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02/19/1999 City CouncilEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL- APPROVED MINUTES City Council Retreat February 19 and 20,1999 LaConner Country Inn LaConner, WA ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT d -JS :__° _ __ STAFF PRESENT =__ .....:__.`.:.__ _: a: v. : ._...L._...,_ .... .. ._. :. .: _e..f.,_.c. :2c•n c.a:..::. -:e:. :.n .na:_:_...._.._.._... ". !._., .. : :. ::i _.::!:.� —_ ____ 5::.:uak +_ v: • ....- '-- ':i:e,- _rr.a___._. ..r. -v:: :y -.:, -:.:. ___ _.. — - — - - 5c.._. =ee- .. v,c.. - - - .. - - - - - - - <.- I, _Fehrua ;. ; -:1:9 :1 -- - - - - -- - Barbara Fahey; Mayor Peggy Hetzler, Admin. Services Director Gary Haakenson, Council President Ray Miller, Development Services Director Dave Earling Councilmember Paul Mar, Community Services Director Tom Miller, Councilmember Police Chief Robin Hickok Dick Van Hollebeke, Councilmember Fire Chief Ron Haworth John Nordquist, Councilmember Arvilla Ohlde, Parks and Recreation Director .Michael Plunkett, Councilmember Noel Miller, Public Works Director Scott Snyder, City Attorney 8:45 a.m. arrival: Linda Carl, Executive Assistant to Mayor Jim White, Councilmember Jana Spellman, Recorder Absent: Brent Hunter, Human Res. Director - . ._. , _., .... ... _. "T The ., .: :,. J.. _. _. � � . .,. -.. ., :::. `;: ;� F � _ „����4�t1�„lar, fir.- a..._._ �td�, v4k ;i;I:�,JicJ::.._.,:]_- :.;.ce,: ii.:•'.,..d,�. _....,,,�,:., - s:1i. -'!,,, Fr ._:- ,........__. ._. ._... ff _ _ n.c,. ,.v_. =....�.r ;�,i�._,JyT.! u= •��,o'_ �i:,:. ^:ti'6:rc',d11�ni The meeting was called to order at 8:30 a.m. by Council President Haakenson. The Agenda started off with Departmental Presentations in which each Department Director was asked to give a five - minute. dialogue regarding the department they represent.. i Mr. Haakenson called on Mayor Fahey to begin the presentation. i _.PRESENTATIONS. v r 5 „vy as Mayor Fahey began by explaining her ideas when she first came into office and continued with a history of her last three years in office and what she has learned during those years. She touched on personnel documentation issues, training, Total Quality Management implementation, customer service and spoke to moving onto benchmarking to determine what 'the City is doing and to ultimately improve what the City is doing. She stated that she felt the City does not have the financial base to preserve the ongoing quality of life the citizens have come to expect. She continued stating that the City is staffed very conservatively and any staff cuts would ultimately result in the lowering of service. j Mayor Fahey gave a history of what happened when she was on the Council in 1994 and '95 when the Council did not pass a full 6% property tax increase and how that affected the City financial outlook. She urged the Council, if they did not want to increase property taxes by the full percentage, to find other revenue streams to keep the City finances healthy. She said the Department Presentations were scheduled to give the Council an overview of what each department.did and how it .pertained to budget expenditures. Mayor Fahey continued by explaining how the remaining agenda had come about and what information would be presented to the Council pertaining to what it would take to accomplish preserving the quality of life in Edmonds. Upon completion of her presentation she turned the meeting over to Paul Mar from the Community Services Department for his presentation. Mr. Mar started by giving the Council a brief presentation of his 1999 goals which included: ✓ Coordinate major work program /project efforts for Parks & Recreation, Public Works, and Development Services. ✓ Utilize the virtual reality techniques as a physical - planning tool for staff. ✓ Obtain record of decision for the Edmonds Crossing EIS. ✓ Continue to seek innovative means to generate revenues for the City. ✓ Successfully complete construction of the new Civic Center Public,Safety Complex. ✓ Continue to upgrade a "user friendly" customer service approach for all City Departments, including implementing approved design review process modifications. ✓ Continue to participate in regional planning activities, including the downtown- visioning project. ✓ Successfully acquire a site for Fire Station # 16. A discussion period followed. Mr. Mar then introduced Noel Miller, Director of Public works for his presentation. Mr. Noel Miller began by presenting an organizational chart overhead, explaining that the Wastewater Treatment Plant had recently been put under his supervision and the reason for it being switched from the Community Services Department to his. He continued with 1998 accomplishments and 1999 goals, mission.statement, development, public works achievements, challenges for public works, and continuous improvement plan with an explanation of how these items were accomplished. Noel finished by asking for questions. Any questions asked by the Council were answered satisfactorily. Council President then called on Arvilla Ohlde, Parks and Recreation Direction for her presentation. Arvilla began her presentation by referring to the printed material that the Council received which included 1998 accomplishments, 1999 goals, and handouts which are available at the Parks and Recreation Department. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 2 She emphasized that the Parks and Recreation Department also has a value benefit greater than most individuals realize and presented a video which highlighted these benefits. With no questions from Council, Gary asked Ray Miller, Development Services Director, to give his presentation. He began by explaining the exciting changes in the newly developed Department stating that these changes would be better customer service, faster ways of accomplishing things, by using innovative techniques to accomplish these changes. He spoke about the goals for 1999 alluding to a new permit processing system that would allow for tracking the permitting system, i.e. tracking how long it took for a permit to come to fruition. It would also permit various staff members access allowing them to see at any time where a permit was in the process. He talked about the new Development Services Center and the approach to accomplish the goals set for that Center. He finished by saying that he was very optimistic about the outcome stating that there were good people with which to work, that all would work with the same philosophy, and those who are not in lockstep, moving in the same direction, might have to dust off their resumes. He touched on the changes to the ADB process. Ray talked about new design guidelines for the City's neighborhoods, i.e. different areas merit different zoning. He addressed the tree ordinance issue explaining that the Department planned on coming forth with an extensive tree ordinance which would cover all aspects of the problems incurred when it comes to trees. He finished saying that he would like to see the City have better signage on SR 104 indicating one had entered the City. Council President Haakenson asked the Council to hold their questions regarding departmental presentations until 4:00 p.m. He then called on Police Chief Hickok. EP' THE Presented by Police Chief Hiekok Police Chief Hickok began by giving a funding overview of the Police Department, followed by Department functions, 1999 Department goals, records management, 1998 investigation statistics, 1998 patrol statistics, 1998 K -9 statistics, proactive crime prevention, youth services, dive rescue team, SWAT team, 1998 statistics pertaining to ordinance enforcement, training, property management, and purpose of the Police Department. He gave a brief explanation of each of the topics. As requested, Council was asked to hold questions until 4:00 p.m. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 3 Gary called on Fire Chief Haworth for his presentation. Chief Haworth responded to a question from Councilmember Van Hollebeke satisfactorily. Chief Haworth ended his presentation stating that he would use his Saturday time for further information. Mr. Haakeson then called on Administrative Services Director, Peggy Hetzler. Ms. Hetzler began by giving the Council her perception of the job she inherited. She explained the major internal service functions of her Department. She paid her staff credit for all their help in preparing for the Retreat. She followed with goals set for 1999. She shared her new ideas for the Finance Department and stated that she would be bringing these ideas to the Finance Committee later in the year. She indicated that her department would be doing a citywide needs assessment study regarding new computer technology. She thanked everyone for allowing her to be a part of the City and stated that she was looking forward to a highly productive 1999. The next presentation was to be from the Human Resources Director. Because he was absent from the proceedings, the Mayor made a few comments regarding that Department, its goals and philosophy. The next item on the agenda was the discussion of Future City Capital Needs. Mr. Haakenson asked Mr. Mar to proceed with this discussion. FITT'UlII: CITY CAPITAL NFDS Discussion led by Paul Mar, ommumty Services Direetor C Mr. Mar started by stating this discussion would be centered around the most pertinent needs for the City in the future as follows: • Long -Range Building Maintenance/Repair Fund • Street/Road Improvements/Resurfacing • Sidewalks/Walkways/Bikeways • Ballfield Upgrades • Lynndale Community Park • Edmonds Crossing Project • Regional Fire Service Training Facility • Known Building Maintenance/Repair Projects • Drainage System Improvements • Waterfront Acquisition • Frances Anderson Center Renovation • Bulkheads • 800 MHz • Fountain at 5th and Main Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 4 • Relocate Facilities Maintenance to 2nd & Dayton • Regional Aquatic Center • Expand Parks Maintenance at City Park He discussed the various handouts previously given to the Council, pertinent to the above needs. Mr. Mar called upon the Department Directors for additional information when referring to a project that directly affected that Director's department. After his presentation a discussion period followed. Mr. Mar then continued with Future Community -Based Capital Needs. Mr. Mar explained that periodically the City receives requests to provide funding and other assistance for community-based capital needs. The information the Council received summarized several of the projects in the planning stages as follows: • Senior Center • Wade James Theater • Christian College Auditorium Renovation A discussion period followed this presentation. Mr. Mar continued with unfunded mandates. • Log Cabin • Downtown Parking Garage He reiterated that in the future the staff would bring a report to the Council explaining what efforts the City has made to comply with the Endangered Species Act. No questions were forthcoming from the Council. The meeting continued with Peggy Hetzler's presentation of the 5 -year financial outlook for the City. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 5 1 l_J Ms. Hetzler presented three schedules for the Council: Schedule 1 I Schedule 2 Schedule 3 1 Schedule 4 Revenue/Expense Revenue Trend Revenue Detail Expenditure Detail Ending Cash 1998— 2004 Forecast Trend She explained to the Council that she felt schedules are intended to illustrate five -year trend projections and are not cast in stone, revenues are conservatively estimated, expenditure levels assume a 2% inflation factor, and known increases for debt and lease payments are included. She explained the impact of not fully implementing the full property tax amount and how that will affect the City of Edmonds in the future. Questions were answered satisfactorily as they arose. She then continued with potential new revenue sources listing: POTENTIAL REVENUE CONCEPTS Business Taxes Fee Utility Taxes I User Fee Analysis Grant Maximization Full Cost of Recovery of Services to Governments Ms. Hetzler pointed out that the garbage franchise fee received by the City is extremely low. She explained that during her involvement with other cities, garbage revenue usually generates huge profits to city governments. After research, she discovered that the•two garbage haulers that service the City of Edmonds are only charged $1 per year per household that they service which ends up to be approximately. $10,000 a year for the garbage franchise. She said the law had been in the City books - since 1961 and there seems to be no history available as to why -it was developed thusly. She stated that she wanted to inform the Council that this was another option of an ongoing revenue source for the City. She felt that since it had not been revisited since 1961, it should be looked at. Councilmember Miller asked what the typical franchise tax was charged the garbage haulers and Ms. Hetzler replied that it is 6% of gross revenue. She further explained that was a state law except when it came to the City's internal utilities, i.e., water and sewer, stating that there was not a cap on this. The Council came to the consensus that they would like Ms. Hetzler to investigate further the franchise tax levied against the garbage haulers. Council President Haakenson asked Peggy if TCT, which services some part of the newly annexed area was being -charged a franchise fee by the City of Edmonds. She responded that at this time, we did not receive a fee. He asked for a report from Paul Mar regarding this issue. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 6 Mr. Haakenson stated that there was an opportunity in the utility area as sources of revenue for the City and asked Peggy to bring forth more information regarding this issue. Ms. Hetzler stated that she would like to scrutinize what we are charging other governments for services to make sure that we are doing more than just recouping costs. She mentioned other ideas for revenue sources such as: street light charge, employee parking fee, building jail, taxing other government entities, non - resident surcharges, monitor tax collections, redevelopment fees, lifting property tax lid, partnering opportunities, negotiate cost structure of interlocal agreements, legislative changes, and Internet taxation. Mayor Fahey brought up an item not listed by Peggy and that was the change in legislation that now allows house banking of card rooms therefore making them casinos feeling that this item would need to be addressed in the near future. She stated that if the City wants to utilize casinos for revenue streams, the City has to take, some action that defines that taxation and decide what mechanism you put in place to collect taxes. If the City decides it does not want to go in that direction, an ordinance needs to be enacted that prohibits them. She stated that after speaking with attorney Mike Karber, while in the process of determining which way the City wants to proceed, in the short term the Council may want to declare a 6 -month moratorium on licensing because anyone who tries to license gets grandfathered in and you cannot prevent them from doing business. She continued that this could be a revenue stream but advised caution because you cannot limit the number because if one exists, then they all have to be allowed to exist. She suggested that a zone might be created defining where casinos may be located. She ended that although this could be a great source for revenue, there are some pitfalls also. A suggestion period followed with various members sharing their ideas for new revenue streams. Mr. Raymond Miller, Development Services Director, made a brief presentation on recovering fees in the development services area and how to proceed with that process. A short discussion period followed his presentation. Mr. Mar continued with the next item on the agenda. Mr. Mar's purpose in this presentation was to show the Council the funding need for future city capital needs and then match up available funds to give an insight as to how much surplus /shortfall there is between the prioritized needs and available funds. He summarized the future city capital needs as follows: Long -range building FUTURE CITY CAPITAL NEEDS fund I FAC renovation Building maintenance /repair projects Lynndale Community Park Street/road improvements — catch up Bulkheads Street/road improvements — upkeep I Edmonds Crossing Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 7 u 1 1 Drainage system improvements 800 MHz Sidewalks /walkway/bikeways Fire training facility Waterfront acquisition Fountain Ballfield upgrades The Council asked for a report showing the feasibility of a garbage utility tax, cable TV utility tax (TCI), sewer utility tax, "fee in lieu of property tax" for Wastewater Treatment Plant, business tax, and pursue full cost recovery for service. The Council was looking for a report at the April work meeting. A discussion ensued of a combined capital project, which could be packaged for a bond that would include the aquatic center, senior center, and auditorium. Dick Van Hollebeke stated that he had a number of people coming to the March 16 Council meeting that were intending to ask the Council to put the aquatic center on the ballot for the fall of this year. Council President Haakenson reiterated to Dick that he felt the Council should not be asked to put it on the ballot until a site was established for this center. It was suggested to Councilmember Van Hollebeke to search for other funds and not depend solely on the taxpayer for support of the aquatic center. A short discussion ensued regarding funding for this project. When discussing the 800 MHz project, the Mayor suggested to the Council that they need to pursue what the funding source would be for this project. She pointed out that if the Council was going to go for a vote to fund this, they would have to decide quickly so it could be put on the ballot. Council President Haakenson stated that he felt the Council was pretty clear that they were not going to put this on the ballot for a vote and would find funding for the 800 MHz project from another source. The Mayor clarified for Councilmember Dick Van Hollebeke. that payments to the County on the bond would begin in the year 2000 stating that the payment would be approximately $161,000 for 15 years. Mr. Mar asked the Council to match funding sources with future City capital needs that had no funding sources. The Mayor pointed out that before the Council started addressing the capital needs that the City has a differential that has to be covered in the general fund. Because of this differential, she asked the Council if they wanted to maintain the level of service or articulate where cuts should be made to make up the differential: She stated that another issue would again be the 3% vs. 6% property tax to offset differential. A discussion ensued regarding expenditures and revenue with Councilmember Miller asking for a clarification on how much additional revenue would need to come in each year to make up the deficit if property taxes were only levied at 3 %. Peggy Hetzler stated that there would be about a $700,000 shortfall each year. Mayor Fahey stated that taxing the other 3% property tax would bring in about an extra $160,000 a year, ALS and BLS transport fees might possibly bring in approximately $300,000, and looking at ways to cut costs would be possible ways to avert a shortfall. The Mayor further pointed out that economic development was also a way to further increase the City's revenue stating that there were many ways to look at development which would enhance the City's business tax, as well as property tax revenue stream. She gave the Council a number of ways to look at development that would enhance revenue sources. Council President Haakenson wanted to clarify that he did not hear any Councilmembers say they wanted to look at a business taxes or transport fees. None of the Councilmembers spoke up in support of these fees after his clarification. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 8 Mr. Mar asked for prioritization of the future City capital needs. Council President Haakenson stated that his preference would be 800 MHz, long -range building maintenance /repair fund, building maintenance /repair projects, street/road improvements – catch up, and street/road improvements — upkeep. Mr. Haakenson stated that those listed had equal priority except for 800 MHz which he put first on the list. Councilmembers Van Hollebeke and Haakenson added sidewalks /walkways /bikeways last. Councilmember Van Hollebeke suggested it would be a good idea to have staff bring a report to the Council mid -year stating where the City stood financially. Council President asked staff to bring this information to the Council during the April work meeting. Mr. Mar stated he would bring as much information to the Council as was possible. Councilmember Earling pointed out that the Endangered Species Act, concerning salmon, might drastically alter the priorities set out by the Council. Mr. Mar stated that he was hoping to bring a report to the Council before the end of March, 1999. Any questions left over from the morning's agenda items were successfully answered. The Council then went into Executive Session regarding a legal matter from 2:30 to 3:30. The Mayor introduced the team.of Delores Palma and Doyle Hyett who made a presentation on creating . a future downtown. She explained their history in dealing with the process of visioning for cities throughout the United States. Mr. Hyett started by asking all the participants to introduce themselves. After completion of the introductions, he, with the help of his wife, gave an overview of what they were prepared to offer the City in the way of services and how they planned to proceed in order to come up with the information they would need to create a economically viable City explaining that they were an "economic development practice." Questions were successfully answered as they arose. Because HyettPalma did not bring slides for this presentation, they were asked to make a slide presentation to the full Edmonds City Council before one of their regular meetings. March 23 was picked as the date to present for the full Council. They closed their presentation stating that they were going to have a Town Meeting at the Edmonds Theatre on March 24, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. with a debriefing session for the Council from 8:30 to 9:00 p.m. A discussion period followed with all questions answered satisfactorily. The meeting was adjourned at 6:30 p.m. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 9 1 �1 L, Barbara Fahey, Mayor Gary Haakenson, Council President Dave Earling Councilmember Tom Miller, Councilmember Dick Van Hollebeke, Councilmember John Nordquist, Councilmember Michael Plunkett, Councilmember Jim White, Councilmember Absent: Brent Hunter, Human Res. Director Peggy Hetzler, Adm. Serv. Director Ray Miller, Development Serv. Director Paul Mar, Community Serv. Director Police Chief Robin Hickok Fire Chief Ron Haworth Arvilla Ohlde, Parks & Rec Director Noel Miller, Public Works Director Scott Snyder, City Attorney Linda Carl, Executive Assistant to Mayor Jana Spellman, Recorder City Attorney Scott Snyder began his presentation by giving the Council on the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine in Washington State and spoke to this document. He pointed out the various challenges that would come before the Council during an election year, asked the Council how they would like to handle those challenges and expounded on challenges that they may incur. Mr. Snyder suggested that it may be time to revisit Council meeting procedures because there are complimentary and contradictory rules which is due to some of the rules being 20 years old. He suggested a single format to clarify these procedures. Councilmember Nordquist thought it would be a good idea to update these procedures. Councilmembers' questions were answered during and after his presentation. Council President Haakenson called on Fire Chief Haworth to proceed. Chief Haworth started by giving background regarding expenditures that face fire services stating that he did not have a crystal ball and could not look into the future but would concentrate on the present from a tactical standpoint. He touched on the following subjects: escalating costs of delivering fire and emergency medical service, federal and state mandates, OSHA, Washington Administrative Code, Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act ( WISHA), fire service compliance with WISHA standards, financial impact regarding Fire Fighter Safety Standards, 2 in 2 out rule, and effective date of 2 in 2 out rule. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 10 He informed the Council that Edmonds does not meet the Fire Fighter Safety Standards 2 in 2 out rule with the current staffing. He gave a detailed explanation of the 2 in 2 out rule and answered questions as they arose. He suggested options which would enable the City to meet the 2 in 2 out rule: ♦ Option I: Hire 12 Fire Fighters Training Officer Plus Option I ♦ Option H: Assign a Command Officer Training Officer Plus Option II ♦ Option III: Consolidation Fire Chief Haworth gave a detailed explanation of all options and answered any questions as they arose Many different ideas were explored but because the question of fire consolidation has still not been determined, there was a general consensus that all decisions concerning fire services would be delayed until the fire consolidation question came before the Council and a determination was made. Mayor Fahey informed the Council that Randy Young, the fire consolidation consultant, would bring a report to the full Council for consideration on March 2, 1999, at which time the Council could vote on whether to proceed with consolidation. Mr. Haakeinson then asked Mr. Mar to lead the discussion for the next agenda item. Mr. Mar explained that the purpose of this retreat discussion item was to gain a better understanding of staff and Council on their respective decision - making responsibilities and expectations in these roles because sometimes they not only have to act as the project sponsor but render decisions as the quasi - judicial regulatory body. He used several recent case studies as illustrations explaining procedures that brought these projects to fruition. Discussion followed with questions being answered as they arose. City Attorney Scott Synder provided clarification when needed. Council President,Haakenson called on Peggy Hetzler to begin the presentation on Changing the Budget Process. Ms. Hetzler explained that she had been directed to talk- about biennial budgeting and performance measures using benchmarking so, therefore, was bringing this forward for discussion. She gave a detailed explanation of the pros, cons, policy questions, management and operation issues, RCW laws and stated that she was not advocating for or against annual or biennial. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 11 i All Councilmembers' questions were addressed and discussion ensued during the presentation. Ms. Hetzler suggested that if there was.an overall interest in the biennial budget process, she would be glad to make a more in- depth, future presentation to the Council Finance Committee for their recommendation. There was general agreement that this would be an acceptable idea. Ms. Hetzler then proceeded with an in -depth presentation on benchmarking clarifying performance measures, pros and cons and policy issues. She explained that the article in the Council's packet on municipal benchmarking was prepared by someone who actually tried the process. Ms. Hetzler pointed out if a City is committed to performance measurement, the City has to be ready to spend the time, effort and money to accomplish it and upon completion there are continual updates and audits which are needed to make it a beneficial project. Ms. Hetzler elucidated that she had some experience with benchmarking in Clark County. She stated for it to work, the elected officials have to be absolutely committed to it. She continued that Clark County pays a lot of tribute to the concept of performance measurement and has a performance auditing staff stating that over the last five years has grown from 1.5 people to 7 people and they have not reached the goal of having meaningful performance measures with the staff of 7. She felt that it was a project that could potentially use a large amount of money without giving beneficial results in the short- term.. She elucidated by stating there has to be a firm committee, a plan in place to get it done, and follow through. She cautioned the Council that it sounds like an easy and simple process which sounds very good but it is enormously difficult and costly to bring to fruition. She said she thought the City of Edmonds might be able to come up with performance measures that would be meaningful but again cautioned that it would be a long -term project. She recommended starting off small with a pilot department realizing that this would take at least 6 months or more and then decide if it was feasible to do this citywide. Peggy then reiterated that she has had experience with benchmarking and does not have any bias against or for it. She stated that she would be willing to do it as long as there was the knowledge and realization that benchmarking is a long -term project, very difficult, and costly indicating that if the City doesn't focus on the correct things to measure and correct way to do it, the City might not end up with the information needed to help in the decision- making process. A discussion occurred throughout the presentation. All questions were answered to the Council's satisfaction. Council President Haakenson suggested bringing this to the Community Services /Development Services Committee for future discussion. Mr. Haakenson thanked Peggy for her presentation and then moved on to a further discussion of Council's Review Role on City- Sponsored projects, indicating there had not been any resolution regarding what the City was going to do about the City. Park issue. He asked if anyone had any suggestions. It was decided that Arvilla Ohlde, Parks and Recreation Director would bring her report regarding City Park to the full Council at which time the Council would make a decision at that time whether to go forward with the plan as proposed or send it back for revisions. Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 12 Mr. Haakenson then moved on to the Miscellaneous category of the agenda asking . if anyone had any items they wished to bring forward. Mr. Nordquist complimented Police Chief Hickok on his report from the Police Department. Further discussion ensued regarding the fire consolidation consultant study that is to be presented to the Council on March 2, 1999, with the Mayor stating that the issue of fire consolidation needed to be resolved. She told the Council she would be glad to give them any and all data, if necessary, which would enable them to make an informed decision. An informal discussion ensued with various Councilmembers making comments regarding the fire consolidation issue and its ramifications. The Mayor then gave a history of how much she had learned during the fire consolidation study and what Edmonds would gain/lose if the Council proceeded with fire consolidation. She clarified for the Council that the only obligation the City of Edmonds has regarding fire consolidation if they voted against it was to pay off the remaining balance agreed to by the City for the fire consolidation study. She then pointed out the obligations the City would incur if the Council voted for consolidation. Councilmember Van Hollebeke gave the Council more information regarding the HyettPalma presentation and the processing committee involved with the HyettPalma study. He encouraged everyone present to make themselves available for the study as it evolved and be present for HyettPalma's presentation on March 23 (to Council) and March 24, 1999 (town meeting). Paul Mar gave a short update to the Council on the Public Safety Project regarding audiovisual capabilities. He asked for and received clarification on the seating arrangement for the Council, staff, and City Attorney. Council President Haakenson asked Mr. Mar when the full audiovisual capabilities would be available in the new Council chambers and was told that they would not be ready until the end of 1999. Mr. Mar answered questions regarding the design and layout and clarified that the opening date was still slated for July 1999. Council President Haakenson thanked all involved for their hard work in preparing for this meeting. Tapes are available in the City Clerk's Office. With no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 2:30 p.m. BARBARA S. FAHEY, MAYOR SANDRA S. CHASE, CITY CLERK Edmonds City Council Retreat Approved Minutes February 19 and 20, 1999 LaConner, WA page 13 f NO RETREAT AGENDA