19840424 City Council MinutesApril 24, 1984 - Work Meeting
The regular meeting of the Edmonds City Council was called to.order at 7:35 p.m. by Mayor Larry
Naughten in the Plaza Meeting Room of the Edmonds Library. All present joined in the flag salute.
PRESENT ABSENT. STAFF PRESENT
Larry Naughten, Mayor Jo -Anne Jaech Pat Leflay, Personnel Director
Laura Hall John Nordquist Dan Prinz, Acting Police Chief
Bill Kasper Jim Adams, City Engineer
Lloyd Ostrom Duane Bowman, Asst. City Planner
Steve Dwyer Art Housler, Finance Director
Jack Wilson Jackie Parrett, City Clerk
Brian Stewart, Student Rep., Bobby Mills, Actg. Pub. Wks. Supt.
Jim Jessel, Property Manager
Steve Simpson, Parks & Rec. Director
Shirlie Witzel, Recorder
Councilmember Jaech advised the City Clerk she is attending the Annual Matrix Meeting. Council -
member Nordquist advised the City Clerk that the would be attending another meeting first and would
be late but was not present.
CONSENT AGENDA
COUNCILMEMBER HALL MOVED, SECONDED.BY COUNCILMEMBER KASPER, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. MOTION
CARRIED. The approved items on the Consent Agenda included the following:
(A)
Roll Call.
(B)
Approval of minutes of April 14, 1984.
(C)
Set date of May 15, 1984 for hearing on appeal
of ADB approval of
revised landscaping plan
for Richmar Condominium at 536 Maple St. (Appellant:
Rowland).
(D)
Acknowledge receipt of claim for damages from
Ernesto G. Vesagas
($1,100).
(E)
Final Approval of 12-lot plat at 1225 Viewland
Wy. (Harbor View Estates/
P-2-82).
(F)
Adopt Planning Board recommendation regarding
proposed amendment
to Chapter 18.95 of
Community Development Code to standardize the
compact/regular car
parking stall size (CDC-6-84).
371"
• April 24, 1984 - continued
MEET WITH CHAMBER OF COMMERCE AND EDMONDS BUSINESS ASSOCIATIO
Councilmember Ostrom commented.that significant things.had been happening in the business community
and that a meeting of the business leaders and the council was.important. He said the business
community had been formulating plans and 'that it was felt the plans must be coordinated with City
Government. He expressed the hope that this meeting might be the first of a continuing series of
meetings which would present opportunities for opening dialogue between the business community and
the City.'Councilmember Ostrom introduced Dave Earling, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Jim
Morrow, Chairman of the Main Street Committee, and Chris Matt, Chairman of the Marketing Committe,
which replaced the former Edmonds Business Association. "The Council invited the three to join them
at the table for their presentation.
Mr. Earling thanked the Council for the opportunity to meet,with them this.evening. He' -.then. pre-
esented a brief history of the Chamber, noting that membership had increased 34% in the past year
with a total of 176 members at present. He said. the Edmonds Business Association, which was formed
three years ago in an attempt to satisfy needs not being met by the Chamber, had merged with the .
Chamber as the Marketing Committee. He outlined immediate and 'long range goals of the Chamber. Mr.
Earling briefly described the opportunity now before the city to participate in the State Main .
Street Program which follows closely the recent input recieved from the D-DAT team recommendations.
He.said the Chamber expects to raise $30,000 from the business community to fund the task force
recommended by D-DAT team. He said the City would also be approached for their share. The Chamber
is interested in the future 'of Edmonds. He expressed hope that the Council and the Chamber would
continue meeting on an ongoing, informal basis to insure open communication between the two groups.
Mr. Earling introduced Chris Matt.
Mr. Matt' spoke of the tremendous opportunity now before the City of Edmonds. He recounted the
merging of the Chamber of Commerce and the Edmonds Business. Association and.said they hope to
• continue the.same events such as an 'Edmonds in Bloom'. campaign, public service awards by the Mayor,
selling flower pots to businessmen. He said a Chili.contest'is planned for June 30 and concerts in
the park are planned from spring into winter for the downtown area once a week.at midday. He
described their plan to identify the downtown area with banners. He said their aim is to make
Edmonds more.interesting and they also hope to extend their horizons to areas outside the downtown
core area to Firdale and Westgate.,using grocery stores and restaurants for distribution of a new
calendar of events with a parking map. He mentioned that signing for the downtown area is important
and lighting of signs for businesses open late at night.is essential.
Jim Morrow commented that the funding for the programs mentioned by Mr. Platt is contributed by.
members of*the Chamber who areasked to contribute $175 on a voluntary basis.. They plan that some
of the events will be self-sustaining. Mr. Morrow distributed copies of the D-DAT team tabloid,
prepared by the Main Street Center Committee, with the assistance of the Lynn Melby Company and the
Edmonds View. The paper was published by the Edmonds Chamber of Commerce and the City of Edmonds. A
description of the D-DAT Team visit and their recommendations are contained in the paper. 3000
copies were printed and will be distributed as widely as possible. 'Mr.. Morrow described the State
Main Street Program and its potential benefits to Edmonds. He emphasized that the future growth of
downtown Edmonds lies in the hands'of the Chamber and the Council. He said they are hopeful that a
positive attitude will be evident in approaching the D-DAT team proposals and in developing the .
goals of the Main Street program. With the opportunity now present, he said, it would be tragic not
to take advantage of the opportunity.
During the question and answer session following the presentation by the Chamber, the following
information was presented. The task force members are being chosen at this time and within two
weeks should be functioning and the recommendations from the D-DAT team will be used as a suggested
agenda by the task force. Councilmember Ostrom and Planning Director Mary Lou Block will be the
City representatives on the task force. Mr. Morrow explained that the D-DAT team and the Main
Street Program are entirely different and Edmonds was fortunate that the D-DAT team has supplied a
base upon which the Main Street Program can be built. A question from Councilmember Hall elicited
• the information that, although Highway 99 businesses are a part of Edmonds and welcome in the
Chamber, there is no concerted effort being made at this time to solicit their participation. The
Chamber will..be looking in that direction as they progress. An idea was expressed that the inclu-
sion of these businesses would be beneficial not only to the.business itself but also to Edmonds.
Other members of the Chamber, present in the audience, were introduced: Don Hir.tzel, of Rainier
Bank; Joan Longstaff, of Joan Longstaff and Associates; Dick Beselin, of.Harbor Square, and Jack
Mayo, of Durbins. Mr. Matt, a retiredbusinessman, commented that -people have difficulty in find-
ing Edmonds. The new Tourism Information Center was mentioned as an aide to visitors in locating
Edmonds. Mr. Mayo exhorted the.Council to become excited about. current happenings in Edmonds and
the opportunities which are opening for the City. He emphasized the work and effort that has gone
into planning for the downtown core area. There was discussion regarding future meetings between
the Council and the Chamber, Mayor Naughten indicated that joint meetings would be scheduled every
other month during work sessions and suggested the Chamber schedule any informal meetings.
The meeting was recessed for 10 minutes at 8:30 p.m.
CONTINUED DISCUSSION RE GROUNDS MAINTENANCE POSITION VACANCY (FROM APRIL 10)
Acting Public Works Superintendent Bobby Mills recounted the discussion of the Grounds Maintenance
position vacancy, reiterating that this was not an increase in personnel, only one person would be
hired to fill the.vacant position, and an employee would be promoted to the new position. The
position vacated through promotion would not be filled. He emphasized the Union acceptance because
of the promotion.. Councilmember Dwyer questioned the Union letter which indicated the employee
hired would be promoted to.the vacant..N.E-6 posit:i.on. He -.said he did:not want'the Union -to -feel the
Council had.not kept faith if that.specific person is not. promoted to the higher position. Mr.
Mills said he wished to leave the NE-6 position.open for promotion purposes but*did not indicate
.that any specific person would be promoted. Councilmember Kasper noted that other employees had
been hired at the NE-6 level. Mr. Mills interjected that.they had and were still at the NE-6 level
after five or six years. In response to a question regarding justification for another NE-9 posi-
.tion., Mr. Mills indicated that the workload has increased over the past years with the addition of
Union Oil Beach, the Library, the Civic Center Playground and additional equipment. The use of
April 24, 1984 - continued •
part-time employees has increased, increasing the need for supervision. In addition, the accident
rate has increased and it is. felt proper supervision will reduce that rate. The higher classifi-
cation will also provide an employee capable of working on the swimming pool and the sprinkler
system. COUNCILMEMBER HALL MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER WILSON, TO INCREASE THE NUMBER OF NE-9
POSITIONS FROM ONE TO TWO IN GROUNDS MAINTENANCE, WHICH ALLOWS FOR PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITY FOR AN
EXISTING NE-6 TO'UPGRADE TO AN NE-9. REPLACEMENT OF THE VACANCY CREATED BY ROGER DALZELL WILL THEN
BE FILLED AT AN NE-3. THE ORGANIZATION CHART WILL CONTINUE TO REFLECT FIVE NE-6 POSITIONS WITH FOUR
BEING BUDGETED IN 1984. MOTION CARRIED WITH COUNCILMEMBER KASPER VOTING NO.
DISCUSSION OF PARKING ALTERNATIVES ON ELM ST.,-7TH AVE. S. TO 8TH AVE. S.
City Engineer Jim Adams described the alternatives designed by the Engineering Department in
response to the comments made in a prior Council meeting regarding this subject. The alternatives
were displayed on the overhead projector. Alternative.l showed restriping the street to make two.
11-foot travel lanes and using crushed rock to create a four and a half foot parking area on the
north side costing approximately $1,060: Alternative 2 would place the travel lanes.on the north
side and the parking adjacent to the homes, requiring widening of pavement and relocation of catch
basins and drainage structures on the south side, costing in excess of $5,000. Alternative 3 would
be to do nothing. He said the Engineering Department would recommend Alternative 1, if the City
does anything, to be evaluated in one year. Mr Adams said the property on the north belongs to the
Water Department. COUNCILMEMBER DWYER MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER OSTROM,.THAT A PUBLIC HEARING
BE SCHEDULED FOR MAY 29 ON PARKING ALTERNATIVES ON ELM'STREET. MOTION CARRIED.
FINANCE COMMITTEE MEETING
(A) Recommendation to convert copying service: Councilmember Ostrom raised a point -of -order;
since the company he represents is involved in the copy machine business, he asked if he.should not
step down during this -discussion. City Attorney Mark Eames asked if Councilmember Ostrom felt his
participation or voteon this matter would benefit or harm his position with his company. After •
further discussion, Mayor Naughten.suggested Councilmember Ostrom participate in the principle bit:.'
excuse himself when selection of the machine is discussed. Councilmember Ostrom said he would feel
more comfortable in doing that.
Finance Director Art Housler discussed the need for decentralizing copying service for the City. He
used transparencies on the overhead projector to illustrate the research done and the conclusions
reached. Mr. Housler recommended.purchase of four Minolta copiers, termination of Kodak lease, and
trade-in of four Savin copiers for a saving of $68,000 over the next five years. Following Mr.
Housler's presentation, the Council discussed the item. Councilmembers questioned the timing of
this proposal, saying it should.be presented during budget preparation. There was also concern that
any reorganization may impact the number of copiers that would be needed. At this point, Council -
member Ostrom left the table and seated.himself in the audience.
Property Manager
Jim Jessel explained the process used in.selecting
the Minolta copier. Features
TM
that are not now
available on the Kodak, include enlarging of copy,
copy of card stock, and reduction
of copy to scale.
Mr. Bowman interjected the fact that use of the
Kodak'is not efficient for their
department. Since
they must do many different packets, one person
is kept busy moving between the
two buildings to
accomplish the copying.
Mayor Naughten recommended the subject be postponed until any reorganization is completed and bring
it to the.Council for discussion at that time. The Council agreed. Councilmember Ostrom returned
to the Council table.
(B) Report on parks and recreation subsidy: Parks and Recreation Director Steve.Simpson
reviewed.the report before the Council. He noted that the Department is in about the same place as
it was last year. There are some concerns, one dealing with the recent replacement of two recrea-
tion programmers, which may affect revenues from those programs, since it aces take time for new .
people to become acquainted with.the community and its needs. It is not possible to determine how •
well the Department is doing with the subsidy level until the end of the summer. Mayor Naughten
thanked Mr. Simpson for the information.
(C) Continued review of fees charged by City: Mayor Naughten said the fees charged by the City
Clerk and the Parks and Recreation Department had been reviewed at the January 19 Council meeting
and fees in the Planning and Building Departments had been continued to this agenda.
Mr. Bowman distributed a schedule of fees for the Building Department and reviewed that and portions
of the Planning Department schedule. He said the suggested changes in the Building division fees
are minor. There were questions from the -Council concerning specific line items and explanations by
Mr. Bowman. Councilmember Kasper asked that the staff present a cost breakdown for a single family
residential, a multi -family, and a sub -division to go through the City.
Mr. Bowman asked the Council to consider fees for appeals to eliminate frivolous appeals. The
Council was not comfortable with the concept without further thought. The Council agreed to move
this item to the May 22 Council Agenda.
MAYOR
Mayor Naughten read a letter from Chester Bennett on behalf of the Larry Hubbard Foundation enclosing
a check for $17;000 for use in fencing the cemetery, erection of an equipment building and purchase
of some additional equipment. The Foundation has contributed $23,000 toward the cemetery and plans
to pay for the cost of irrigation.
The Mayor said he had spoken with Mayor Day of Woodway and the contract is now in the hands of the
attorney for final approval and should be back to Edmonds within a week. Councilmember Kasper
raised the question of disability protection for firemen. Mr. Housler and Mr. Eames explained that
City responsibility would only be for the first six months of a disability; after that the firemen
•
April 24, 1984 - continued
373
1
would be covered under LEOFF I by the State
police would also be completed shortly.
Mayor Naughten said the insurance coverage for the
Mayor Naughten noted that a letter of thanks had come from residents on Northstream Lane for the new
lighting. Councilmember Hall remarked that she had also received thanks from them in person.
The Mayor congratulated Martin Burns and Leslie Hanson on receiving a Certificate of Competency as
Water Distribution Specialists l from the Washington State Water and Wastewater Operator Certifi-
cation Board of Examiners.
Mayor Naughten said the new meeting format would be discussed on May 8 and during the Saturday
morning review. He asked for clarification of the reasons for placing Culture and Recreation under
Support Services. Councilmember Kasper explained the rationale for recommending that alignment,
stating that building and grounds should be under. Community Services with other Public Works
aspects, while Culture and Recreation is a program aspect dealing with revenues, use of the compu-
ter for scheduling, etc., which would fit under support services.
The Mayor reminded everyone the Town Hall Meeting is May 1 and thanked Mr. Bowman for the design of
the notice:.
Mayor Naughten proclaimed May 1, 1984 as Edmonds Garden.Clubs Appreciation Jay in recognition of the
work done by the Floretum Garden Club, the Algoma Garden Club, and the Puget Sound Garden Club of
Edmonds. He encouraged all citizens to participate in the annual planting party and the ceremony at
11:30 at 5th and Main.
The Mayor proclaimed the week of April 29 through May 5, 1984 as Alcohol and Drug Abuse Awareness
.Education Week in conjunction with Snohomish County.
• Mayor Naughten presented an application for transfer of a liquor license from old Milltown Food &
Beverage Emporium to Old 'Milltown Tenderloin House, a class H license. The application has been
investigated and approved and the Council would recommend approval or disapproval of the license
which goes to the State for final approval. COUNCILMEMBER DWYER MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER
..HALL, THAT THE APPLICATION BE RECOMMENDED FOR FORWARDING TO THE STATE FOR CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL. MOTION CARRIED.
COUNCIL
Student Representative Stewart reported that he would be.attendinq the Youth Board meeting on April
25 when summer activities would be discussed. He also drew attention to the letter from Tambi.Shaw
regarding a
survey taken by students at Edmonds High School. He asked what was happening
with
Edrft6'nd's High
School closure. Councilmember Hall replied that the
forecast is for closure
in 1985.
Councilmember
Hall expressed her hope that all the council members
would read the letters
from Bill
Blume, Allen
Saab BMW and Budget Rent -a -car. She was contacted by
Bob Campbell last week.
The
businessmen
felt they had not put their best foot forward and were
concerned that they could not
speak before
the Council again. She suggested they write letters,
which they have done.
Meeting.adjourned to executive session at 10:15 p.m
JACQUffLINE G. PARR TT, City Clerk
o o
LARRY S. NAUGHTEN, Mayor