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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.
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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
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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
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February 10, 1981 - continued
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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.
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