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HomeMy WebLinkAbout042513 CITY OF PORT TOWNSEND MINUTES OF THE SPECIAL MEETING OF APRIL 25, 2013 CALL TO ORDER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The Port Townsend City Council met in special session the twenty-fifth day of April 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 David King, Kris Nelson, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, Deborah Stinson, Robert Gray, 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, and City Clerk Pam Kolacy. SPECIAL BUSINESS Library Expansion - Foundation Agreement/Ballot Proposition City Manager David Timmons responded to the list of questions Council had following Monday's meeting, one of which was whether a contribution of debt service could come from the special library lid lift. Bond counsel agreed the City could not use the operational levy to fund capital. The City would have to go back to the voters and amend the purpose of the levy. The ballot language was exclusively for operations and maintenance. He also reviewed an updated levy forecast and budget implications and the original intent of levy. Of the different scenarios for financing a bond, staff recommends a 20-year term to finance the expansion project. A draft agreement with the Foundation and a bond ordinance were also prepared. He also noted Council received a summary of funds being leveraged. Mr. Timmons responded to questions about the following: bond conditions; furniture, fixtures and equipment costs; Heritage Capital Grant; and overhead charges. Mr. Timmons and Mr. Watts also responded to questions about public process on this topic and about guidelines in Council rules. There was some discussion and explanation of reserves. Library Foundation President Chelcie Liu spoke about working with staff on an agreement with the Library Foundation and reviewed a breakdown of their current funding. Of the $1.2 million, $500,000 is from National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The remaining $700,000 breaks down as follows: the Foundation currently has $405,000 in donations and $78,000 in outstanding pledges; of the $78,000, $16,700 is remaining from a $50,000 grant. There is $140,000 coming from the remainder of the Heritage Capital fund which is a City donation. If you add that together, you get a total of$623,000 so we are short about $77,000 or City Council Special Business Meeting April 25, 2013 Page 1 of 4 11%. There is an estimate of$250,000 - $300,000 for furniture, fixtures and equipment. The Foundation has $30,000 in hand and $25,000 pledged specifically for furnishings. He urged Council to approve the preferred alternative so they can continue their fundraising efforts and continue discussions with NEH. Mr. Liu then responded to Council questions about funding and unsecured pledges. Public comment was as follows: Todd Wexman spoke about his concerns on the library bond issue. Stan Goddard spoke about his support of the new design plan. Mr. Gray then spoke in favor of waiting for the November ballot on this vote rather than August. Ms. Nelson spoke in favor of the November ballot for purposes of a better voter turnout and for the cost savings. Motion: Robert Gray moved to change the ballot measure to instead be on the general election timeline in November instead of August. Kris Nelson seconded. Vote: motion failed, 3-4 by voice vote, with David King, Catharine Robinson, Michelle Sandoval, and Deborah Stinson opposed. Mayor King then led Council through a discussion of the action items listed on the agenda starting with approving the scope and not to exceed comprehensive project budget of$4,200,000 to design, construct and award the "Preferred Alternative" to expand the Library Campus. Motion: Catharine Robinson moved to approve the scope and not exceed comprehensive project budget of$4,200,000 to design, construct and award the "Preferred Alternative"to expand the current Library Campus. Michelle Sandoval seconded. Vote: motion carried, 5-2 by voice vote, Robert Gray, and Mark Welch opposed. Council then discussed principles of the agreement with the Library Foundation. Mr. Timmons noted that the agreement details are still under negotiation, so it is a tentative agreement to the basic terms. Approval of the ordinance tonight would result in the ballot measure being put forth. At 8:21 p.m., the meeting recessed for the purposes of a break. At 8:31 p.m., the meeting resumed. Ms. Nelson stated that she has heard comments which are roughly half in favor of and half against the project so it makes sense to take it forward to a vote. She added she would like to see other things move forward, such as having the Library operations budget cover some of the costs of maintenance and City Council Special Business Meeting April 25, 2013 Page 2 of 4 improvements; having the Library cover some maintenance costs for the building itself; and keeping up the grounds. Implementation of these and similar policies would relieve some of the pressure from other City departments. Motion: Kris Nelson moved to direct the administration to track and allocate eligible Library Project debt service related to deferred maintenance to the Library's Operations budget and assign all costs to maintain and operate the temporary and completed facility and grounds to the Library's Operations budget effective fiscal year 2013. Mark Welch seconded. During discussion, Mr. Timmons suggested he return to Council with a City-wide proposal for contributions to maintenance and overhead once the analysis is complete, possibly in July. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. Mr. Timmons reviewed the principles of the Foundation Agreement and the timing of giving information regarding the ballot measure to the National Endowment of the Humanities. Some discussion ensued about the grants and about the agreement wording. Mr. Liu recognized the agreement language still needs work. The Foundation and Staff will continue working together to develop an agreement suitable to both organizations. The agreement would come back to Council for final approval. Council expressed some desire to tighten the language at the top of page 5 of the agreement with the primary concern being that the bonds would not be sold until the $1.2 million has been raised by the Foundation. There were Council questions and concerns about approving the ordinance prior to the agreement. City Attorney John Watts provided an explanation of the issues and constraints in the agreement. Agreement language cannot be included that would be inconsistent with obtaining grant approval and meeting grant requirements. Mr. Timmons reminded that there is inadequate time to finalize the agreement by May 10 which is the deadline for submitting the ballot measure. Staff will attempt to provide another draft for Council on May 6. The ordinance states that the bonds will not be sold without the commitment of the $1.2 million to meet the project budget. Motion: Michelle Sandoval moved to approve the principles of an agreement with the Library Foundation. Catharine Robinson seconded. Vote: motion carried unanimously, 7-0 by voice vote. City Attorney John Watts gave a detailed review of additional changes to the Bond Ordinance version included in the agenda packet. Motion: Michelle Sandoval moved to approve first reading of Ordinance 3089 calling for an election in August to consider approving or rejecting a bond measure of $3,000,000 for Capital Construction of Library Improvements as amended by City Attorney. Catharine Robinson seconded. Significant discussion ensued about Council's concerns about approving the bond City Council Special Business Meeting April 25, 2013 Page 3 of 4 ordinance. Among concerns expressed were the lack of time for the public to review the latest changes, timing of this bond measure, debt payments on councilmanic bond projects, and other competing level of service needs in the City. There were also comments about the positive aspect of debt incurred to improve our local infrastructure and economy. Vote: motion carried, 5-2 by voice vote, Robert Gray, and Mark Welch opposed. ADJOURN There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9:38 p.m. Attest: i { _,d Pamela Kolacy, IVIMC City Clerk City Council Special Business Meeting April 25, 2013 Page 4 of 4