stated that funding is getting tighter and there are no guarantees for funding after this year. Mr. King agreed and emphasized a need for continuity in leadership at the Boiler Room. He stated that its survival is important and he will support the funding to assist that survival this year. Mrs. Medlicott stated the same issues have come up every year since she has served on the Council and the Finance Committee. She noted that the amount of funding has increased every year rather than decreasing according to prior plans. She is concerned about the homeless population interacting with the Boiler Room clients. She cannot support the funding another year based on the hope that things will improve. Ms. Robinson stated that she remembers the Council did hope the Boiler Room would stabilize their funding and would reach a point where they did not need to ask for City support. She would appreciate a regular report from the Boiler Room. She stated she will support funding this year but there are no guarantees for funding for years to come. Mr. Randels stated authorizing the contract is a step that should be taken tonight. The Boiler Room is part of Port Townsend's social fabric; the Council tries not to micromanage and that is why he cannot entertain the suggestion to write a different sort of contract from the usual non profit agreement. He encouraged continued discussion and agreements between the Boiler Room and the neighbors. City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 5 of 10 Ms. Nelson stated that the Boiler Room has hired good staff and she hopes that under the new leadership there will be policies in place that will enable the Boiler Room to be a good neighbor. She will support this assuming the Boiler Room will follow through and come back to the Council in three months to outline the steps they have taken toward accommodating the neighbors. She stated the Council should not micromanage but will have the option to cut funding if things do not improve. Motion: Mark Welch moved to authorize the City Manager to execute a contract with the Boiler Room for 2010. David King seconded. Vote: motion carried, 5-1 by voice vote, Laurie Medlicott opposed. Ms. Sandoval returned to the Council Chambers and resumed the role of presiding officer. Ordinance 3036, adopting a map designating residences as historic; Ordinance 3037, adding provisions to the City's historic preservation code on design review and demolition of historic residences; Ordinance 3038, relating to zoning code changes adding bulk and scale limitations to residences. City Attorney John Watts, DSD Director Rick Sepler, and Senior Planner John McDonagh reviewed the packet materials. Mr. McDonagh clarified that one historic structure classification was discovered after the inventory. The owner has been notified and did not dispute the classification. Ms. Robinson disclosed that she is the owner of a home that might at some time be classified as a secondary home although it is not in the historic district. Ms. Nelson disclosed that she is a tenant in a downtown historic building. Mr. Sepler clarified that the introduction of any new information does not cause the automatic re-opening of the public hearing. That would occur only if the Council felt the new information was significant to their decision. Public comment Eileen Gatto stated that one of her objections to the ordinance is that the city is trying to control private property. She believes this is an example of establishing laws which affect only particular citizens. She stated if she had known about a required higher standard of care she might not have chosen to buy her home and expressed concern that this would allow the City to take homes away from owners. Marcy Jaffe stated she believes the ordinance will not hold up to a legal City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 6 of 10 challenge. She also believes the City has violated the Open Public Meetings Act by not having all agenda packet materials available to the public within five days of the meeting in accordance with the Council Rules of Procedure. Following public comment, there were no Council members who wished to re- open the public hearing in response to tonight's testimony. Mr. Watts called the Council's attention to page 10 of 11 on the agenda bill, stating that the "Note" under paragraph 2 in Recommended Action was included in error. Mr. Watts noted that the Council Rules state the agenda should be posted a certain number of days prior to the meeting but this is a guideline or target time frame and does not tie to the Open Meetings Act. Failure to post all materials five days before the meeting is not a violation of state law. He also noted, in regard to comments about historic homes being held to a higher standard of care, that there is no rehabilitation requirement in the ordinance and no requirement to rehabilitate historic homes back to a certain standard. The ordinance is not designed to hold historic homeowners to a higher standard of care but to prevent decay and neglect which could result in complete loss of the structure. Motion: George Randels moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3036, Relating to Land Use and Zoning, Amending Chapter 17.30 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code Concerning Design Review of Historic Buildings, and Adopting a Map, Survey and Methodology Designating Residences as Historic and Contributing to the Nations! Historic Landmark District with correction of typographical errors on page 1 (B) (3) of the ordinance (change date of Exhibit A map to July 12 from July 1 and strike "Exhibit 8 to this Ordinance. "Mark Welch seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Mr. Timmons asked whether Ordinance 3037 contains any definition of "mansions" as used in Finding "V" of the ordinance. Mr. Watts said "mansion" is not defined but a generic definition is assumed. He suggested a phrase such as "out of scale" homes rather than "mansions" for the next version of the document. Ms. Nelson noted on Attachment 15, page 5, there is a formatting error ("b" and "c" are applied to the same sentence). On page 22, four lines up from the bottom, "historic" and "principal" should be reversed. On page 24, last line in (6), replace "front" with "primary" facade. Ms. Robinson noted that in Attachment 14, page 3 (L) "held a" is repeated. She also said she would like the last sentence to be written so the intent is more clear to anyone reading the ordinance. On page 4, second line down, change "marker" to "market." She asked Mr. Watts to review the second complete paragraph ("In City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 7 of 10 Conner v. Seattle" for accuracy. Motion: George Randels moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3037, Relating to Land Use and Zoning, Amending Chapter 17.08 and 17.30 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code Concerning Design Review of Historic Buildings, and Adopting Regulations Concerning Demolition or Alteration of Certain Historic Structures, Including Residences, and Providing for Designation of Historic Building and Places, and Adopting Maintenance Standards for Historic Buildings with corrections as discussed by Council. David King seconded. Vote: motion can-ied unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. In response to Mr. Randels, Mr. Watts stated the ordinance does not provide for review of maximum size limitation by the Planning Commission. The ordinance also does not incorporate extension of the current interim ordinance which will lapse in September. Mr. Randels stated he is still concerned about not establishing a maximum size limitation which would apply to both developed and undeveloped areas of the city. Mr. Welch stated that he believes the daylight plane is an elegant solution to size limitation and does not share Mr. Randels' concerns about lack of establishing a maximum size limit. He supports the ordinance as presented. Ms. Robinson supports referring the maximum size issue to the Planning Commission for further review. Motion: George Randels moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3038, Relating to Land Use and Zoning, and Amending Chapter 17.16 of the Port Townsend Municipal Code to Provide for Bulk and Scale Limitations for Residential Development and Re-development, and Amending Chapter 17.08 of the Municipal Code Providing Definitions for Daylight Plane and Modulation with change discussed Mark Welch seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Council discussion continued regarding the issue of maximum size restrictions. Mr. Randels stated that he would like the Planning Commission to look at the issue more broadly. Rick stated staff can prepare a draft motion that would ask the Planning Commission to look at a range of solutions such as those in Attachment 9. Mr. Sepler stated the Planning Commission deliberated on whether a maximum building size should be established but did not make a recommendation to the Council. In the memo staff has prepared, a number of approaches are suggested that may yield the same result but none of those have been reviewed by the Planning Commission. Motion: George Randels moved direct staff to prepare a draft motion to the Planning Commission, asking them to review the approaches listed in Attachment City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 8 of 10 9 (potential strategies to limit the maximum size ofsingle-family residences). Catharine Robinson seconded. Vote: motion carried, 5-2 by voice vote, Kris Nelson, and Mark Welch opposed. NEW BUSINESS PRESIDING OFFICER'S REPORT Thursday night Concerts of the Dock have resumed with a new location near the Northwest Maritime Center. Compliments to the staff for work on Upper Sims Way. A celebration and open house will be held on Friday and Council members are urged to attend and thank the businesses for their patience with the project. A celebration of the new Chetzemoka Ferry arrival is slated for August 29. Mayor Sandoval attended a meeting with mayors from Olympia, Bellingham and Bremerton to discuss common issues. Port Townsend may be hosting an upcoming meeting. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Cleanup on the Rosecrans development is proceeding Lodging tax revenues are still holding steady although sales tax revenues are about 3% below target. Real estate sales are sporadic. Watering on Sims Way landscaping is being done to establish new plantings which are drought tolerant. The Walkability Foundation is offering the city technical assistance in writing grant applications to the Transportation Improvement Board. Council will be asked to consider a sign departure proposal for identified businesses on Upper Sims Way. State referendums on liquor control measures will impact cities in terms of excise tax. Some profits would be eliminated which now fund substance abuse prevention programs. One of the measures requires replacement funding. An executive session will be schedule at the next counci{ meeting; consensus was to have executive session at 6 p.m. prior to the start of the regular meeting. SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT OR FUTURE AGENDA, REGULAR MEETING ANDlOR STUDY SESSION Ciry Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 9 of 10 COMMENTS FROM COUNCIL EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:30 p.m. Attest: ~~~Q ~~~~ Pamela Kolacy, MMC (J City Clerk City Council Special Business Meeting July 12, 2010 Page 10 of 10