Loading...
19721205 City Council Minutes3i8 • Councilman Gellert asked if a summary of the monies needed for what was done on Friday night at the budget hearing was available for council to look at to see how it affected the budget. CAO Whaley said that the Finance Director had the figures. Councilman Tuson noted that council had --.voted before on the 5% Water tax, stating that 2% was to go back into the Water Dept. Councilman Haines questioned if the figures used on page 1 and 2 were the same amounts certified.by the City Clerk on the ordinance which was passed levying the taxes. The City Clerk got out the original ordinance book and verified that the figures were 8 mills on an assessed valuation of $103,494,756.00. Mayor Harrison then asked Finance Director Allen Tuttle to report on the effect of various appropriations from the last budget hearing. Mr. Tuttle stated that they had.added Fund 115 for underground wiring and put in $50,000; then added Fund 322 for sidewalks and trail improvements and placed the sum of $20,000 in there. He reported that the E.E.A. figures from the end of June 1973; including 23 people, amounted to $120,000. When asked how long the E.E.A. funding was to last, he answered that the program went to August 15 and some to November 9. He then went on to say that they had taken out the federal revenue sharing from Dept. 18 of the General Fund; put in % mill property tax that the Mayor had plan- ned to take out; put in the tax on electricity, and in fact returned the amounts for the 5% Utility taxes, which had been suggested for reduction by the Mayor. He explained where in each fund the monies were to be placed, but council felt it would be preferable if the estimated revenues were shown in one place and the expenses then shown using this particular money. Councilman Tuson stated that if council earmarked certain revenues for certain • funds, then this was alright; but if not, the revenues should be shown in the General Fund. It was noted by the CAO that the budget as it stood would be in the hole $18,000 if figured with the Mayor's recommendations (minus certain taxes); that it would be $32,000 to the good if all these recommended tax deletions are put back, counting revenue sharing monies, and also the contingency fund left of $1569000. Council seemed to feel that they should know how much they spent above the pro- possed budget on Friday night (exclusive of revenue sharing monies) and where they stood at that point. The figure of $100,000 in the hole if not transferred out of the General Fund was mentioned. Mr. Tuttle made copies of the list of figures for each council member. In trying to get some clarification, Councilman Haines said he objected to this type of listing and Councilwoman Shippen agreed, since the revenue was not in the revenue column, but divided up amongst the funds where it.would be utilized. Council also felt that the revenue sharing monies should be listed separately and set aside for special projects as needed, and as Councilman Haines noted, if we need the money - fine - but put the rest in a Trust Account to use when and if we need it. Councilman Haines then asked the Attorney where the income goes from the 5% tax, and Attorney Murphy answered the Current Expense Fund. There was a great deal of discussion, and a motion was then made by Councilman Haines, seconded by Councilman Nordquist that the revised budget be. done with the income of the City showing on estimated revenues on pages 1 and 2, and the expenses then be parcelled out from those estimated revenues. Motion carried, and the .hearing was again recessed at 8:30 P.M. I �_� •Irene Varney Mo n, City Clerk Harve H. Harrison, Mayor December' S, 1972 ROLL CALL Regular meeting of the Edmonds City Council was called to order by Mayor Harve Harrison with all council members present except Nelson. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the meeting of November 28 had been posted, mailed and distributed, and since there were no corrections nor omissions, they were approved as written. COUNCIL PARTICIPATION Councilman Haines stated that he would like to have placed on the council agenda a report once a month from the council representatives who attend the meetings of Committees such as the Health District, SNOCOM, South County Transit Board, Airport, etc. Councilman Haines then put this in the form of a motion, seconded by Council- woman Shippen that once a month a report be given to council on the proceedings of these various committees attended by a council representative, and this be on the agenda. Motion carried. APPOINTMENT TO LIBRARY BOARD Mayor Harrison made the appointment of Beverly Gustayson to the Library Board for 0 n a five year term. He noted that Mrs. Gustayson had served the City on the Library Study Committee. 37U 1 1 • 1 I-] AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Gordon Maxwell, in the audience, stated that he understood there still were some problems in connection with the HUD appraisals for the Senior Citizen Center property., He asked for an explanation of the problem, and if the Mayor had received a letter from HUD. Mayor Harrison read the letter, which thanked the City for submitting the two appraisals on the property and stating that HUD would appreciate some indication that the City had accepted these appraisals. Mr. Maxwell then said he saw the problem as one of whether the City had approved, and the payment of these appraisals. He then introduced two officials from HUD - Mrs. Steele and Mr. German, and called upon Mns. Steele to explain the situation as it now stood and maybe work out something to eliminate the problem. Mrs. Steele explained the policy on land acquisition, and the assurance by HUD that everyone concerned is treated fairly. She said the normal procedure is Part One, the application, which doesn't require appraisals, but an estimate for HUD to review and approve. She said that HUD takes the position that you may pay.what you want, but HUD will participate up to a certain dollar amount after a review. Part Two, when submitted, requires two in- dependent appraisals, with indication of payment and recommended acceptance by the purchasing body - in this case, the City. She admitted that this case was different in that the appraisals had been.obtained by the Nelsons, and submitted with a letter of transmittal from the City after Part Two of the application, which had stated that the appraisals.would be forwarded at a later date. This had been done, but with no indication that they had been accepted and approved by the City. Council- man Haines said that since the owner, and not the City, had ordered the appraisals, we would need to know just what the City's position is now. Mrs. Steele answered that HUD was only asking that the City say the appraisals are acceptable. Council- man Haines said that we had not ordered the appraisals and evidently were supposed to, but that they -were acceptable to HUD in the manner? Mrs. Steele agreed that it was acceptable to HUD that the City had not been the ordering body, but that HUD only now must have in writing for their files that the City ©f Edmonds finds these appraisals acceptable,.mainly as to price. Councilman Haines further went on to say that he then understood that HUD was not asking the city to say that these were our appraisals; that normally it was the purchaser, not the seller, who ordered appraisals; and that the City sent the appraisals to HUD because it was understood that they were acceptable to HUD. All'this was agreed, and Mr. German stated that although this was contrary to the usual procedure, HUD now only was asking for a written acceptance by the City of Edmonds of the appraisals now so that something would be in their files, and they would not quibble about who paid the fee for the appraisals; if the Nelson's wished to pay for this, it was certainly O.K. and there would be no problem in this respect. Gordon Maxwell then asked Mr. German if there were any other hang-ups, and Mr. German answered that there were none except for the requirement.:of appraisal acceptance by the City in writing and.HUD could then proceed. He noted that HUD normally accepts two appraisals if within 10% of one another, and mentioned that HUD ran an in- dependent study of the appraisals submitted. Mr. German stated that the differ- ence between these two appraisals was within 9%, and if this were true in all caes that HUD, processes, it would make their job a lot easier. Councilman Haines then said he would like HUD to write the'City that the manner of ordering the appraisals is acceptable - that he felt the City needed this assurance. Mr. German answered that the City is not in violation of any regu- lations. Councilman Tuson then made a motion, seconded by Councilwoman Shippen that council send a letter to HUD to state that the two appraisals are acceptable to the City. Councilman Haines then moved that inasmuch as HUD agreed there was no violation of regulations, he would like to amend the motion to say that the City would send the letter upon receipt of a letter from HUD stating this. The proposed amendment died for lack of a second. Mr. German said that HUD could certainly reply and state clarification of their position in this,matter; that there was no violation to jeopardize the program. Councilman Tuson's motion then carried. 1973 BUDGET It was reported that the Budget Summary was not completely prepared as yet, and CAO Whaley asked if this item could be postponed to the end of tonight's agenda. Councilman Gellert moved, seconded by Councilwoman Shippen that the matter be postponed to the last agenda item. Motion carried. ANIMAL CONTROL AGREEMENT Mayor Harrison read the proposed agreement with ABC for animal control facilities. Following this, Councilman Nordquist commented that he did not approve of the statement on acceptance of animals provided if room is available; that this left a cloud on the fact that animals might not be accepted if the Clinic is full, and he did not think this was wholly acceptable. The Mayor asked Dick Waldrop, the Animal Control Officer, if the facilities were."filled, what could be done? Mr. Waldrop answered that they would probably have to double them up. Councilman Nordquist said he felt we needed assurance that the animals would not be kept in the van during the summer heat and have to suffer. He added that this is one of 0 380 the reasons why the change was being made. Councilman Gellert suggested that we strike those words on availability of room, and also use "release" instead of "deliver" to anyone claiming ownership of an animal. Councilman Gellert then moved, seconded by Councilman Nordquist to delete the wording "provided, if at time of delivery room is available". This motion carried. Councilman Nordquist then moved, seconded by Councilman Gellert that the Mayor be authorized to sign the agreement for animal control -.as amended. Motion carried. METRO TRANSIT SYSTEM PROPOSAL CAO Ron Whaley asked to postpone this agenda item to next'Tuesday's•council meeting. He stated that meetings were being held in regard to the system, and one with the county was being held this week. It was therefore moved by Council- man Nordquist, seconded by Councilman Tuson to postpone the Metro Transit System Proposal to December 12, and the motion carried. APPROVAL OF FINAL PLAT OF CHERRY CREST City.Engineer.Leif Larson reported that council had given preliminary approval to this plat on June 6, subject to relocation of 174th. He stated that the plat has met all the requirements. A gentleman in the audience who lives in the -area told council that he felt that everyone in the neighborhood was satisfied and would not be opposed to the relocation of the street. Following some discussion, a motion was made by Councilman Nordquist, seconded by Councilman Winters that council approve the final plat of Cherry Crest, subject to any engineering requirements. Councilman Gellert stated for the record that council urge the Planner.to complete community planning to avoid turn-arounds and consider the surrounding neighborhood areas as well as the plat in question. On call for the question, the motion carried. REPORT ON .BIDS - FUEL.OIL NEEDS FOR 1973 CAO Whaley reported that bids had been opened on December 4 in the Mayor's office for supplying the City with diesel oil for 1973. Call for bids had been adver- tised by the City Clerk and notices sent to firms in Edmonds. Present at the bid opening were the CAO, City Clerk, A.L. Kincaid from Sound Oil Company, and a gentleman representing Bi-Rite Oil Company. Three bids were received: Sound Oil Company - Standard Oil Co. - Bi-Rite Oil Co. .1240 per gallon, firm for period 1/1/73 thru 12/31/73 .154 per gallon, based gallons. Smaller will apply. .1349 per gallon on minimum deliveries of 400 deliveries, differentials Mr. Whaley noted that the City of Edmonds was presently purchasing fuel oil from Sound Oil Company, which was awarded the 1972 bid on a price of .1240 per gallon, the same as quoted for 1973. He then recommended acceptance of the low bid. A motion was made by Councilman Tuson, seconded by Councilman Nordquist to accept the bid of Sound Oil Company at a price of .1240 per gallon, and authorize entering into contract with them for supplying the City of Edmonds with the diesel oil re- quirements for 1973. Motion carried. 1 • 1 CLAIMS FOR DAMAGES A claim for damages was.acknowledged from David P. Ross in the amount of $20.21 for • sewer backup., and this was referred to the City Clerk for processing. CAO REPORT CAO Whaley stated that several times in the last year and a half they had been trying to sell some no longer used utility billing equipment. A letter had been received from the City of Brier offering to purchase four of the items for $500. These would be the Burroughs Sensematic Accounting Machine, with a City of Edmonds suggested price of $50; the Addressograph, with a tag of $350; Graphotype, suggested $350; and two Plate Cabinets at $25 each. CAO Whaley recommended acceptance of the City of Brier's offer of $500 for the four items, and a motion was made by Councilman Nordquist, seconded by Councilman Winters to accept the offer of the City of Brier, with the stipulation that they come and pick up the equipment. Motion carried. 1973 BUDGET CAO Whaley reported that the figures had been worked up based upon council action at the budget hearings. He noted -for a point of clarification that they had the General Fund and the Utility Fund; that the income had been split and had been plugged into Current Expense in the General Fund and'some in the Street portion of the budget to eliminate the future for transfers. He explained that it would bea much cleaner action without governmental transfers, which only give a false illusion to total amounts in many cases. A portion of the anticipated federal sharing money is placed in certain areas of the budget. He went on to say that the Mayor, in the preliminary budget presented to council, had wished 0 381 1 1 to retain eleven of the E.E.A. personnel, which the council had modified to a total of twenty-three. This, of course, made a great difference in the budget, and when Congress initiated this program, one group was to be funded to August 18 and the other to November 9. At this time, the funding is on a month to month basis. However, the City of Edmonds has never received any correspondence or phone call to change these two dates, but the newspapers have mentioned a cutoff time (probable) of June 30. This has in no way been verified. In establishing our budget (11 versus 23 has a great impetus on dollars), June 30 may be a logical date to use, and the wages of the E.E.A. personnel figured from June 30 to the end of the year. If, however, the government uses a February cutoff date, which has also been mentioned, the money will be even shorter. Councilman Tuson asked, assuming only eleven are retained, how much money out of the revenue sharing would it take to balance the budget? The CAO then gave a brief rundown on the monies, listing the extra expenditures council had provided for at the budget hearing, and noting that the revenue sharing funds yet to be received for 1972 would go into cash on hand in the 1973 budget and not show as revenue received. Councilman Nordquist stated that it was his opinion that the E.E.A. program has been an asset to the City of Edmonds; that we have spent money training these people and he Moped they could be absorbed into the city employee family. He said that he was unhappy with the way these people are referred to as E.E.A. and should be called city employees. CAO Whaley concurred that they were valuable employees and had contributed a great deal to the city. Finance Director Allen Tuttle then reviewed a summary of budget figures and pro- jected these figures on the screen. He then distributed summary sheets to council • for their information and clarification. There was a great deal of discussion, and CAO Whaley stated that he would like approximately four more hours to work on the budget figures. It was therefore moved by Councilman Nordquist, seconded by Councilman Gellert to recess the budget hearing again until 7:30 on Wednesday, December 6, and the motion carried. 1 • Ll Council meeting was adjourned, and budget hearing recessed at 9:05 P.M. until the following evening. 14 �- ZLLS Irene Varney Mor n, City Clerk BUDGET HEARING December 6, 1972 r �y Harve H. Harrison, Mayor Recessed hearing on the 1973 Final Budget for the City of Edmonds was called to order by Mayor Harve Harrison. All council members were present except Nelson. Councilman Haines, noting that he was speaking for himself, stated that council had made some major changes from what the Mayor had proposed, but he thought they were all quite closely in line with the questionnaire the Mayor had sent out, and the priorities that were set up in that, and although the answers to the question- naire didn't change his mind, it reinforced some of the things he believed prior to that. Going down through the services mentioned, the first priority the people said was for better street maintenance, and council reacted to this.via,extra.man- power in the Street'Dept. On the animal control, the contract with ABC acted upon last night takes care of this second priority. For sidewalks', they had made extra allocation; and for both Police and Fire the extra E.E.A. help was pretty much in line with the priorities in question, plus the majority of the people seemed to feel taxes were about right. He said he hoped by this action council hasn't cut off any possible communication with the Mayor by making some altera- tions, and by doing so perhaps have helped in the long run, and he would like the Mayor's input on what has been done so far, and carry through on a good basis and establish something that will go a long way for a better operation of the City. He added that we hoped we haven't made drastic changes that will not be able to be followed with good conscience, and that if the,Mayor has some disa- greements with what the council has done, he would bring those up and then all go forward on the -same pleasant basis that we had in the past. He commended the Mayor's suggestions and preparing his own budget as having been very wise and useful. Mayor Harrison called upon CAO Ron Whaley, who furnished each council member with the revised summary sheets, including all items changed by council action. The total resources, less unallocated revenues based on anticipated revenues required and based upon present utility taxes remaining, amounted to net revenues required for a balanced budget of $7,054,497. The total resources being $7,227.177 and unallocated revenues $172,680. He noted direction of the council by motion for allocation of the utility taxes. The additional 12 E.E.A. employees would be $37,620; sidewalks and trails $20,000. street construction $14,000; for a total of $71,620.- Mr. Whaley cautioned, council that since we do not know the federal funding for the E.E.A. termination, there should be set aside $60,000 in the event the actual termination point is June 30 instead of the August and November dates. This would come out of the $172,680 figure In answer to council questions, the CAO said that the city is being run on regular city revenue,,, in- 0