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HomeMy WebLinkAbout08062001CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION OF AUGUST 6, 2001 The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in regular session this sixth day of August, 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 Allen Frank, Vem Garrison, Geoff Masci, Syd Lipton, Bill Wolcott and Alan Youse. Joe Finnie was excused. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Public Works Director Ken Clow, Finance Director Michael Legarsky, Building & Community Development Director Jeff Randall, Fire Chief Ed Edwards, City Clerk Pam Kolacy, CHANGES TO THE AGENDA Motion: Mayor Masci moved that the matter regarding a proposed street levy tied to the city's banked capacity for general property tax be reconsidered The item is listed on the agenda under Unfinished business (9C) at the mayor's request; however Mr. Masci stated that a motion from one of the prevailing voters would be appropriate in order to bring the item forward again. Mr. Frank seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6- O, by voice vote. PRESIDING OFFICER'S REPORT Mayor Masci stated he has received many calls from citizens concerned about the growing number of coyotes within the city limits. He noted that Jefferson County Animal Services is charged with domestic animals and wild animals are under the purview of State Fish and Wildlife. He asked staff to research the matter and report to council; he also requested that phone number for citizens concerned with coyotes in their neighborhoods be posted on the city web site, Mayor Masci read a proclamation designating the week of August 5 as "Forgiveness Week" in Port Townsend. CITY MANAGER'S REPORT Mr. Timmons reported that two resignations have recently been received from the Finance Department. He also reported on the state conference of city managers which was held recently in Wenatchee. He will brief the Public Works Committee on the information he received regarding water rights issues. City Council Business Meeting Page 1 August 6, 2001 Mr. Timmons is meeting with all city council candidates to clarify protocols regarding access to information. The requests will be coordinated through the administrative office. A presentation on the macro budget overview will done at the workshop meeting on August 13. PUBLIC COMMENT (consent agenda and items not on the agenda) Nancy Dorgan: commented on consent agenda item, authorization to accept a donation for care and maintenance of Kah Tai Park; stated that nature park is the highest and best use of the property. Added that the skateboard park would be a non-essential city facility at a high cost and city shouldn't be putting that kind of money into skateboarding. Pat Porter: commented on the current skateboard regulations, stating they are not clear, and additional measures should be taken to use signage or post areas where skateboarding is not allowed. She said the code should be more explicit, and asked that the council or staff determine is the ordinance is legal when areas are not posted. (Mr. Timmons noted the issue can be incorporated within the context of the skateboard park work plan as siting issues will be part of the plan..) CONSENT AGENDA Motion: Mr. Frank moved to remove item D (acceptance of donation)from the Consent Agenda for discussion at a later date after research by staff. Mr. Lipton seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice vote. Mr. Lipton cited concerns about the item, particularly whether the city could accept the donation for the purpose designated since the property is leased rather than owned by the city. Staff will research the issue for the next meeting and clarify the council's ability to accept the donation. Motion: Mr. Garrison moved for adoption of the following items on the consent agenda. Mr. Lipton seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice vote. Approval of Bills, Claims and Warrants Vouchers 76767 through 76787 and 77227 through 77424 in the amount of $592,893.24. Approval of Minutes Workshop Session of July 16 Business meeting of July 23 City Council Business Meeting Page 2 August 6, 2001 Other Authorize payment from the Transmission Line Replacement fund for repairs to the water screening buildings at the Big Quilcene Dam UNFINISHED BUSINESS ORDINANCE 2774 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND AMENDING SECTIONS 13.05.030 AND 13.05.040 OF THE PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE, MONTHLY WATER AND SEWER RATES Finance Director Michael Legarsky introduced the ordinance, stating that it is the result of the council's directive to initiate bi-monthly meter readings in order to eliminate the use of other classified employees to read meters. He said that this solution will not require software modifications and would simply change the manner in which the cycles are billed. He added that commercial accounts would continue to be maintained on a monthly basis. Mr. Timmons added that the premise is to keep the meter reading function down to one full time equivalent employee. He stated the relationship between water and sewer billing makes the system more complicated and noted that adjusting the software package to an entirely new billing cycle would result in a great deal of customized software work because it is not common practice. He added that a policy for allowing installment payments will be put in place: Public comment Nancy Dorgan: Stated that one of the policies in the Utilities section of the Comprehensive Plan is to design a water rate structure that encourages conservation. She stated the proposed ordinance would result in a short sighted and dubious policy. She also commented on the summer surcharge. Mr. Legarsky clarified that the city's software is not capable of averaging and so bills will be alternately larger and smaller. He added that the transitory summer population would result in a constant re-averaging beyond the capabilities of the system. Mr. Timmons noted there are more customer account issues to resolve due to the change in billing, but the change will result in more efficient use of the resources in the field. Consensus among council members was that the wording of the ordinance is confusing. Motion: Mr. Lipton moved to remand the ordinance to staff for clarification and consider it at the next business meeting. Mr. Frank seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice vote. City Council Business Meeting Page 3 August 6, 2001 180 Day Time Limit on Recreational Vehicles in R.V. Parks Building & Community Development Director Jeff Randall provided a memo summarizing the Planning Commission's action on this issue which was referred to them by the City Council in response to a letter (included in the council packet) from Forrest Rambo. He stated that the issue is being raised in conjunction with the Port of Port Townsend taking over Point Hudson. The Port has adopted a policy that allows only short time usage of the facility by recreational vehicles. Mr. Randall stated that the Planning Commission discussed campground RV Park issues in the entire city and noted that recreational vehicles are allowed only on public, not private property. The Planning Commission vote was 3-3 on a proposed recommendation that the council eliminate the 180 day time limit on recreational vehicles. The Commission did, however, vote to recommend that the City Council review the 180 day time limit and other issues relating to RV parks and campgrounds, including allowing private RV parks in other zoning districts than P-I, P/OS, and P/OS(B). Public comment Forrest Rambo: stated that he believes the current law is archaic, that this is a housekeeping issue and that there should not be a different limit on recreational vehicles than there is on liveaboard boat tenants. Larry Crocket: said the Port will establish its own policy at Point Hudson which will be in place by April and that the length of stay will probably be from two weeks to 30 days. Any decision the council makes will not affect Point Hudson; however as a citizen he expressed some concerns about the point at which an RV park becomes a mobile home park. He does not think this is a solution to affordable housing. Mr. Garrison stated this is probably not an issue that needs discussion or determination now as the any decision will not affect Point Hudson. Mr. Masci spoke in favor of removing what he characterized as a discrepancy between boat tenants and RV tenants. Mr. Youse brought up the issue of property taxes. It was noted that recreational vehicles are only taxed as personal property and that a home sited permanently contributes considerably more in real estate tax. Mr. Crockett clarified that liveaboard boaters do pay a leasehold tax to the Port, a portion of which returns to the county. City Council Business Meeting Page 4 August 6, 2001 Motion: Mr. Lipton moved that the council suspend the 180 day time limit on recreational vehicles in R V parks until an ordinance is developed to address recreational vehicle issues in the entire city and add that task to the Building & Community Development Department work plan. Mr. Wolcott seconded The motion carried 4-2, with Mr. ¥ouse and Mr. Frank opposed FIREWORKS This item was moved up in the agenda order because the Fire Chief was present to discuss the matter. Chief Ed Edwards provided a memorandum to the council members showing the number of responses the department has made to fire works related fires. Cost of the responses was estimated at $1,631.80. A list of other municipalities which completely or partially ban fireworks was included. Chief Edwards told the council that any law passed by the city which is more restrictive than the state law must wait one year to take effect so a decision now will not impact the next fourth of July. Public comment Nancy Dorgan Supported banning all fireworks within the city. Mr. Timmons noted that private use of fireworks may be mitigated by a community- supported fireworks display. There was discussion regarding the possible difficulty of enforcing a fireworks ban. Chief Edwards suggested that he could do additional research on issues raised by the council before a decision is made. Mr. Frank moved to remand the issue to the Public Safety Committee for additional information. Mr. Garrison seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice Vote. NEW BUSINESS ORDINANCE 2775 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND AMENDING CHAPTER 2.60 OF THE PORT TOWNSEND MUNICIPAL CODE, MODIFYING PROVISIONS RELATED TO SICK LEAVE ALLOWANCE AND MEDICAL INSURANCE FOR CITY EMPLOYEES Mr. Timmons stated that he has analyzed various benefit plans which would provide a more equitable benefit package for non-union employees. Non-union employees received no cost of living increase in 2001 and do not receive life insurance or disability City Council Business Meeting Page 5 August 6, 2001 benefits; union employees received increases and enjoy a more comprehensive benefit package. According to the City's Personnel Policy Manual, the City Council must enact any changes in compensation or benefit levels for city employees by ordinance. Motion: Mr. Masci moved to postpone consideration of Ordinance 2775 until the next business meeting and requested additional information from the City Manager regarding the plan under consideration. Mrl Frank seconded The motion carried unanimously, 6-0, by voice vote. STREET LEVY City Attorney John Watts introduced the issue, citing research that indicates at least three possible types of ballot measure may be considered, including 1) an advisory ballot which could direct the Council to levy the City's banked property tax levy capacity; 2) a ballot measure where voters vote to levy the banked capacity; 3) a ballot measure where voters vote to lift the levy lid. He added that there is no clear legal authority for having voters allowed to approve a levy of the banked capacity. Public Comment: Nancy Dorgan. asked the council to stop boasting about not raising taxes and start thinking about what the city needs. She stated that no one wants to pay taxes but that the council has failed in their responsibility to raise them when needed and added that street maintenance should not be a voter option. Motion: Mr. Frank moved to direct staff to bring forward, by the first meeting in September, proposals pertaining to a street levy that could include utilization of the banked capacity of the general property tax levy to be approved by a vote of the people and that the street levy would direct all levy proceeds toward labor and materials. In addition, staff is directed to bring forward other possible street funding options. ?gr. Youse seconded The motion carried, 5-1, by voice vote, with Mr. Lipton opposed ADJOURN Them being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:10 p.m. Attest: Pamela Kolacy, CMC City Clerk City Council Business Meeting Page 6 August 6, 2001