2009.10.13 CC Agenda Packet
AGENDA
Edmonds City Council
Council Chambers, Public Safety Complex
250 5th Ave. North, Edmonds
______________________________________________________________
OCTOBER 13, 2009
7:00 p.m.
Call to Order and Flag Salute
1. Approval of Agenda
2. (15 Minutes)Reception - Fire District 1 Commissioners
3. AM-2524
(60 Minutes)
Joint Meeting with Fire District 1 Commissioners
4.Public Comment on Fire District 1 Contract (3 minute limit per person)
5. (10 Minutes)Break
6. (30 Minutes)Comments from representative of Local 1828, International Association of Firefighters
7. (60 Minutes)Council Work Session on Fire District 1 Contract
8.Audience Comments (3 minute limit per person)
9. (5 Minutes)Mayor's Comments
10. (15 Minutes)Council Comments
Adjourn
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AM-2524 3.
Joint Meeting with Fire District 1 Commissioners
Edmonds City Council Meeting
Date:10/13/2009
Submitted By:Jana Spellman
Submitted For:Council President D. J. Wilson Time:60 Minutes
Department:City Council Type:Information
Review Committee:
Committee Action:
Information
Subject Title
Joint Meeting with Fire District 1 Commissioners
Recommendation from Mayor and Staff
Previous Council Action
On April 21, 2009 Council unanimously authorized the Mayor and Staff to negotiate with
Snohomish County Fire District #1 on a contract for services offer to provide fire/EMS services to
the City of Edmonds.
On July 7, Fire Staff provided a status report in Power Point format on negotiations with
Snohomish County Fire District #1 to provide fire/EMS services to the City of Edmonds.
On September 1, 2009 the Mayor was to make a presentation on the FD1 contract offer. The
Council received a notebook containing all the information needed to be able to review prior to
tonight's presentation. However, this meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. and then adjourned
at 7:07 p.m. due to technical difficulties. The Mayor's presentation was rescheduled to September
15.
At the September 15th Council Meeting the Mayor made the presentation on the Fire District 1
contract offer, which was originally scheduled at the September 1 City Council meeting. The
Council previously received a notebook containing all the attached information. Since that time,
two documents have been updated to include minor changes:
In the interlocal agreement, the change to Section 2.4 clarifies that if the City wants to increase the
current level of service under the RCW 35.103 Compliance Plan, the District will make reasonable
efforts to accomplish the request as long as it is understood that the City bears the cost of the
increase. The change to Section 4.6 clarifies the reference to “islands” as referenced in RCW
35.13.182.
In the financials section, the executive summary with the Fire District 1 contract has a new
estimate that reflects the continuation of the debt service for Station 20.
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At the September 22, 2009 Council Meeting, as part of the work session discussion for this
evening, City Attorney Scott Snyder gave a presentation related to options for fire service
regionalization. Attached is a memorandum on this topic prepared by Mr. Snyder.
Narrative
Council President D.J. Wilson has invited the Snohomish County Fire District 1 Commissioners
here to dialogue with the Edmonds City Council regarding the Fire District 1 Contract Offer
made to the City of Edmonds.
Exhibit 1: Updated ILA 09-15
Exhibit 2: Attachments to ILA
Exhibit 3: Memo from Fire Dept to City Council 10-1-09
Exhibit 4: Memo from Fire Dept to City Council 8-24-09
Exhibit 5: Memo from Scott Snyder dated 8/31/09
Exhibit 6: Financial Information
Exhibit 7: Power Point Presentation
Exhibit 8: Council Minutes 9-22-09
Exhibit 9: Council Minutes 9-15-09
Exhibit 10: Council Minutes 9-01-09
Exhibit 11: Council President D.J. Wilson's column which appeared in the August 27th,
2009, edition of the Edmonds Beacon
Exhibit 12: Sno County Fire Dist 1 Power Point Presentation w/Narrative
Exhibit 13: Sno County Fire Dist 1 Commission Minutes of 9-22-09
Exhibit 14: Sno County Fire Dist 1 Commission Minutes of 9-01-09
Exhibit 15: Fire District 1 Letter from Jim Kenney, Chair, Board of Commissioners
Exhibit 16: Letter from DJ Wilson, Council President, City of Edmonds
Fiscal Impact
Attachments
Link: Exh 1 Updated ILA 9-15-09
Link: Exh 2 Attachments to ILA
Link: Exh 3 Memo from Fire Dept to Council 10-1-09
Link: Exh 4 Memo-Fire Dept to Council 8-24-09
Link: Exh 5 Snyder Memo 8-31-09
Link: Exh 6 Financial Info
Link: Exh 7 Power Point Pres - Mayor
Link: Exh 8 CM 9-22-09
Link: Exh 9 CM 9-15-09
Link: Exh 10 CM 9-01-09
Link: Exh 11 Wilson's Beacon Column
Link: Exh 12 FD 1 PP Pres w-Narrative
Link: Exh 13 FD 1 9-22-09 Com Min
Link: Exh 14 FD 1 9-1-09 Com Min
Link: Exh 15 FD 1 Letter - Jim Kenny, Chair
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Link: Exh 16 Letter - DJ Wilson, Council President
Form Routing/Status
Route Seq Inbox Approved By Date Status
1 City Clerk Sandy Chase 10/08/2009 11:08 AM APRV
2 Mayor Gary Haakenson 10/08/2009 11:41 AM APRV
3 Final Approval Sandy Chase 10/08/2009 03:55 PM APRV
Form Started By: Jana
Spellman
Started On: 10/01/2009 10:39
AM
Final Approval Date: 10/08/2009
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October 8, 2009
Chairman Jim Kenny
Snohomish County Fire District #1
12425 Meridian Ave.
Everett, WA 98208
Dear Chairman Kenny,
First, let me offer you my thanks for making such an effort to coordinate the scheduling of our
October 13th joint City Council – District Commission meeting. I think the opportunity to get to
know one another’s organizations through a face to face dialog will increase the likelihood of
our two entities working together.
I wanted to offer a few thoughts ahead of our joint meeting in order to better facilitate this
dialog. As president of the Edmonds City Council, I have an administrative role in guiding our
workload and agenda. Regarding the possibility of contracting with Fire District 1 for fire
services, I do not speak for the Council or any councilmember other than myself. However, I
want to try to offer insight on where I think the Council is in its deliberations and some of the
questions that I know have come up.
First, I think the Council generally accepts the comments from our mayor, staff, and fire union
officials that closer coordination with Fire District 1 would offer the same level of fire service
Edmonds residents receive today. In some cases, I believe the Council feels it will improve the
level of service Edmonds residents receive. While Council has yet to examine this question
close, I think we generally defer to the experience and expertise of our fire staff on this matter.
On October 6th, we hosted the mayor, mayor pro-tem and city manager of Mountlake Terrace
to discuss their contractual relationship with the District. They had a number of good insights
to share. I know I place a great deal of weight on their endorsement of their relationship with
you, and I believe the Council as a whole does as well.
As we work through our deliberations, I believe we have three questions to answer ourselves
on the Council.
EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL
EDMONDS CITY HALL – FIRST FLOOR
121 5TH AVENUE NORTH – EDMONDS, WA 98020
PHONE: 425.771.0248 – FAX: 425.771.0254
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1) Do the savings of contracting with the District outweigh the benefits of directly
controlling our own fire service
? To a large degree, this is a question that we must
answer for ourselves. However, I think the District can address concerns like how the
Council will be able to maintain quality control oversight through this contract, and
where you feel there are clear areas of savings for us both by contracting for service.
2) Does it make sense to sell the assets of the fire service?
In some ways, this has
appeared to be a more complex financial question, specifically regarding the value of
the EMS transport fees. However, it appears based upon new information in an
updated proposal from the mayor, his recommendation is to sell the apparatus, but
keep the EMS transport fees, land and buildings without incurring a change in the cost
of contracting for fire service. Any insights on how the District views the issue of selling
of assets and the relative importance of that sale the ability to provide service to the
citizens of Edmonds would be appreciated.
3) What would we do with the sale proceeds from assets, if sold?
At present, I think this
provides the sharpest divide between the mayor and some on the Council, myself
included. On Tuesday, the mayor suggested this contract would be “pointless” if it did
not include the sale of assets, and if those sale proceeds did not go into our general fund
for operations. On Wednesday, he said he misspoke. In any case, the matter of the
assets is clouding and confusing the question of operational efficiencies and quality
improvement, in my mind.
Another question I have pertains to the annexations of Lynnwood and Mukilteo of Fire District
1 area. I would find it helpful to understand how the District envisions working through future
annexations and the consequent impact such actions will have on the District’s property tax
collections. That would seem to impact the ability to continue to provide Edmonds fire service
at the rate contracted today.
During the meeting on the 15th of September, I asked the mayor and fire chief about such
matters. The general consensus was that sooner or later, a regional fire authority (RFA) would
need to be in place. Is that the District’s long term vision for fire regionalization in south
Snohomish County?
On Tuesday, we learned that the leaders of Mountlake Terrace took 4 years to determine
whether a contract could be appropriately constructed to the benefit of the city. In our case,
however, the mayor first made a presentation before Council on September 15th. We have
spent three meetings on the matter. At each meeting, there have been questions of staff and
comments from the public. Many questions have required that staff spend time between
Council meetings to follow up for answers.
Moreover, as of Wednesday, Council has now been given a new recommendation to consider
by the mayor.
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So, while I had originally scheduled an aggressive calendar of meetings to be able to conclude
our deliberations by October, I find it unlikely that we will be able to meet that timeline. With
elections in November, and fact we will have at least one new colleague, one of our council
members raised the good point that it would not be prudent to vote on a contract only to have
a new Council seek to revoke the contract in January. The public has made clear through public
comments that they would like us to take our time as well, and not rush this process.
Accordingly, given the number of questions, the high level of confusion about how the numbers
add up, and the certainty of at least one new Council member, I think is it possible Council will
defer a vote on this matter until after the first of the year.
If it took Mountlake Terrace four years, it seems to me that there is nothing wrong with taking
our time to be sure of this step, as well. After all, our city staff – with all of their expertise,
years of experience, and ability to devote full time to this cause – took seven months to review
this matter. Our joint meeting on the 13th of October will conclude only our first month of
review.
Again, I appreciate very much your willingness to come and join us on Tuesday. The purpose
and intent of the meeting is simply to discuss how our two organizations see the future of fire
service in south Snohomish County, and how we might continue to work together to see that
come to pass.
Sincerely,
DJ Wilson
President
Edmonds City Council
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