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HomeMy WebLinkAbout062011 Business Meeting CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE BUSINESS MEETING OF JUNE 20, 2011 CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The City Council of the City of Port Townsend met in regular session the 20th day of June, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. in the Port Townsend City Council Chambers, Mayor Michelle Sandoval presiding. ROLL CALL Councilmembers present at roll call were David King, Kris Nelson, George Randels, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, and Mark Welch with Laurie Medlicott excused. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Public Works Director Ken Clow, Library Director Theresa Percy, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy. It was noted that Councilmember Medlicott would arrive late. CHANGES TO THE AGENDA No changes were proposed to the agenda. COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC Patrick Moore suggested that the City website list salaries for each government employee. Kris Logue expressed concerns about the initiation of new projects requiring taxpayer support. She suggested the City impose a moratorium on spending. CONSENT AGENDA Motion: Catharine Robinson moved to approve the following items on the consent agenda: Approval of Bills Claims and Warrants Voucher 114842 in the amount of$67,077.70 Vouchers 114846 through 114863 in the amount of$1,531.86 Vouchers 114865 through 114971 in the amount of$460,465.55 Vouchers 114972 through 114973 in the amount of$4,267.04 Approve changes to pool fees and swim scholarship program: add "disabled"category to reduced swim fee schedule and expand Swimming Lesson Scholarship Program to non- city residents. Approve letter of support for Jefferson Education Center to the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board. City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 1 of 6 Adopt Resolution 11-017, Approving the Port Townsend Arts Commission 2011 Public Art Plan. George Randels seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 6-0 by voice vote. OLD BUSINESS Pink House - Authorization to proceed with final design, contract advertising/award, and construction Public Works Director Ken Clow reviewed the packet materials. Council member Medlicott arrived at 6:59 p.m. Architect Jim Cary clarified the steps that will be taken to mitigate removal of the interior historic elements of the Pink House. Public Comment Cameron McPherson, President of the Port Townsend Library Association, spoke in favor of authorizing the project as presented. Todd Wexman spoke in opposition to project approval, noting he does not believe private fundraising efforts will be successful and the burden of financing the project will fall to the City. Julie Jaman spoke in opposition to the project, stating that she would rather make a showcase of the Pink House as it exists, than fake what is real. Don Knapp suggested the alternative of keeping the Pink House intact and moving it to another location, then renting a location for library meeting rooms and teen programs. Margaret Lee stated she appreciates the amount of time and consideration given to the proposal but also believes the building should remain in its historic configuration because of its rich history as a sea captain's home. She also suggested that local community standards are significant and should be considered in addition to laws and regulations. Council discussion followed. Mr. Clow noted that consideration was not given to moving the Pink House as the character of the neighborhood would then be impacted. Although Councilors stated their support for historic preservation, they also discussed the merits of adaptive re-use of historic buildings. In addition, it was agreed that the interior is already compromised from its historic origins and that there could be a risk of losing the asset altogether if it is not adapted to accommodate new uses. In that way, adaptation does result in preservation of the building. Members agreed that maintaining integrity in historic buildings is a desirable goal; City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 2 of 6 however if the interior has already been seriously compromised sometimes adaptive re- use must occur in the best way possible while respecting history through methods such as documentation and partial maintenance of original features. Mr. Timmons clarified that the funds for the Pink House work provided by the Library Foundation will be escrowed and funding will be secured before the bid is awarded. City funds will not be spent on this project. Motion: George Randels moved to authorize the City Manager to sign contracts for the completion of the design, preparation of construction documents, and to bid and award contracts for the reconfiguration of the Pink House within the project budget. Mark Welch seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Interlocal Agreement - Annexation of City of Port Townsend to Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 Mr. Timmons reviewed the packet materials. Mr. Watts reviewed the history and process to date. Clarification was made that there would be no discussion tonight of potential funding options but the topic would be taken up at the Finance and Budget Committee for initial review. Public Comment Chief Gordon Pomeroy, East Jefferson Fire and Rescue, urged approval. Patrick Moore expressed concerns about annexation and the general state of fire services. He opposed action leading to official consolidation. During Council discussion, it was noted that reference to the "Boundary Review Board" would be removed from the "Fire District Annexation Step-by-Step Analysis." All agreed that education of the public is of primary importance for an annexation proposal to succeed. Motion: David King moved to approve the pre-annexation"Interlocal Agreement and move for first reading of Ordinance 3058 Stating the Intent of the City Council to Annex into and Join Jefferson County Fire Protection District No. 1 DBA East Jefferson Fire Rescue ("EJFR") in Accordance with RCW 52.04.061 Through .131 to Continue Providing for Fire Prevention, Fire Suppression, Emergency Medical and Hazardous Material Incident Response Services Within the City. Mark Welch seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. RECESS City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 3 of 6 Mayor Sandoval declared a recess at 8:26 for the purpose of a break. RECONVENE The meeting was reconvened at 8:38 p.m. Resolution 11-018 Concerning Affordable Housing; Ordinance 3059 Creating a Separate Budget Fund for Housing Mr. Watts reviewed the packet materials. Public Comment Phil Johnson, Jefferson County Commissioner, stated he is concerned that the establishment of a housing provider consortium would be a duplication of effort with The Housing Action Plan Network and add more bureaucracy to the process. Fred Kimball, Habitat for Humanity, stated he is not opposed to the consortium idea but has several questions about how it would work, what the expectations would be and whose staff time would be taken up. He suggested removing the consortium language from the resolution and discussing the concept further with the providers. He also addressed the question of keeping housing stock affordable in perpetuity, noting that at a certain point you have to decide what is a small, but acceptable, risk. Melinda Szatlocky, Homeward Bound Program Director, clarified that housing providers have met, looked at the inventory and come to a consensus about what properties would be best for each entity. Housing providers also met with representatives of the Lutheran Church regarding the Cherry Street property. She agreed that it is difficult to provide affordable housing in perpetuity. Homeward Bound is also amending their ground lease to provide procedures for property that is inherited. Peter Badame stated he has a question regarding the process for the Council providing the "next step" on the Discovery property. Philip Morley spoke regarding the consortium, stating there has been little dialog about that between the jursidictions. He supported adopting the resolution without the consortium wording to allow mutual staff to explore the issue further rather than adopting a unilateral decision by the City. Discussion followed regarding the consortium concept. Concerns were raised about the details of the consortium including how it would be staffed, how wide a region would be included, how funding would be handled, relationship of a consortium to the PDA model, failure of HAPN to move forward with recommendations, importance of workforce housing, and keeping affordable housing properties in public ownership. In spite of concerns, agreement was expressed that the issue needs to move forward. The concept of a housing fund was generally favored, but a suggestion was made to have the Finance and Budget Committee review before final Council action. City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 4 of 6 Motion: Mark Welch moved to refer Resolution 11-018 to the Community Development and Land Use Committee and refer Ordinance 3059 to the Finance and Budget Committee and ask each committee to report back to the Council no later than the end of July. George Randels seconded. Vote: motion failed, 2-5 by voice vote, with David King, Kris Nelson, George Randels, Catharine Robinson, and Michelle Sandoval opposed. Motion: David King moved to approve Resolution 11-018 as amended to remove paragraph G 2 regarding the housing provider consortium and to insert wording in G 5, after "in affordable housing status"to read "with guarantees acceptable to the City Council"and to refer consideration of the consortium issue to the Community Development and Land Use Committee for a recommendation back to the Council no later than the end of July. George Randels seconded. Vote: motion carried, 6-1 by voice vote, Laurie Medlicott opposed. Motion: David King moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3059 and refer it to the Finance and Budget Committee for review and recommendation to the Council by the end of July. Mark Welch seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. NEW BUSINESS Arbitration of Jail and Court Services Contracts with Jefferson County Mr. Timmons reviewed the packet materials, noting that the action requested is procedural and simply reserves the right of the City to initiate arbitration if an agreement cannot be reached with Jefferson County regarding jail and court services contracts for 2012. Philip Morley, Jefferson County Administrator, stated that the County's intent is to negotiate the contracts in good faith and move them forward as rapidly as possible. Some Council members expressed concern that this action might be premature and that the City should go into negotiations first on good faith noting that it is possible adoption of this action could affect the tone of negotiations. Motion: Mark Welch moved to authorize the City Manager to initiate arbitration of court and jail services contracts, with the preferred outcome being negotiated contracts in lieu of arbitration. George Randels seconded. Vote: motion carried, 5-2 by voice vote, Laurie Medlicott, and Kris Nelson opposed. Amendment to 2010 Sales Tax Agreement with Jefferson County Mr. Timmons reviewed the packet materials. County Administrator Phillip Morley was present to answer questions. In response to questions regarding the amount of funding the County is restoring to the City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 5 of 6 Community Center and to Memorial Field, Mr. Morley stated he would e-mail that budget information to the City Manager for distribution to the Council. Motion: George Randels moved to authorize the City Manager to enter into an amendment to the 2010 sales tax agreement with the County consistent with the agenda bill (AB 11- 074). David King seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. PRESIDING OFFICER REPORT Mayor Sandoval reported that the new ferry will come on line and a celebration is planned for June 30. CITY MANAGER REPORT Mr. Timmons reported the following: Because of the efforts of the Wellness Committee, Port Townsend has received the Well City designation. This will have the impact of lowering the City's insurance rates for AWC insured employees. The City and Fort are exploring a potential option for the non-profit partners at Fort Worden to receive some sort of exemption from the new park entry fees. The City's biosolids staff and facility have once again been recognized for excellence by the Department of Ecology. The Finance and Budget Committee will begin the preliminary budget process soon. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 10:55 p.m. Attest: z. Pamela Kolacy, MMC City Clerk City Council Business Meeting June 20, 2011 Page 6 of 6