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19810210 City Council Minutes200 February 3, 1981 - continued 0 attention to a letter from Russ Berg and asked that they.read it. Also, she said Councilman Nord- quist had asked fora discussion of.pol.i.cy on awarding..contracts.. She asked that such be placed on the February 24 agenda. There was no�further business to come before the Council, and the meeting adjourned at 11:25 p.m. IRENE VARNEY MORAN,, Uty Clerk HARVE H.,HARRISON, Mayor February 10, 1981 - Work Meeting The regular meeting.of the Edmonds City Council was called to order at 8:35 p.m. by Council President Katherine Allen in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Civic Center. All present joined in the flag salute. Mayor Harrison arrived shortly after the call to order. PRESENT Harve Harrison, Mayor Katherine Allen Sue Crawford, Student Rep. John Nordquist Larry Naughten Jo -Anne Jaech Mary Goetz Ray Gould Bill Kasper STAFF PRESENT Fred Herzberg, Public Works Director John LaTourelle, Planning Consultant Mary Lou Block, Planning Director Marlo Foster, Police Chief Jack Weinz, Fi,�e','.Chi.e_f,-"'- Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk Jim Adams, City Engineer Jim Jessel, Parks & Recreation Director Art Housler, Finance Di.rector Bill Nims, Traffic Engineer Abe Blandin, Street Division Supt. Wayne Tanaka, City Attorney Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk Council'President Allen announced that she had invited Wayne Cowley, a management consultant, to speak to the Council. Mr. Cowley described the,services his firm provides and presented a proposal, the'first part of which would be a survey to determine whether.an in-depth study would be benefi- cial. He said he could save the City a great deal of money by implementation of his management program. The preliminary survey would cost $375 and the cost of the full study could not be deter- mined until the survey is completed. The proposal was discussed briefly, after which COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN GOETZ, TO PLACE A DISCUSSION OF THIS PROPOSAL ON THE FEBRUARY 24, 1981 WORK MEETING. MOTION CARRIED. PRESENTATION BY ED ALIVERTI RE PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Mr. Aliverti showed a film promoting the proposed Performing Arts Center and brought the Council up- to-date regarding its status. He also expressed thanks for the City,!§-*1-s6pport. REPORT ON -TRAFFIC PLANNING STUDY BY NORTHWEST ENGINEERING TraOic Engineer Bill Nims briefly described the traffic planning study which was fu-nded by a federal grant. The study'inventoried existin'g conditions which formed a basis fo*r identifying and evaluating potential problem areas. Bob Parrott of Northwe ' st Engineering Company further des * cribed the study which he noted recommended improvements -for 27 hazardous and capacity deficient locations throughout the City. Detailed copies of the report had been provided to the Council. No Council action was required. REPORT ON SIDEWALK CONDITIONS AND IMPROVEMENT RECOMMENDATIONS Street Division Superintendent.Abe Blandin reported on the inspection made of sidewalks in'the older downtown areas of the City. Increasing reports of falling accidents and requests of citizens had prompted -this survey. It was noted thatthe City Code requires that sidewalks in need of recon- struction more than ten years after the acceptance of'the construction by the City shall be recon- structed solely at the cost of.the abutting property owners. The Code further requires that where sidewalks do not exist but are needed, the Council can require the abutting property owners to construct'them. It was recognized some areas should be repaired by the City, such as where a water meter has settled, roots of trees planted by the City have lifted the walk, hydrants have washed out the area under the walk, etc. Sidewalks which should be repaired/constructed by individual property owners, as -well as those which should be done by the City, were,identified. -It was requested that the Council pass a resolution to initiate a sidewalk reconstructi.on program within the boundaries stated in the report. The Public Works Department was in the process of taking care of those which were determined to be the responsibility of the City. This was discussed and it was noted th ' at the timing of this was inopportune, but it was recoqnized that the work will have to be accomplished because accidents are occurring as a result of.the condition of the sidewalks. COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN GOULD, THAT THE.CITY ATTORNEY BE INSTRUCTED TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION TO IMPLEMENT THE SIDEWALK RECONSTRUCTION PROGRAM, ONLY WITHIN THE AREA SHOWN ON THE MAP PROVIDED WITH THE REPORT. MOTION CARRIED. I I I Ll 9 0 February 10, 1981 - continued DISCUSSION REGARDING BOYS' CLUB Parks and Recreation Director.Jim Jessel indicated that the lease for the Junior High fieldhouse is ready for renewal and it'had been suggested to him that the $1.00 yearly fee could be an unfair subsidy.of the Boys' -.Club. He determined that, based.on the square footage and their self -maintenance pr ' ogram, a $300 per month fee would be fair. However, because of the Boys' Club's financial situation, he.had looked for services that could be provided by the club which would be comparable to that dollar -figure. He suggested the possibility of the..City's use of the gymnasium three nights for Parks and Recreation Department programs as well as.litter pickup at the playfield. City Attorney Wayne Tanaka said if it can be determined that the Boys' Club is contributing $300 per month in services to the City he did -not think there would be objection from the State auditor. Councilwoman Jaech said she had raised some concerns about the club which had been reported to her, but they had been addressed and appeared to have been resolved, with the exception of adult supervision. She felt there should be adult.supervision there at all times. After further discussion, COUNCILMAN NORDQUIST'MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN KASPER, TO PLACE THE RENEWAL OF THE BOYS -CLUB LEASE ON THE FEBRUARY 17, 1981 AGENDA FOR A $1.00 ANNUAL FEE. MOTION CARRIED, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS ALLEN AND GOULD VOTING NO. It was noted that the Staff should work with the Boys' Club to delineate the �services to be provided to justify the $1.00 annual fee. Councilman Kasper observed that the building is,in such bad condition that the Boys'.Club actually is doing the City a favor by being there. Following this discussion, Councilwoman Goetz left the meeting (10:10 p.m.). PROPOSED 1981 SALARY ORDINANCE FOR MAYOR AND EXEMPT EMPLOYEES I" Councilwoman Allen said the proposed ordinance was prepared with the exception of the Mayor's salary, and a decision had not been.reached on it. She proposed it be left as it is now Until the decision is made. She suggested putting the ordinance on,the next week's agenda for passage and that the merit increases be discussed further. The City Attorney -advised that the ordinance could be passed this* evening. COUNCILMAN GOULD THEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN, TO -ADOPT ORDINANCE 2195 WITH THE EXCEPTION OF THE MAYOR'S SALARY. Public Works Director Fred Herzberg stated that there were serious concerns with the proposal. He noted that nonexempt employees had received a 13.56% cost -of -living increase and the union employees had received the 13.56% plus step increases, so the exempt employees were surprised to rece.ive'a 6%-9% increase and part of their concerns had to do with equity. He pointed out some inequities whichwould result such as one of the employees earning more than his supervisor until that supervisor's review date when he could hope,for a merit increase. He noted that one of the department head's review date is not until December so he would not be eligible for a merit increase until that time. He said the message being received by these people is that they are poor managers and the message received'*by the citizens is that the managers are not doing a good job. On down.the line, he said the nonexempt employees generally feel that management gets the "best shake" and they are fright ' ened at this being the "best shake" so they are gettingthe message that the Council cannot be trusted. Councilman Gould responded that when the structure was. adjusted the last time around the exempt eimp.loyees benefitted. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION, WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS GOULD, ALLEN, AND KASPER VOTING YES,'AND WITH COUNCIL MEMBERS NORDQUIST, NAUGHTENi AND JAECH VOTING NO, RESULTING IN A TIE VOTE.. . THE MOTION FAILED. Councilman Naughten felt this should be looked at more closely to be sure they were.doing the right thing and.to digest what had been said. Councilman Nordquist said he had not agreed with this when it was.d-iscussed earlier. He felt the 13.56% had in essence been given to everyone and this proposal had too many inequities and consideration was not being given to all the employees. Councilwoman Jaech noted that the nonexempt increase had been based on the employee's full salary and this proposal limited the exempt inc�ease to a figure based only on the first $20,000 of current salary. She said a cost - of -living increase should be equitable for everyone, but merit increases are detemined,entirely differently. Councilman Kasper said the salary ranges were increased last May based on comparisons with othdr cities, but no comparisons were made with the private sector. He noted that City employees have more job security built in and a generous benefit package.' He felt the Council had gone a long way last M * ay when the exempt structure was changed and that those people benefitted,and that now the others were getting the benefit of the change. He also felt that comparing one city's salaries with another's was "comparing apples and.oranges" as the jobs are not necessarily as demanding or the same in all cifies. He felt strongly that the.City of Edmonds must get to a merit system and that at present the only.thing wrong with the proposed ordinance.was the part regarding review at the next annual date which.could be a year away, and he preferred that the review.be within 90 days. Councilman Nordquist responded that -if the Council wanted to start a policy of no more cost -of - living increases and only merit increases, then it should makethat point now. The Council could not come to a consensus at this time, so Councilman Nordquist asked that this item be continued at the end of the agenda and in the interim those with dissenting votes would try to come up with a proposal that the others could accept. At this time, COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN MOVED SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN KASPER, TO MOVE THE.LAST ITEM ON THIS EVENING'S AGENDA (DISCUSSION OF RESERVE �UNDS FOR LIBRARY AND FIRE DEPARTMENT) TO THE FEBRUARY 24, 1981 AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. When the exempt salaries were discussedagain at the end of the agenda, Councilman Nordquist proposed a 10% across-the-board increase-with�merit increases up to 3%. Councilman Kasper was not in agreement, saying the inequi.ties discovered since last May must be corrected and that the City must get to a merit system. Councilman Gould said�he'wanted to check what'they did last year and then he would consider this proposal against what had been presented in the proposed ordinance. It was determined that the Personnel Committee would meet at 6:30 p.m., February 17, 1981, to discuss this. DISCUSSION OF ORGANIZATION OF PLANNING DEPARTMENT Mayor Harrison said.he recommended a broader span of control by the Director of the P1anning Depart- ment,..as indicated on his alternate organization chart presented to the Council. COUNCILMAN*KASPER MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILWOMAN ALLEN, TO ADOPT ORDINANCE 2195, CREATING THE POSITION OF PLANNING DEPARTMENT.DIRECTOR AND ESTABLISHING THE DUTIES THEREOF, AS RECOMMENDED BY THE MAYOR. MOTION CARRIED. Councilwoman Allen brought up at this time the question of John LaTourelle's contract for plann . ing services. . She said the scope of the height study had been changed, reducing that fee from $22,000 0 202 February 10, 1981 - continued 0 to $20,000. She noted that there had been some items suggested regarding grants which would cost more money but would return more than they would cost. Mr. LaTourelle suggested waiting on the grant application until the costs and.time in which to work.up the.application are known. He suggested just sending the IAC.application and representation on the block grants.. Mayor Harrison fe I It the City should not proceed.with-the contract for the -height study and the Planning -Advisory Board orientation. He said the.Highway 99 portion of the City is very small and will have to be studied through a hearing process.anyway, and he did not think a consultant's study was worth $20,900, �nd-that it would have to be settled through the hearing-process.regardless of what the consultant advised, so he thought the.hearing process should begin,through the Planning Advisory Board. Further, he failed to see how the City would benefit from a $1,200 Planning Advisory Board orientation. He had not been advised a ' s to what it would consist and he was not sure the Planning Advisory Board needed orientation. Therefore, he felt he could not sign the contract. Councilman Gould respond ' ed that the Council,.already had authorized that and their authorization -was on record. Councilman Nordquist noted that the whole dollar amount for planning consultation was being spent on one person so he did not understand why they had not kept the monthly -contractual agreement they had last year. Inasmuch as the Mayor said he would not sign the contract, COUNCILMAN GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN NAUGHTEN, THAT THE COUNCIL PRESIDENT BE AUTHORIZED TO SIGN THE CONTRACT WITH JOHN LaTOURELLE FOR WORK PREVIOUSLY APROVED BY THE COUNCIL AND FOR THE FEES PREVIOUSLY APPROVED. MOTION CARRIED. Council President.Allen said a discussion of the IAC grant would be on the next work meeting agenda. A short recess was announced. DISCUSSION OF ORGANIZATION OF PUBLIC -WORKS DEPARTMENT - GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SECTION This reorganization proposal was made by the Mayor because of the retirement of one of the Leadmen, and it would result in the reduction of the number Grounds'Maintenance NE-8 personnel from two to one, and the.increase of the number of Grounds Maintenance NE-3 personnel from one to two. Mayor Harrison said the organization would -remain the same but.one NE-3 position would be opened, and it would be the prerogative of the Counci'l to open the position. The purpose was to decrease the * classification,of-the openings. Councilman Gould observed that this was a step in the.right direc- tion. COUNCILMAN GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMAN KASPER, TO APPROVE THE ORGANIZATION CHART FOR THE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE SECTION AS SHOWN ON THE FEBRUARY 3, 1981 MEMO FROM THE MAYOR. MOT'ION CARRIED. Council -President Allen,brought up at this time the Mayor's proposal to.reorganize the Executive Office personnel under the City Oerk-and suggested it be discussed at the February 24-meeting. Councilman Gould briefly reviewed the proposed changes which would result in some reclassifications, and he asked the Mayor if he would provide justifications for those reclassifications prior to the discussion. Mayor Harrison responded that he would d ' o so.at this time and said the justification was level of responsibility. He said the City Clerk's job would-be expanded to a greater level of supervision and that would increase the Deputy City Clerk's responsibility also. The Traffic Violations Bureau -Chief -Clerk will take on an expanded role in that she will have to work more closely with the District -Court, and with the Warrant Of ' ficer rated as an NE-7 he felt the Chief Clerk should have a comparable -rating: Regarding the Mail Room Clerk, he said she had been on�the job for one year and had learned,it well and she also is covering a -variety of jobs including back- up for the reception desk, and she now supervises two helpers. He said the Council Secretary and Office Services position'has not..been-established and this would do that. Councilman Gould asked if the Mayor's Executive Secretary position was going from an NE-5 to an NE-8, and Mayor Harrison responded that this position already was.established as an NE-8 a ' nd the Mayor may place whomever he wishes in that position. There was no further discussion, and this item will be placed on the February 24, 1981 agenda. There was no further business to.come before the Council, and the meeting adjourned at 11:30 p.m.- IRENE VARNEY MORAN,,.Cii,'h Clerk op February 17, 1981 HARVE,H. HARRISON, Mayor The regular meeting of the Edmonds City -Council was called to order at 7:40 p.m. by Mayor Harve . Harrison in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Civic Center. All present joined in the flag salute. PRESENT ABSENT- STAFF PRESENT Harve Harrison, -.Mayor Jo -Anne Jaech Fred Herzberg, Public Works Director Larry Naughten Mary Goetz Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk Katherine Allen Mary Lou Block, Planning Director Ray Gould Art Housler, Finance Director Bill Kasper Jack Weinz, Fire Chief Sue Crawford, Dan Prinz, Asst. Police Chief Student Rep. Jim Jessel, Parks & Recreation Dir. John Nordquist Wayne Tanaka, City Attorney Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk Councilwoman Goetz had advised Council President Allen that she could not attend this evening's .-meeting because of a job related meeting she must attend. Councilwoman Jaech had.previously advised that she would-be out of town. I 0 I I 0