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HomeMy WebLinkAbout012813 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE WORKSHOP MEETING OF JANUARY 28, 2013 CALL TO ORDER The Port Townsend City Council met in workshop session the 28th day of January 2013 in the Council Chambers at 540 Water Street. Mayor David King called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. ROLL CALL Councilmembers present at roll call were Robert Gray, David King, Kris Nelson, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, Deborah Stinson, and Mark Welch. Staff members present were City Manager David Timmons, City Attorney John Watts, Public Works Director Ken Clow, Public Services Director Rick Sepler, Deputy City Clerk Joanna Sanders, and Library Director Theresa Percy. REVIEW STATUS FOR POSSIBLE INITIATIVES AND PROPOSED TOWN MEETING PROCESS City Manager David Timmons and Public Services Director Rick Sepler briefed Council on Staffs prepared approaches and timelines associated with the proposed Joint Metropolitan Parks District (MPD), the Library expansion, and Fire Annexation. Mr. Sepler then reviewed the packet material and town meeting structure. Staff would work on a proposed date and annotated agenda for a town meeting in February to be held in either Chambers or the Cotton Building. A moderator would be recommended to focus the questions. There was a brief discussion among Council about the desire for brief overview/background. On the topic of fire annexation, Mr. Sepler and Mr. Timmons proposed that this initiative be tabled for discussion late in 2014. There was further discussion and explanation that before beginning discussions on annexation, the parties need to know the effect of rate equalization -- after the entire county is.reassessed. Mr. Timmons suggested that Staff bring .forward a resolution to document this course of action. Mr. King announced that he has updated his property tax worksheet and would request that it be posted on the City website for citizens. Discussion then shifted to a review of handouts on the Metropolitan Parks District. Mr. Sepler provided a new handout Guidance to Steering Committee and walked Council through this document. He suggested that while the timeline and process might be modified the guidance is pretty firm. When asked when Council would see the Interlocal Agreement on Proposition 1, Staff indicated it would come before the Joint City County meeting on February 11. City Council Workshop Meeting January 28, 2013 Page 1 of 3 Council had questions about the appointments to the task force and Steering Committee and when they would get information about the levy capacity for the different districts/geographical areas. Mr. King responded that the levy capacity has not yet been prepared because of not wanting to dictate how the process would move forward. Significant discussion ensued about the level of guidance to be given to the Steering Committee. There was.Council interest in seeing consistency between the timelines on the MPD Process Map and the Actions for MPD Formation and Transition. There was additional concern for providing enough direction and information to the MPD so that the City and County funding issues are not simply passed on to the MPD. Mr. Timmons clarified that the City has learned that the vote to form a district is an authorization for .75 per$1,000 of assessed valuation. An interlocal agreement could limit this to .50 per $1,000. It was noted that this needs to be clarified before the MPD is formed so that the City and County do not pass on the liability and problems of deferred maintenance to the MPD without adequate funding to address the problems. There was interest in clarifying the expected outcomes for the MPD so that they can reach a recommendation that achieves the goal. Mr. Timmons clarified that bond counsel and the tax specialist at Foster Pepper said that even though you do not take it, it is still a banked capacity. Bond counsel also said the City and County could not bind the newly appointed legislative body to a set of outcomes. Council suggested prioritizing the goals for the Joint Meeting. Mr. King suggested that the City and County convene the Steering Committee through a joint resolution and then work with them on the policy direction. There was discussion of the statutory limitations on the size of the body. There was also interest in ensuring the list of represented organizations is comprehensive. There was concern about calling out some groups specifically and not others. Mr. Sepler said there is another expanded list for a task force. Mr. King suggested the steering committee through a joint resolution could have the authority to change its own composition. Mr. Sepler agreed to redraft the materials with more specifics to bring back to Council before presenting it to the County for the joint meeting. Mr. Timmons then provided an overview of a timeline for a City-only library capital initiative. He noted the information mentions an evaluation of the School District Lincoln Building space and how it might be reallocated. Mr. Sepler then explained the Library Process Map and Schedule showing a rough timeline for a Comprehensive Plan amendment and SEPA review process. He then reviewed the parallel process should the School District Lincoln Building re-use project advance. This chart is staff's recommendation on a process. Mr. Timmons mentioned he has also inquired about running concurrent SEPA and Comprehensive Plan processes. Mr. Timmons proposed scheduling a special meeting to review the various scenarios so that Council can make a decision about the process on which to move forward. Council discussion ensued about the public process to date and about the lengthy SEPA City Council Workshop Meeting January 28, 2013 Page 2 of 3 process as outlined. There was Council interest in progressing on both the MPD and Library bond processes urgently. Mr. King noted that we would not be managing the MPD process directly and talked of the higher level of responsibility for a specific bond. Discussion then ensued about a separate school bond and the desire to cooperate with the School District as much as possible. Mr. Sepler provided background on the Mountain View facility and the discussions that led to Lincoln Building re-use possibilities. He said there is a possibility for exploring whether a joint use is possible and there have been questions by the public about whether the City has looked at other public facilities. Mr. King and Mr. Timmons then talked about the importance of exploring other models. There was additional discussion about the School District's review of its facilities, including the Lincoln Building. Some of Council concerns were about abandoning one building for another and about the money already spent on the Carnegie building design costs. There was interest in Council deciding on a direction for the Carnegie building and concern that the SEPA process would impact the current timeline. Mr. Sepler reviewed the different timeline alternatives, including an earlier bond measure while SEPA is ongoing. He suggested to Council that a good time to schedule the Town meeting is when Council has choices on which it would like to get input like the ballot measure. Council discussed tentatively scheduling a special meeting on Thursday, February 7 to specifically discuss the Library project. ADJOURN There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 8:47 pm. Attest: t 1 f Pamela Kolacy, MMC City Clerk City Council Workshop Meeting January 28, 2013 Page 3 of 3