HomeMy WebLinkAbout08-20-2001PRESENT: Mayor Booth, Councilmembers Poe, Wagner, and Borden. City of Auburn
Staff: Jim Kelly-Police; Bob Johnson-Fire; Shelly Coleman, Julie Salzman-Finance;
Christine Engler-PW; Sharon Conroy-SW. Citizen Trina Peters
Minutes of the meeting were tape-recorded and are available for review for one (1) year
from the date of the meeting. P/ease submit items for the agenda no later than 5 p.m.
the Wednesday prior to a meeting so packets can be assembled and distributed
Thursday afternoon.
Call to Order: Chair Fred Poe called the meeting to order at 5:00 pm.
Ap.oroval of Minutes: The minutes of the previous meeting were approved as written.
Consent Agenda:
Sur_olus Pro_oerty: Jim Kelly asked for approval to surplus an Ultra Tec TDD and a
Radar Display Board. Moved to pass, seconded and approved.
Information/Discussion
Proposed Sprinkler Language: Chief Johnson explained that Fire Marshal Smith was
attempting to get a hold of several of the sprinkler contractors to look at the bids that
were submitted so that he could get a better idea of the fire flow and the types of
sprinkler heads. Several options have been examined: 1) Changing the ordinance, 2)
Examining the bids themselves and 3) Examining the code to see what type of authority
the fire chief has. Basically the code would have to be changed. The fire flow issue is
what needs to be further examined. That's predicated on the design of the system and
type of heads that are used that determines the flow. The Fire Marshal is attempting to
obtain more information so he has a place to start. Discussion continued.
A letter from Perry and Trina Peters was submitted regarding changes in the current
ordinance concerning fire sprinklers.
It was the consensus of the Committee to continue working on this.
Solid Waste Rate Models: Sharon Conroy passed out the "Solid Waste Rate Models"
and the "Summary of Rate Models", which were asked for at an earlier meeting. She
explained that she has worked with the consultant and with Julie Salzman and Ms.
Conroy asked her to explain the rate models. Julie Salzman explained the Admin Costs
Comparison for 2001 and 2002, the Residential, Commerical and Rolloff Data.
Julie Salzman continued by going through the Rate Models explaining each one in
detail, which prompted Committee questions and discussion, i.e. Model A) Estimated
Revenue and Costs for 2001 and Estimated Fund Balance for 2001, Model B) Class
Subsidization using Fund Balance and Class Subsidization using Fund Balance, Model
Municipal Services Meeting ] August 20, 2001
C) Class Subsidization using Rate Adjustment, Model D) Class Equity using Fund
Balance and Model E) Class Equity using Rate Adjustment.
Council member Borden stated that she preferred to go with Model C, get some
experience for a couple years with the new system, track some costs, and then look at
adjustments later, if necessary. The Committee as a whole agreed that the best choice
would be Model B or Model C.
Christine Engler brought up an issue regarding carts versus cans. She stated the City
needs to set a rate for the 35 gallon cart since the 32 gallon can is the current standard.
The Committee has suggested making sure that customers obtained the 10 and 20
gallon cans for free and that a policy, needs to be worked up and addressed.
Shelly Coleman asked the Committee if she understood correctly that they did not want
Finance to utilize any of the "Fund Balance" for the year 2002 until some experience is
gained and an increase has been allocated on single family, commercial and rolloff and
was wondering if the Committee members were comfortable with the percentages that
Finance has utilized or should those percentages be re-allocated in another fashion.
Council member Wagner preferred them the way they are but Ms. Borden felt that more
of a break should be given to the 10 and 20-gallon can user. Chair Poe suggested
taking a look at it and if there are any suggestions for adjustments between now and the
next meeting that they be brought back for discussion.
Chair Poe stated that he had a call from Mr. West regarding his concerns about the
commercial rates. He asked to be in attendance at a meeting and Mr. Poe suggested
that perhaps he could attend the next meeting and state his concerns.
Discussion Items Not on the Agenda:
Letter from Bob CottrelllNoise Ordinance: Chair Poe stated that he had received a
letter from Bob Cottrell, which would be given to Chief Kelly. Mr. Cottrell also enclosed
a copy of the Tacoma Noise Ordinance and Mr. Poe asked Chief Kelly to review it and
consult with Legal. Discussion followed. Chief Kelly stated that he has talked with the
Legal Dept. They are working on it, and the Municipal League is being contacted to find
an ordinance that has been upheld.
Wildland Fire Mutual Aid: Council member Wagner asked Chief Johnson if there was
a specific policy in place regarding wildland fire mutual aid. Chief Johnson explained
that the current situation was not exactly mutual aid; that it was the State Fire
Mobilization Act. The procedure is, that by fire zone, and Auburn is in Zone 3, will call
up different types of resources know as "Strike Teams". In most cases there will be a
combination of aid cars, engines and ladders. The jurisdiction, in this case Auburn, gets
compensated for the equipment, for the hourly wages of the firefighters and the backfill
for overtime personnel replacements.
New Hires: Chief Johnson advised the Committee that the Fire Department is looking
to hire three additional firefighters because of the Lea Hill Annexation and current work
load. In less then 90 days it's going to become Auburn's responsibility. The amount of
Municipal Services Meeting 2 August 20, 2001
money Auburn is currently paying the fire district to provide fire protection will come
back to the City. After hiring three firefighters and paying for their equipment there will
still be a surplus of $14,000 the first year and every year thereafter, there will be a
$44,000 surplus.
Adjournment: Chair Fred Poe adjourned the meeting at 6:28 pm.
Next regular scheduled meeting due to the Labor Day Holiday is Tuesday, September 4,
2001 at 5:00 PM in Meeting Room 3.
Submitted by:
Jeanne Herold
Admin. Secretary
Auburn Fire Department
Municipal Services Meeting 3 August 20, 2001