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1986 City Council RetreatEDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPRING RETREAT PORT LUDLOW RESORT MAY 2 & 37 1986 TABLE OF CONTENTS Retreat Participants ......................................... RetreatAgenda ............................................... Introduction.................................................1 SurveyResults...............................................2 BudgetPresentations.........................................6 Flower Program...............................................9 Comprehensive Plan..........................................10 Roads.......................................................10 Secondary Sewer Treatment...................................11 Policy on Solving Neighborhood Problems.....................13 Staffing....................................................15 "City of Edmonds Entities?".................................18 Medic7.....................................................20 Law Enforcement Policies....................................20 Concluding Remarks..........................................21 RETREAT PARTICIPANTS CITY COUNCIL: Laura Hall, Council President Steve Dwyer Jo -Anne Jaech William Kasper John Nordquist Lloyd Ostrom Jack Wilson Karen Feltes, Council Assistant MAYOR: Larry Naughten STAFF: Peter Hahn, Community Services Director Art Housler, Administrative Services Director Dan Prinz, Chief of Police Jack Weinz, Fire Chief SPRING RETREAT AGENDA EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL -STAFF RETREAT PORT LUDLOW FRIDAY MAY 2, 1986 MORNING SESSION 9:30 A.M.-12:30 P.M. INTRODUCTION I. SURVEY RESULTS II. BUDGET A. Projections B. Salaries C. Process/Scheduling 1. Council 2. Public Input AFTERNOON SESSION 1:45 P.M. - 5:15 P.M. I. FLOWER PROGRAM A. Cost B. Comprehensive Plan II. ROADS A. Resurfacing B. 6-Year Transportation Plan III. SECONDARY SEWER TREATMENT A. Treatment Plant Site B. Reserve Fund C. Rates IV. POLICY ON SOLVING NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEMS SPRING RETREAT AGENDA EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL -STAFF RETREAT PORT LUDLOW SATURDAY MAY 3, 1986 MORNING SESSION 8:30 A.M.-11:30 P.M. I. STAFFING A. Accountant NE-8 B. Landscape/Designer Position C. Property Manager D. Risk Manager E. Public Works Grouting F. Police Support G. Building/Planning - Code Enforcement II, "CITY OF EDMONDS ENTITIES?" A. Library District B. Medical/Health Officer C. Legal Staff III. MEDIC 7 IV. LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES COUNCIL/AFTERNOON SESSION 12:45 P.M. - 3:00 P.M. I. PRESIDENT'S REPORT/SCHEDULE NEXT RETREAT II. COUNCIL ASSISTANT'S CONTRACT III. REVIEW COMMITTEE SYSTEM IV. GOAL SETTING CITY OF EDMONDS COUNCIL/STAFF RETREAT May 2 and 3, 1986 INTRODUCTION ODenina Remarks by Council President Hall The first session of the Edmonds City Council/Staff Retreat convened at 10:00 a.m. Friday May 2 in the Anchor Room of the Port Ludlow Resort. Council President Hall welcomed all participants and noted that both Council and staff will be interacting all day Friday and Saturday morning. On Saturday afternoon the Council will have the opportunity to enjoy a creative planning session, a luxury they rarely enjoy due to the nature of their part-time positions. To set the tone for the weekend, Council President Hall asked all to view an 8 x 10 drawing which could be seen from two perspectives; one might see a beautiful woman's profile, and another might see a very old wrinkled lady --same picture, two totally different views. It typifies how the Council may see an issue one way while the staff views the same issue another way. How then do we have a meeting of the minds? The gap between the two perspectives has to be narrowed and hopefully the gap will be narrowed through our work at this Retreat. 1 SURVEY RESULTS Mayor's Citizen Survey Mayor Naughten explained the results were not complete yet, and he would present them in a public meeting in the future. The survey parameters were determined by Edmonds Community College. Two -thousand surveys were sent to six districts using random selection from the water bill listing. However, all water billings go to single family residents, causing all condominium and apartment residents to be bypassed. Council President Hall questioned how this would effect the validity of the survey results? Mayor Naughten said it's a mixed blessing because they will send out one -thousand identical surveys by random selection to condominiums and apartment houses, ending up with results from two surveys. The total time to obtain results once the survey is mailed should be 45 days. Councilman Nordquist questioned how many surveys were being conducted by the City. Mayor Naughten replied just two. The Parks and Recreations Director conducted a user survey on services to gather data for the Five Year Comprehensive Plan. Additionally a survey was conducted recently in the Westgate area. Councilman Nordquist inquired how Mayor Naughten was planning to use the Westgate survey results. Mayor Naughten is planning to contact Councilman Bruce Agnew about a joint study effort in the Westgate area. Also the street islands west of Westgate will be reviewed to ascertain if they should be taken out for progress or left in for beauty. Westgate Survey Traffic Community Services Director, Peter Hahn, said the survey focused on traffic issues: 1. Traffic islands a. Function b. Will changing the islands appearance change the function? c. Turning movements in the business area 2. 220th and 9th Avenue Intersection 3. The Impact of 400 units at Firdale Village 4. Light at Woodway Land Use Land use was another major concern identified by the survey. Because the comprehensive plan and zoning are two different things it is necessary for proper map and zoning designation for peculiar areas such as the strip between McDonald's and the Veterinary Hospital. Councilman Nordquist reiterated that when the City conducts a survey follow through on the information gleaned is necessary. Councilwoman Jaech liked the idea of merchants and citizens planting more areas but voiced concern for the lack of maintenance in these areas. Signs and Zonin Mayor Naughten said 81% of the residents responded positively to the current signage. Adding the business community seemed more concern with sign change. Councilman Ostrom stated a BN Zone is a business zone to serve the neighborhood. Therefore large signs are not needed to attract more customers from other areas. The situation is getting out of control and if the zoning is not enforced it will begin to look like Lynnwood. Council President Hall cautioned about getting too involved with the County, stating she wanted Edmonds on the map first and then the City will ask the County how they see themselves cooperating? Jack Wilson agreed with the caution. Police Chief Prinz said one thing that has become an issue by the Greenery is the fact that if we continue to dominate that zoning area then the residents are going to feel very badly as development begins to take place and they will see the City of Edmonds as the bad guy. Council President Hall said citizens want the best of two worlds and the City of Edmonds gets caught in the middle. Councilman Wilson said his job is to do the best thing for the citizens of Edmonds, therefore the County residents have no voice in the planning stages. Councilman Kasper cited 5-Corners as a true neighborhood business - community. Community Services Director, Peter Hahn, said definition of a neighborhood business depends on the density levels in cities. Asking what is more neighborhood oriented than a food store? Councilman Wilson defined the real issues as far as zoning at Westgate as 1. Protection of residential neighborhoods that 3 1. Protection of residential neighborhoods that are effected by arterials. 2. Protection of the entrance to City, aesthetically and otherwise. Councilman Ostrom said supermarkets don't belong in BN zones. Downtown businesses have been hurt because BN zones are not being limited to mom and pop stores. Councilman Dwyer agreed, adding that Olson's and Albertson's analyzed the market place and found that location as the most advantageous because the majority of Edmond's residents don't live in the downtown area. They have an accessible location and are willing to work 24 hours a day and these don't have anything to do with land use. Councilman Kasper doesn't want any access traffic west of the car wash -- it is creating a suicide traffic situation. Council President Hall said when traveling north on 9th she can see how the businesses are creeping down to the City, nearly to 220th. Councilman Ostrom said if we're going to work with the County on planning phases from Westgate to Highway 99, the traffic patterns need to be made safer. Traffic is ridiculous because of all the left turn allowances. Right turns only should be required near most of those places like the bowling alley and Albertson's. Peter Hahn said this is a good point because there is going to be conflict on the traffic islands. Businesses are going to want traffic islands removed but it will cause real problems as Councilman Ostrom described above. Councilwoman Jaech noted there are many aesthetic communities that have a lot of traffic islands and lots of high volume businesses -- where everyone knows you go to a designated island to make a U- turn. The islands are covered with shrubs --they are lovely while controlling traffic flows. If you eliminate all traffic islands you're going to end up with all asphalt. Council President Hall suggested keeping traffic islands but shortening them on the ends so businesses will be content. Councilman Nordquist asked if there is a current comprehensive plan for the area from Westgate to Highway 99. The County and the City of Edmonds both have ancient comprehensive plans for this area. The impact upon the Westgate area can be controlled by what is developed along those streets. Mayor Naughten said that you can control it by what your policies are. You can say we are not going to take out those islands, we think they are attractive and they enhance the area, so you put pressure on expansion and it will go some place else. If you want these things a firm statement must be made in the direction of keeping the traffic islands for control and aesthetics. 4 Councilman Ostrom asked how can the City handle the traffic and work with the County for a sensible flow pattern? Council President Hall said that Mayor Naughten needs to tackle this traffic and planning issue with the County by setting some parameters and getting a jump on it. Councilman Wilson said I think if we're going to get actively involved in the Comprehensive Plan east of Westgate we should also get actively involved with an annexation program for that section of the County. If we are going to get involved we should develop an annexation plan to establish a permanent change --they've been saying it's going to come in for 25 years and they could still be saying it 25 years from now. Community Services Director Peter Hahn stated that the City is not allowed to take an aggressive posture in the annexation. Mayor Naughten encouraged community input. Councilman Kasper noted road access is critical if high density multiple zoning develops along the Highway to Westgate. Councilman Wilson said this area could be a substantial tax plus, not a burden to the City. Councilman Nordquist noted that in the past the Administration wanted to annex only in large chunks --recent Council sentiment has been to take small pieces. Council President Hall asked the group if there was a consensus on large chunks or small pieces. It was agreed that annexing in small chunks seemed to be working. Councilman Dwyer reiterated that it is necessary for the City of Edmonds to keep tabs on zoning out there. We must think of Edmond's people first --even if it's not what the County people want. Lets not divorce ourselves from County planning, but make the City of Edmonds the first concern. Councilwoman Jaech said apartment buildings put a lot of stress on water/sewer treatment plants. Can we service that? We have to look at it from a utility standpoint as well. Councilman Dwyer asked if these problems should be reviewed at a hearing? We're in a gentlemen's agreement that the County will go by what we say, but there's no concrete gain. The County could make it all industrial after we said its all single family zone. 5 BUDGET PRESENTATIONS Projections Administrative Services Director, Art Housler, gave a presentation on budget projection through 1988. Beginning in approximately 1981 the expenditures began to exceed the revenues. Toward the end of 1984 these two lines halted their ascent and started to flatten. The disparity between the revenues and the expenditures were met through passing the 1/2t sales tax in July of 1983 and the equalization tax. The problem the City faces is that for 1987 revenue will decrease. We have additional costs in goods and services, CPI, salary increases, union contracts and all these types of things that require us to generate some additional revenue or cut services. He also pointed out the impact of Gramm-Rudman on the City's budget. Council President Hall reminded the participants that the presentation served as a way to review where the City is and to help prepare for the upcoming budget meetings. She reminded the group that these are projections and let's not hold Art to these figures; he doesn't have a crystal ball. Salaries The Administrative Services Director handed out a sheet on current salary schedules with comparisons of previous years salaries. Additional data was also provided on the amount of money spent on salaries from the General Fund and the Street/Water/Sewer Fund. He noted that salary increases have not effected the budget in an adverse manner and that salaries have not increased inordinately over the years. Councilwoman Jaech said it might be helpful to give a clearer picture, to place a column that has the benefits included with the wages in those overall percentages so we can compare percentages. Councilman Ostrom wants to track what is happening with salaries versus everything else. The CPI is an academic thing as far as looking at City Budget. It only enters in when you are in labor negotiations. Councilman Wilson said the step increases don't seem to be in the schedule at all. Art Housler pointed out they are included on page one. 0 Budget _Process/Scheduling Council President Hall suggested moving the preliminary budget presentation to the Council from November 1 to October 15. There are two holidays in November and one in December making it difficult to schedule weekend work sessions. Councilman Wilson stated last year the Mayor came to the Council with his budget and we didn't like it. We then gave him some basic philosophies, analyzed it in more detail, and sent it back to be reworked. Maybe the Mayor might like to have the Council's philosophy on the budget earlier in the year. This might help avoid major revisions being made to the budget so close to the deadline approval. Mayor Naughten said he certainly encourages Council input into his budget. He thinks the Council wants details, if so we should go back to the old format where the Council meets with each department head to review line items. Councilman Kasper agreed. Councilman Nordquist said at last year's Retreat he argued for getting away from nitpicking the budget. And so some broad guidelines were set. Then we found we had to get back down to line item review. Councilman Ostrom said for the budget process to work the Council needs to review it by line item. Council President Hall would like to set up meetings with each department for budget review. Mayor Naughten agreed to send out the preliminary budget by October 15, 1986. Councilman Dwyer suggested having a Public Budget Hearing during the summer for citizens to review the budget and give input before it goes into the work system. Councilman Wilson agreed and added it is important for the Council to give the Mayor and Administrative Services Director major philosophical parameters early to structure the budget. BUDGET PROCESS SCHEDULE FOR 1986 July 29 - PUBLIC BUDGET HEARING August 12 - BUDGET WORK SESSION October 15 - PRELIMINARY BUDGET GIVEN TO COUNCIL October 16 - THURSDAY EVENING WORK SESSION 7 Council President Hall said the budget process schedule had been a major target of the Retreat. Data Processinq Department Councilman Ostrom told a story about a computer programmer/department head who was fired and ended up walking out of the company with all the program tapes. The company had to pay the programmer the worth of his programming and design time in order to recover the businesses tapes. The story illustrated the need for: 1. Checks and balances in the data processing department. 2. Back-up tapes outside of the control of the department head. The Administrative Services Director outlined the following security procedures: 1. Back-up tapes are kept in the City Clerk's office in the vault. 2. Outside consultants also have back-up tapes at their place of business. 3. The City has a separate computer operator in addition to the department head. 4. Western Consultants are familiar with the City's system and could perform the operation and maintenance functions if necessary. Councilman Ostrom reiterated a need for separation of authority to insure checks and balances. Council President Hall agreed, especially since both positions are in the union. Art Housler, Administrative Services Director said an audit has been ordered for the Data Processing Department. He will give a report to the Council 30 days after the audit is completed. r� AFTERNOON SESSION EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL -STAFF RETREAT FRIDAY MAY 2, 1986 FLOWER PROGRAM Costs Community Services Director, Peter Hahn, circulated a photo album displaying the current projects maintained in the Flower Program. Currently there has been no complete tracking of the Flower Program costs. However, it is safe to estimate an annual cost of $56,000- $57,000. This figure is conservative because there are two full time NE-8 employees with individual salaries, including benefits, of $25,000 per year. Options offered for cutting costs of the program included: 1. Lower labor costs 2. Cut back on one season of the year 3. Plant lower maintainence shrubs 4. Cut back in non -visible areas such as the Civic Center 5. Utilize volunteers from flower clubs for the design and layout of flower beds 6. Use high volume seeds such as nasturtiums rather than propagating each flower in the greenhouse 7. Do cost comparisons on buying flowers in bulk from a nursery versus City employees propagating them Mayor Naughten suggested putting a lid on the Flower Program of $40,000. The Community Services Director pointed out that everything is bought for the Flower Program this year, so the lid will have to be projected for next year. Councilwoman Jaech said the traffic islands near Harbor Square need flowers or shrubs. Mayor Naughten said those islands can't be serviced because of the speed of traffic there. Councilwoman Jaech noted traffic is a problem only when the ferry is in service, and suggested the islands be serviced between ferry arrivals. She requested the Community Services Director to assess the feasibility of servicing those islands. 9 Council President Hall said taking the Flower budget from $57,000 to a restricted budget of $40,000 may be too extreme. She asked the Community Services Director to give the Council a better cost estimate of the Flower Program so they could assess it more realistically. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN City Wide Garbage Day Mayor Naughten said the program gets abused because there are no limitations on what the City will collect. He wants the program to specify only major items will be picked up such as: 1. Mattresses 2. Water Tanks 3. Old sofas 4. Refrigerators 5. Limited number of garbage bags The consensus was to severely cut the Fall program and limit the collection to things that might end up in vacant lots or that are too big for normal garbage collection. NI&VI . Community Services Director, Peter Hahn, distributed reference packets to each participant. A major goal of the department is to coordinate all projects, so if a street needs major work and a water project is targeted for several months later in the same area, the two can be planned at the same time. Economically this is more sensible than tearing the street up again several months or even a year later. Street Pavinq and Reconstruction A maintainence cost curve was presented by Peter Hahn. Maintainence costs on new roads are low in the beginning and increase as the years of use progress. A point is reached where maintainence costs are.so high it is better to replace the road surface. Currently the City has no assessment process for replacing roads. Methods used in resurfacing are: Seal Coat- This process has a 2-6 year life expectancy. The process works well for residential streets but is not recommended for high volume traffic areas. The process costs approximately $1.00 per square yard and is the cheapest of all the processes. 10 Overla - This process covers existing service with a one to one and�a alf inch asphalt coat. Life expectancy is 10-15 years with a cost of approximately $4.00 per square yard. The process requires little preparation of existing service and no major planning time. Major Reconstruction- This involves major preparation such as planing the existing road surface. This process is the most expensive. For economical control of road maintainence the City must have a program that validly assesses the condition of the current roads. A Pavement Management Program would include: 1. Traffic counts 2. Identification of frequently traveled routes Because of limited historical data it is difficult to establish a current comprehensive plan. The current Street Budget for asphalt is $34,000. The question was raised whether or not to widen 220th because it is an entrance to the freeway. Council President Hall wanted to know if the widening of 220th would cause it to be rezoned. She requested Chris Beckman and his crew take traffic counts and start assessing this area. SECONDARY SEWER TREATMENT Peter Hahn gave a presentation on the current project stating this is a federally mandated project which will cost approximately 3.9 million dollars. Schedule- The current schedule is determined by the State's schedule which is targeted to begin by January 1, 1987. Because of this date the preliminary site work should begin now. Site- The flat portion of land near the lagoon at the existing Union Oil site has received good reception as a possible location. The goal now is to finalize the site and get approval to hire consultants because on July 1 the State will make 50% money available for design. This means a consultant must be selected by the middle of June. 11 If the Union Oil site were used only the 3rd and 4th clarifiers could be salvaged. The costs then would include building additional clarifiers and running additional pipe lines. Other areas of concern regarding the Union Oil site are: 1. The relationship with the Union Oil Company 2. Is the land in Union Oil's long term plans (Peter Hahn has received a letter stating Union Oil will not give up the land) 3. Do these factors place Edmonds in a precarious situation? Another possibility would be condemnation of land. This would involve heavy lawyer costs and possibly create a negative relationship with Union Oil. The Council requested that the Mayor's office perform the following: 1. Send out a survey in the water/sewer billings over the next two month period regarding the water/sewage treatment plant. 2. Place educational stuffers in the water bills prior to survey distribution. 3. Supply cost estimates of survey and educational stuffers to Council as quickly as possible. 4. Survey Content to contain: a. Three scenarios outlined in OTT Water memo b. Cost of alternate site location Councilman Kasper said he wants consultants who work exclusively as the City's engineers and who would act as bid/contract supervisors. Additionally he wants the same consultants to be kept on contract from the design phase to the completion of the project. The possibility of privatization was discussed. Peter Hahn discussed the potential savings and risks involved in privatization. He asked the Council if they liked the idea of saving 20% on the project which is approximately $150,000 and if they could find the idea of privatization an acceptable risk. When leasing the plant to an entity outside the City there is a possibility the outfit may become insolvent. Peter Hahn agreed to present the Council with more information on privatization from Lynnwood. Reserve Fund The question was raised whether the City is factoring in enough increase in rates to project for needed maintainence to existing water systems. 12 POLICY ON SOLVING NEIGHBORHOOD PROBLEMS Councilman Ostrom gave a brief presentation on the problems that arise in dealing with neighborhood conflicts. He gave two major areas for the group to consider when approaching such problems: 1. What should our attitude be towards resolving problems? 2. What should staff do to help solve these problems? Mayor Naughten said health or safety issues have to be dealt with differently than inconvenience issues. When you look at solving neighborhood problems you have two extreme factions to deal with and we usually vote on a compromise. Council President Hall said often times it's not even a full neighborhood problem --often it's one person fueling the problem. Because of this we have to rely on staff to bring the Council a proper assessment of the situation. Councilman Dwyer said the Statements of Purpose he used seemed effective when dealing with Ocean Avenue. Sometimes a reasonable compromise is unacceptable to the majority of citizenry, so we do have to implement a policy statement for handling situations. Councilman Wilson said there is opportunity for the administration to take a firm stand early in neighborhood problems to get the situation under control, but the administration should only bring the problem before the Council when all alternatives have been exhausted. Councilman Kasper said problems get blown up and then the Council is presented with alternatives with which they don't feel comfortable . A vote is agreed upon just to get rid of the problem, but not to solve it fully. Councilman Ostrom said resolutions are needed to get serious about solving things quicker. The staff should give alternatives within the first week. Councilman Dwyer sees Council's role as more mediation rather than legislation. Mayor Naughten said the Council is responsive to citizenry and hates to say no --making it hard to get to the real problem. There is a need to identify the real problem and then the solution will follow. Councilman Dwyer pointed out the open meeting format make it impossible for good mediation from the Council therefore it's best to have mediation begin at the staff level. Council President Hall said part of the mediation could come from the full time Mayor. He gets many of the calls from citizens. 13 Councilman Dwyer said that's part, but there is an extra responsibility for staff to think in terms of mediation before it gets to the Council. It's an attitudinal approach that should be encouraged. Peter Hahn stated a lot of time and tremendous labor hours are spent trying to resolve peoples problems. It's very hard to balance overall public interest to individual concern. Long mediation processes take time away from myself and staff meaning we have less time to spend on other elements such as pavement conditions, traffic, etc. Mayor Naughten said if people call the Council President to have a problem solved then she should direct it to the Mayor's office for resolutions. Councilman Kasper agreed that citizen's complaints should be passed on to the Mayor to delegate to staff. 14 MORNING SESSION EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL -STAFF RETREAT SATURDAY MAY 3, 1986 Introduction Council President Hall asked the group participants to count off in groups of three. Each group worked in a team effort to form geometric shaped pieces of paper in to a square. gTAFFTNA Accountant NE-8 Art Housler explained the position had been eliminated in 1984 and replaced with an NE-6 Accounting Clerk. After 18 months of operating under this structure it has proven not to work. His proposal is to upgrade the NE-6 position to an NE-8 Accountant. This way there is no increase in manpower as far as headcount. Council reached a consensus and agreed to have Art's request placed on the May 13th consent agenda. Landscape/Designer Position Peter Hahn gave an overview of the position and the current projects and duties performed. The Council needs to look at the position because the Contract expires June 30. Peter reminded the Council the Contract does not guarantee a level,of work --there is no real commitment for specific hours. Work is assigned only as needed. Currently the position does design services for any department that needs the expertise. Broad parameters of the job include: 1. Design 2. Project Management 3. Negotiation 4. Interfacing with other cities He also referred the participants to the handout for specific project listings. There is always something that comes up where a designer's 15 obtained by having a permanent position of this sort in the City because an employee would be familiar with the City's internal structure as compared to just continually contracting out this work to various companies. Councilman Nordquist said the job seems to fit more appropriately under the Engineering Department rather than Parks and Recreation. Peter Hahn said the position can be assigned to Engineering or Planning and can be worked the way Councilman Nordquist requested. Adding this position needs to spend a good amount of time in the City offices because of resources such as maps, records, etc. Councilman Ostrom said he does not see a need for this position and believes it is a perfect example of inventing a job. Peter Hahn replied we're the only City of this size that does not have a permanent position of this type. Council President asked for a consensus to renew the contract if it is placed under the Community Services Department. Consensus was reached with Lloyd Ostrom and Jo -Anne Jaech voting no. Councilwoman Jaech requested the position be bid to other firms such as Bruce Dees and Associates. Property Manager Mayor Naughten gave a brief history of the previous Property Manager's position. An analysis of the job duties showed only 30% was related to property management creating a lack of justification for the position. Council President Hall refuted the Mayor's reasoning and stated the strategy was a play to get rid of the incumbent and not the position. Art Housler, Steve Simpson, and Peter Hahn have had to assimilate many of the Property Manager's duties. Mayor Naughten noted there are not sufficient funds in the budget to have a position of this kind. Councilman Wilson suggested seeking out a newly retired person with this kind of background and offering a salary of $1,000 a month. This might really give the City a good turn for its money. Councilman Kasper stated there seems to be a need for the position but funds are lacking at this time. Maybe it's possible to start the position out by contract as a staff position at Community Services and eventually make it permanent. Councilwoman Jaech said there are hundred's of firms that do maintainence, bookkeeping --let's see how it works. 16 Administrative Services Director, Art Housler, said he doesn't see a problem with property management in the City and asked the Council what they perceived as problems? Peter Hahn said the Building and Grounds Supervisor evaluates problems such as gym floor, walls, roof, etc.. It was agreed to bring this item to the May 13 regular agenda for discussion and to delay the Chamber meeting. Additionally it was agreed to change the Bed and Breakfast Ordinance from a regular agenda item to consent. Risk Manac}er Council President Hall gave a brief presentation on her report from the AWC seminar on risk management and insurance. She recommended Art Housler attend an upcoming seminar on the subject. The risks in cities are becoming monumental. So much so, even the State is trying to create an insurance pool. It could mean we don't put on the Taste of Edmonds or have swing sets in the parks because of the possible liability to the City. This discussion is being generated to make the Council aware of the serious ramifications of this issue and a need to respond intelligently to the situation. Discussion then revolved around the support materials distributed on the subject. It was agreed to bring the item to the May 13 Council meeting as a regular item for discussion. Public Works Grouti Peter Hahn gave a brief history on the subject. A few years ago the City purchased a joint equipment package consisting of: 1. A t.v. camera inserted into pipes to detect cracks and weak spots 2. A jet spray to clean the damaged area 3. A grouting attachment to repair the damage Shortly after purchasing the equipment a grouting worker in a nearby city was killed by the apparatus because a manhole cover blew off under the grouter's pressure. This has made many leary to use the apparatus. He wants the program placed under a demonstration project to assess its effectiveness and safety parameters. Currently the grouter is out of order. Additionally there is no staff member who knows the proper operation of the system. Peter Hahn said he wants to be convinced the process works. He has a training and staff program scheduled to evaluate the process over the next eight month period. At the programs completion he will make a recommendation to the Council. Police Support Chief Police Prinz said the staffing needs for the future are not quite clear at the present. A major concern now is the space requirement 17 for the Police Building. The lobby is not utilized while officers are crammed in small offices in the back of the building. He would like to open the lobby area to gain more space for his staff. Building/Planning - Code Enforcement Peter Hahn stated the present staff is not able to meet the increased intensity in requests for code enforcement. This is draining off time from regular project assignments. Productivity is lowered because of time required for enforcement. This position would be useful in improving the level of service to the Council and citizens. Mayor Naughten said he agrees with the position need. Councilwoman Jaech requested a job requisition and list of the position's duties be placed on the May 13 regular agenda. "CITY OF EDMONDS ENTITIES?" Library District Councilman Kasper presented background information on the Library District. He asked the Council where the revenue is coming from to support the Library? The Library was built on a bond issue with an increase of 3 and 3/4 utility tax. The revenue generated in the utility taxes is gone and the Library is costing nearly a $1,000 a day to maintain--$365,000 annually. He suggested going to a public meeting with the Library Board and Sno-Isle Board and ask to be annexed to the District. By annexing the District would charge us exactly what we would get in taxes. This would free up $306,000 that currently comes from the General Fund, generating an almost 50% savings for the City. There is a special election June 20 in Mountlake Terrace. We need to decide what we want before going to the Library Board. Councilman Nordquist distributed a memo pertaining to the Library District. He said Mae Schoenrock would be willing to give a presentation to the Council regarding annexing to the District. It was agreed to invite Mae Schoenrock and the Library Board to a Council meeting for further discussion of the subject. Additionally, the suggestion was made to discuss this at a work meeting in June. Medical/Health Officer Councilman Nordquist distributed informational materials. He stated his purpose for placing this item on the agenda was to familiarize the Council with the current situation and to give them more background. The Council has a lack of indepth understanding because only two representatives attend the Health District meetings. This was an opportunity to detail the services provided by the Health District and La review the financial commitment placed on Edmonds. Current services include: -Restuarant Program -Communicable Diseases -Doctors' Offices -Visiting Home Program -33 Cars in District Fleet -Other services He pointed out the per capita fee charged by the Health District increased significantly from 1985 to 1986. Demands in the future are going to be even greater on the City because Dr. Hyatt has been such a conservative budgeter. What will happen now that she is retiring? A good planning strategy would be to look at what services are offered now and what other options are available to us. Mayor Naughten said because of the tight budget restraints we are operating under it is important to assess at what level we can stay in the District program and at what level it would be best to go it alone. Councilman Nordquist noted the County has shifted the monetary responsibility back to cities because it has budget cutbacks as well. The question was also raised by Councilman Kasper whether the District should be run by a Doctor or Administrator, or both? Legal Staff Council President Hall pointed out the enormous monthly fees charged by the City Attorney's office. She said the retainer should include perfunctory questions and codification. At $17,000 to $20,000 a month the City needs to assess if it needs an in-house attorney and paralegal staff. Chief Prinz said his department uses the attorney's office regularly because of the complexity of situations. However, he criticized the amount of material generated from the City Attorney's office for simple questions. It was noted that the City was paying attorney fees comparable to the City of Seattle. Better service might be obtained if Edmonds had an in-house attorney and hired a firm for litigation. Mayor Naughten pointed out that the City was now supporting two court systems creating a rise in costs. Council President Hall noted that legal costs had tripled even before the municipal court was instituted. She suggested the City put the service out for bid. Councilman Dwyer said it is getting to the point where an in-house legal system is needed because of the complexities of running a city. 19 Councilman Kasper said the Mayor needs to look at the benefits and costs of the current service. Council President Hall informed the group that citizens had been given the attorney's phone number. Also, the City has been a training ground for new attorneys. Summing up it was agreed the Mayor's Office would conduct a cost comparisons survey in the following manner: Send a letter of inquiry to 25 cities of comparable sizes to determine the following: 1. What mode of legal support they currently use a. In-house b. Contract service c. Other, such as a combination 2. Budget expenditures of cities: a. Costs b. Services provided MEDIC 7 A brief discussion was held on Medic 7 services. It was agreed to set an executive session to discuss labor concerns. LAW ENFORCEMENT POLICIES Chief Prinz gave a detailed presentation on Tolerance Policies within the City. There are several methods used to enforce traffic laws and reduce the rate of accidents: 1. Try to get compliance through a. Social Pressure b. Safety factors 2. Traffic Laws enforced through a. Detection b. Judication Tolerance is defined as an unwritten non -legal guide used in all police departments. Tolerance will be dependent upon the individual officer. What kind of training he/she has had and where traffice enforcement fits in the priorities of a department. Priorities are determined by revnue factors and the Chief's protocol. Officers have to determine what the parameters are of giving a ticket. Factors that will effect an officer's judgement about giving tickets are': 20 -Is the situation a possible hazard; such as speeding in a school zone -Did the officer have clear view and an accurate assessment of the violation; such as did the car come to a complete stop at a stop sign or did it roll in and then slowly proceed again -Or where does the law define the violation such as running yellow lights. Does an officer write the ticket when a driver passes in the beginning, middle, or end of a yellow light? It was pointed out that with so much of the traffic law there is a margin open where human judgement must be made. Therefore each violation situation could vary according to the individual officer's interpretation. Another factor is judication. Often times it demotivates officers to enforce traffic laws because the violations are often dismissed in the court. CONCLUDING REMARKS Council President Hall recapped briefly the highlights of the two-day Retreat, noting the budget schedule had been a major target of the Retreat. She expressed thanks and appreciation to everyone for their input and cooperation. The Council and staff likewise thanked her for the well planned agenda and the ability to keep the group focused on the work at hand. Everyone agreed the informal setting had broken down walls and accomplished a great deal. 21