19820511 City Council Minutes47
• May 11, 1982 - Work Meeting
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The regular meeting of the Edmonds City Council was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Mayor Harve
Harrison in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Civic Center. All present joined in the flag salute.
PRESENT
Harve Harrison,
Bill Kasper
Ray Gould
Jo -Anne Jaech
Katherine Allen
Laura Hall
Larry Naughten
ABSENT STAFF PRESENT
Mayor John Nordquist Jim Adams, City Engineer
Steve Engle, Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk
Student Rep. Mary Lou Block, Planning Director
Art Housler, Finance Director
Dan Prinz, Asst. Police Chief
Jack Weinz, Fire Chief
Steve Simpson, Parks & Recreation Director
Jim Jessel, Projects Administrator
Wayne Tanaka, City Attorney
Mark Eames, City Attorney
Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk
Councilmember Nordquist had advised the City Clerk's office that he would be out of town on business
this evening.
CONSENT AGENDA
Item (E) was removed from the Consent Agenda. COUNCILMEMBER GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
HALL, TO APPROVE THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. The approved items on the
Consent Agenda included the following:
• (A) Roll call.
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(B) Approval of Minutes of May 4, 1982.
(C) Approval of 2=Lot plat of Hofto Addition No. 2 (HOFTO/P-7-81).
(D) Set date of June 1, 1982 for hearing on proposed change of name for Railroad Ave.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION 524 COMMENDING SENATOR SUE GOULD AND REPRESENTATIVE GARY NELSON FOR THEIR EFFORTS
REGARDING PASSAGE OF ESB 4972
Councilmember Naughten removed this item from the Consent Agenda only to comment that the resolution
was very well written and to commend City Attorney. Mark Eames for drafting such an excellent document.
COUNCILMEMBER NAUGHTEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER KASPER, TO APPROVE ITEM (E) ON THE CONSENT
AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED.
CONSIDERATION OF WHETHER OR NOT TO PLACE THE QUESTION REGARDING FULL-TIME MAYOR IN
1984 IN CITY UTILITY BILLINGS
The Finance Director had indicated several problems that would be encountered,by,:pl.ac:ing:;the,.Subsect
questionnaire in the utility billings; namely, that 2,942 families would not receive the questionnaire
because of living in apartments, condominiums, etc., which do not receive individual utility billings,
and.because the message area currently is being used. However, the current message could be inter-
rupted and then continued after sending the questionnaires in the message area. Mr. Housler recom-
mended that a questionnaire be prepared and mailed separately. Councilmember Nordquist had written
a memo to express his thoughts since he could not be present, and he indicated that all of the
people would not.be reached and that he thought this was an issue the Councilmembers themselves
should decide on as they are the elected officials and know best what the needs of the City are.
Councilmember Naughten said he respected that opinion and realized that everyone wou.ld not be
reached, but he thought the Council would have done everything short of spending.$6,000 - $8,000 to
get the citizen input. Councilmember Gould said he still thought the advisory ballot would be the
best way to find out how people feel about this issue. He noted that some people probably do not
know how he feels on this issue, and he wanted to clarify that. He said he happens to favor the
full=time Mayor's position and will work to fund it, but he still would like to know how the citizens
feel, and just because he wants to put it on an advisory ballot does not mean he does not favor it.
Councilmember Kasper noted that in 1975 an advisory ballot indicated 48.8% for and 51% against., so
it was very close. Fie had no reason to expect the public to get into this and know what the Council
needs, and he felt it was a Council decision, so he did not favor a public ballot. Councilmember
Allen thought it should go on the ballot but that there was an education problem to tackle so the
citizens will be fully aware of the issue. She thought the City should have a full-time Mayor but
that it should go on the -ballot to see what the public thinks. Councilmember Hall said it behooved
the.Council.to take all the knowledge they have and then act. Councilmember Jaech did not favor
putting the questionnaire in the utility billings because of all the families which would not be
reached and because of the.tabulation involved. She favored an advisory ballot, saying the people
have the intelligence to cast their votes and the Council owes it to them to let them state how they
feel. Councilmember Naughten argued that by going.to a questionnaire and having two more hearings
the necessary input will be obtained. COUNCILMEMBER NAUGHTEN THEN MOVED TO PUT THE QUESTIONNAIRE IN
T.HE,;UTILITY BILLINGS. MOTION!.. FAILED'FOR;"LACK .OF;:A,.lSECONQ,. ,..000NCILMEMBER GOULD THEN MOVED, SECONDED
BY COUNCILMEMBER JAECH, THAT THE CITY COUNCIL DRAFT AN ADVISORY BALLOT ITEM TO BE PLACED ON THE
BALLOT IN NOVEMBER REGARDING -THE FULL-TIME MAYOR POSITION IN 1984, AND FUNDING OF THAT TO BE COM-.
MENSURATE.VJITH THE POSITION. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION, WITH COUNCILMEMBERS GOULD,
JAECH, AND ALLEN VOTING YES, AND WITH COUNCILMEMBERS KASPER, HALL, AND NAUGHTEN VOTING NO, RESULTING
IN A TIE VOTE. MAYOR HARRISON VOTED NO, SAYING HE AGREED WITH COUNCILMEMBER NORDQUIST'S POSITION
THAT THE COUNCIL SHOULD HAVE THE'RESPONSIBILITY OF MAKING THAT DECISION. THE MOTION FAILED.
Councilmember Gould stated.that.the purpose of all this was to let the candidates know what to
expect when filing in the next.election for Mayor, and he noted that there would be another discus-
sion next week. Councilmember Kasper said he hoped they could get a decision by June.
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May 11, 1982 - continued •
PRESENTATION OF LIBRARY FURNISHINGS LIST
Jim Jessel, Projects Administrator for. -the Parks and Recreation. Department, provided a furnishings
list for the library. Items A through Q on the list he said are essential and must be purchased in
total. Items R through X will.be bid at 75% of the total.furnishing level and if the bids are less
than estimated they will be able to purchase additional furnishing through bid alternates. The
upper meeting room Council desks and seating will be included in the base bid. Susan Okamoto, the
project interior designer, was present to discuss the furniture package. She discussed the various
pieces of furniture and displayed two samples. She asked for input for the meeting room regarding
the small module. Some of the comments were that the modesty panel was not large enough on the
module, that the module should have a shelf, and that it should be large enough to accommodate all
the papers the Councilmembers have.. Ms. Okamoto noted that one of the requirements was that these
modules be stackable so that had to be considered. Councilmember Hall thought they should be
elevated for .better visibility, but other Councilmembers said it already had been determined that
they would not be on platforms. Mr. Jessel noted that the upper meeting room is already designed
and there is no more room for storage, and with a platform there would be no place to store the
modules. He said the seating had been designed to accommodate the larger crowds'and they hope to
get a lot of rent out of it as a meeting room. The existing chairs have been allocated to other
places in the City which need them. He felt that if they were going to get adequate revenues from
rental of the space then it had to be furnished adeouately. Councilmember Kasper objected to the
purchase of a $5,000 entrance couch.for.the library, saying it is purely aesthetic and if someone
wants to..donate one that would be fine,.but he did not think they should be paying for it. He said
it is out front in the entry and is not used for reading. He noted that, the chairs most used are
those with arms, so he thought there should be arms on them. Ms. Okamoto explained that a large
percentage of them would have .arms, even though the demonstration model did not. She further
explained that the entrance couch is used as a barrier to prevent people from walking out of the •
library without first checking out their books, and also that it can be used in a number of con-
figurations. The pieces are locked together but can be taken apart to use throughout the library.
They provide a great deal of flexibility. After a lengthy discussion, the Council asked for a
sketch of another module (table) that.would better suit their needs. COUNCILMEMBER ALLEN MOVED,
* SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER GOULD; THAT THE COUNCIL DIRECT THE PROJECTS ADMINISTRATOR TO PROCEED WITH
THE PREPARATION OF THE BID. MOTION CARRIED, WITH COUNCILMEMBER KASPER VOTING NO.
CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSAL REGARDING LEASE OF "FISHIN' HOLE" CONCESSION AT FISHING PIER
Parks and Recreation Director Steve Simpson reported that John.Hodgin had withdrawn his proposal for
this concession and that Ruth Campbell had decided to operate it until the end of her lease. He
then discussed concessionaire contracts and provisions they should contain. He thought it should be
determined whether a contract can.be assigned, and he felt the City should be involved in any such
assignment. He said the City of Seattle suggests that the first concessionaire be the responsible
party. He noted that State law requires that all citizens have a chance to bid on public contracts.
Councilmember Gould suggested placing an item on an agenda to have the Staff draft a policy with the
City Attorney's Office that will cover concessions in the City of Edmonds and will call .for the
following: resume of concession manager, showing experience in operating a small business; letters
of reference or other documents showing concessionaire's past and present operation of a food or
retail facility; a financial statement that shows the concessionaire's ability to purchase the
existing inventory, finance any proposed additions, and assume the start-up costs of the new business;
letters or other proof showing the concessionaire's capability of obtaining liability insurance;
outline of services and program that will attract people and increase recreation potential of the
facility; description of the kinds of equipment to be offered for rent, and food and other items the
concessionaire proposes to sell; and.description of other services to be provided and of any adver-
tising program. COUNCILMEMBER GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER JAECH, THAT THE STAFF DRAFT A
PROPOSED POLICY REGARDING CONCESSION OPERATIONS, BASED ON THE ABOVE, AND PRESENT IT AT THE JULY 13,
1982 WORK MEETING. COUNCILMEMBER JAECH MOVED TO AMEND THE MOTION, ACCEPTABLE TO THE MAKER, THAT THE
PROPOSAL INCLUDE A BID PROCEDURE. THE MOTION TO AMEND CARRIED. THE MAIN MOTION, AS AMENDED, THEN •
CARRIED.
PROPOSED ORDINANCE TO LEVY ONE-HALF:CENT SALES TAX
Councilmember Jaech said this had been discussed at the Finance Committee meeting, with the decision
to collect the half -cent sales tax but simultaneously the utility tax will be reduced from 8 1/4% to
4%. With the increased income $80,000 will be spent to make the payment on the new fire truck and
the balance will be used to cover the projected shortfall caused by reduced revenues. Councilmember
Jaech said that in 1983 it is not sure what the revenues will be but it is expected there will be
funds for an additional police officer (for drug and gambling problems), for additional firemen, a
word processing system, four street overlay projects, energy savings projects, and funding of a
full-time Mayor. Councilmember Naughten added that included in the above is the equalization tax,
taking this opportunity to increase revenues through equalization of taxes and sharing. Council -
member Allen said she wanted to reduce the utility tax at this time to 5% instead of 4%, going a
little slower this year in the reduction, but Councilmember Naughten said that based on the income
projections he was confident with the 4%. Councilmember Gould.stated that at the May 8 workshop the
majority of the Council said they would go along with the half -cent tax increase if the utility rate
was reduced to 4%., so approval of the proposed ordinance would mean a reduction in the utility tax
to 4%. Mayor Harrison said he also.would support the 4%. It was noted that if there should be an
initiative against the half -cent tax increase the utility tax would not be reduced"until that is
settled, and Councilmember Naughten said there is no reason -to appeal it because if the City does
not collect it the County will. COUNCILMEMBER GOULD MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER NAUGHTEN, THAT
THE CITY COUNCIL ADOPT ORDINANCE 2296 LEVYING THE HALF -CENT SALES TAX EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 1982 UNDER
THE CONDITION THAT IF IT IS NOT REPEALED THE CITY WILL REDUCE THE UTILITY TAX ON JULY 1, 1982 FROM
8 1/4% TO 4%. MOTION CARRIED, WITH COUNCILMEMBERS ALLEN.AND HALL VOTING NO. Councilmembers Allen
and Hall felt the utility tax should be a separate issue from the sales tax. A recess was announced.
*See.Minutes of 5-18-82
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May 11, 1982 - continued
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DISCUSSION OF PROPOSED CEMETERY COMMISSION ORDINANCE
Jim.Jessel,. Projects Administrator, discussed the proposed.ordinance. He said the Cemetery Com-
mission would, subject to City Council approval, be responsible for the following: Establish rules
and regulations to carry out.the provisions of the ordinance; regulate the sale and location of
burial lots.and/or contract with persons to provide such services; provide for the improvements and
maintenance of the cemetery; determine the types of plantings, monuments, and markers that will be
permitted for the proper and most attractive development of the cemetery; and accept any property
deeded, bequeathed, or given upon trust to the cemetery. He had visited three cemeteries run by
cities and each has five people on their respective commissions. They say one should understand
endowments., one should understand maintenance, and one should be able to act as a caretaker to
reduce vandalism. He proposed, to begin, that Glenn Grace, Roy Baker, and Dan Prinz fill the three
positions. He noted that the maintenance contract for.the cemetery in Woodway is $7,000 a year,
which allows for the hiring of someone to mow the lawn and maintain around the gravesites. Mr.
Jessel said i.t i's hoped that through an endowment program or the trust to be able to do some of the
development of the cemetery. Councilmember Hall again suggested contacting the Juvenile Diversion
Committee for help in maintenance. She, as well as Councilmember Allen, also thought the Commission
should have five members. Councilmember Jaech did not feel the City Staff had enough control the
way the proposed ordinance was written. She thought the Council or the Mayor should have the
authority regarding acceptance of property and that the Finance Director should manage the invest-
ments. Further, that the City should have the overall management and only go to the Council if
there is a problem, with the Council being the ultimate manager and administrator. Mr. Jessel
responded that other cemeteries run by cities are completely separate from the City Staff, having an
independent board. Councilmember Naughten said he would like z. quarterly report instead of an
annual one concerning the operations of the cemetery, and that he would like an action timetable for
each quarter as they get working. COUNCILMEMBER NAUGHTEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER HALL, TO
ACCEPT THE PROPOSED.ORDINANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CHANGES: THE BOARD IS TO BE EXPANDED TO FIVE
MEMBERS; SECTION 10.16.040 WILL CALL FOR A QUARTERLY MEETING INSTEAD OF AN ANNUAL ONE AND FOR THE
FIRST QUARTER THE BOARD WILL PROVIDE A LIST OF OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE NEXT 12-MONTH
PERIOD. Councilmember Gould said he still did not see any.reason for the City to be in the cemetery.
business. A ROLL CALL VOTE.WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION, WITH COUNCILMEMBERS NAUGHTEN, HALL, AND ALLEN
VOTING YES, AND WITH COUNCILMEMBERS GOULD, JAECH, AND KASPER VOTING NO, RESULTING IN A TIE VOTE.
MAYOR HARRISON VOTED YES TO BREAK THE TIE, AND THE MOTION CARRIED. The revised ordinance will be
presented on a future agenda. Mayor Harrison stated he would propose to serve on the Commission
those people named by Mr. Jessel. It was determined.that they would be. interviewed June 1, 19829
with the intent that the ordinance would be received before they are interviewed.
DISCUSSION ON MOUNTLAKE TERRACE.RECYCLING ORDINANCE
Councilmember Allen noted that Mountlake Terrace has mandatory garbage pickup and Edmonds does not,
and their ordinance was to allow a one can per month pickup for qualified recyclers. She noted that
there are health hazards involved because of composting but that the Health Board had granted them a
six-month trial. She also noted that the program is available only to those people who have certified
that they will be recycling. She said the reason it was brought up was because it has been discussed
at various times that Edmonds should be doing some work on recycling, and because 60-70% of solid
waste could be recycled. She noted that the County.had embraced the Mountlake Terrace proposal
because they are lacking in landfill facilities. She -thought recycling should be encouraged and
that the best way is to give a break on garbage collection. Councilmember Gould suggested that when
the solid waste people return to make a presentation to the Council that this be worked into their
program so that cities County -wide could be involved. Some incentives for recycling were discussed,
noting that there must be incentives for any program to work.
COUNCIL
Councilmember Allen had talked with Pauline Cline, Vice Principal of Edmonds High School, and said
the high school personnel cannot speak highly enough of the services of the Police Department and
what they do for the school and for the community.
Councilmember Allen said she.had mentioned before last Saturday's workshop that.someone had suggested
to her that the City might support the Edmonds Arts Festival more by arranging to have a purchase
award of one of the items in the competition. She suggested a maximum of $750 to be taken from the
Council Contingency Fund; and that each Councilmember go to the preview and then vote for a winner.
COUNC.ILMEMBER ALLEN MOVED THAT THE COUNCIL ESTABLISH A CITY OF EDM,ONDS PURCHASE AWARD WITH THE ART
FESTIVAL IN THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF $750, TO COME FROM THE COUNCIL CONTINGENCY FUND. COUNCILMEMBER
GOULD SECONDED THE MOTION WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT THE PIECE OF ARTWORK SELECTED WILL BE,FOR THE
NEW LIBRARY. MOTION CARRIED.
Councilmember Hall noted that this is Municipal City Clerks' Week and that City Clerk Irene Varney
Moran was the first certified municipal clerk in the State of Washington.
COUNCILMEMBER JAECH MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER HALL, THAT A NEW MICROPHONE BE OBTAINED FOR THE
SMALL PODIUM. MOTION CARRIED.
Councilmember Jaech said.the Finance Committee had discussed the Boys' Club utility bill which is in
arrears. The total amount due is $5,588.95, and the problem arose because the club was not billed"
regularly. That has been rectified and the club will be billed in the future, but they do not have
the means to pay the existing bill. There was some discussion as to the possibility of the City's
subsidizing the Boys' Club.in that amount, and a comparison was made with the Senior Center, but
City "Attorney Wayne Tanaka said contributions by the City to the Senior Center are made for services
the Senior Center provides to the citizens. Councilmember Gould said the Boys' Club provides a
necessary" service to the young people of the City and.that some of the citizens' money could be well
spent to subsidize the services for the youngsters. Councilmember Allen said she would oppose it
because it is not a girls' club, too. Mr. Tanaka suggested some kind of agreement to satisfy the
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May 11, 1982 - continued
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auditor that the City is getting some.value for the money.. COUNCILMEMBER GOULD MOVED,. SECONDED BY
COUNCILMEMBER NAUGHTEN, TO INSTRUCT THE CITY ATTORNEY TO LOOK INTO THE MATTER OF HOW THE CITY CAN
WAIVE THE BACK UTILITY CHARGES OF THE BOYS' CLUB AND ALSO PROVIDE THEM WITH SOME KIND OF SUBSIDY UP
TO $2,000 ON AN ANNUAL BASIS. A ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN ON THE MOTION, WITH COUNCILMEMBERS GOULD,
NAUGHTEN, KASPER, AND HALL VOTING YES, AND WITH COUNCILMEMBERS ALLEN AND JAECH VOTING NO. MOTION
CARRIED.
Council President Kasper noted again that the Association of Snohomish County Cities and Towns will
meet on May 20, 1982.
Council President Kasper called attention to the Minutes of the last meeting, the bottom of page 3,
regarding the alley vacation at 8th.Ave. S. and Elm St., wherein it was stated that only 10' was
being vacated, and he asked the City Engineer to discuss the problem that created. City Engineer
Jim Adams said if the street is vacated, 10' of that will go to the adjoining property on each side,
and -if only 10' is vacated the City still has control over two pieces of property, rather than one
piece. He said they are not going to put a street or alleythrough there, and he recommended
vacating the 20', then the 10' will automatically revert to the City property and the other 10' will
go to the other adjoining property, and that way they will have.only one piece to maintain instead
of two. COUNCILMEMBER ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER KASPER, TO VACATE THE OTHER 10'.
MOTION CARRIED.
Council President Kasper asked if the 8:00 p.m. parking restriction on Sunset should be established
as being temporary. Planning Director Mary Lou Block said when the planters were established by the
Committee it was with the understanding that the 8:00 p.m. closing time was temporary and that the
hours would change back to the regular closing. Assistant Police Chief Dan Prinz said he had been
under the impression that the closing time was to be 10:00 p.m. this.summer. He said that -is well
defined and the police can enforce.it. COUNCILMEMBER ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER KASPER,
TO INSTRUCT THE CITY ATTORNEY TO DRAFT AN ORDINANCE CHANGING THE PARKING RESTRICTION ON SUNSET AVE.
TO 10:00 P.M. MOTION CARRIED.
There was no further business to.come before the Council, and.the meeting adjourned to Executive
Session at 10:45 p.m.
v
IRENE VARNEY MORAN, C' Clerk
May 18, 1982
_2V_�r
HARVE H. HARRISON, Mayor
The regular meeting of the Edmonds City Council was called to order at 7:35 p.m. by Mayor Harve
Harrison in the Council Chambers of the Edmonds Civic Center. All present joined in the flag salute.
PRESENT STAFF PRESENT
Harve Harrison, Mayor
Bill Kasper
Ray Gould
Jo -Anne Jaech
John Nordquist
Katherine Allen
Laura Hall
Larry Naughten .
Steve Engle, Student Rep.
CONSENT AGENDA
Jim Adams, City Engineer
Irene Varney Moran, City Clerk
Mary Lou Block, Planning Director
Art Housler, Finance Director
Marlo Foster, Police Chief
Ron Schirman, Asst. Fire Chief
Steve Simpson,. Parks & Recreation Director
Jim Jessel, Project Administrator
Wayne Tanaka, City Attorney
Mark Eames, City Attorney
Jackie Parrett, Deputy City Clerk
Items (B), (C), and (F) were removed from the Consent Agenda. COUNCILMEMBER ALLEN MOVED, SECONDED
BY COUNCILMEMBER NORDQUIST, TO APPROVE THE BALANCE OF THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED. The
approved items on the Consent Agenda included the following:
(A) Roll call.
(D) Adoption of Ordinance 2297, establishing parking hours on Sunset.Ave.
(E) Adoption of Ordinance.2298, amending Ordinance 2200 by. adding a water line and fire
hydrant to LID 209.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MAY 11, 1982 [Item.(B) on Consent Agenda]
Councilmember Nordquist said the Council President had indicated to him that in the discussion of
the library furnishings (page 2 of the minutes) there was a limit imposed but he did not.see it
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