HomeMy WebLinkAbout04-03-2006
MUNICIPAL SERVICES COMMITTEE
APRIL 3, 2006
Minutes
I. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Gene Cerino called the meeting to order at 5:00 PM in Conference Room
No.3, located on the second floor of Auburn City Hall, 25 W. Main Street,
Auburn. Council members present included: Vice Chair Bill Peloza and
Member Rich Wagner. Staff members present included: Mayor Pete Lewis,
Chief of Public Safety Jim Kelly, Deputy Police Chief Bob Lee, Deputy Fire Chief
Mike Gerber, Planning Director Paul Krauss, Finance Director Shelley Coleman,
Solid Waste Supervisor Sharon Hlavka, and City Attorney Dan Heid. Also
present was Jamelle Garcia, representative of Auburn Municipal Airport, and
Paullrby, representative of Hebert Research, Inc.
II. AGENDA MODIFICATIONS
The Committee agreed to alter the order of items under Information/Discussionto
allow for a later arrival by Paullrby.
III. CONSENT ITEMS
A. Approval of Minutes
1. The minutes from the March 20, 2006 Municipal Services Committee
meeting were reviewed.
Vice Chair Bill Peloza moved and Member Rich Wagner seconded to
approve the Consent Agenda.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0
IV. ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS
A. Ordinances
1. Ordinance NQ. 6016
An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Auburn,
Washington, amending Section 10.42.060 of the Auburn City Code
relating to fines for infractions committed in connection with the
City's automated traffic enforcement program.
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April 3, 2006
As explained by City Attorney Dan Heid, this Ordinance is intended
to provide a similar cost relationship to other parking tickets issued
by the City. Even though the violations issued under this program
are moving violations, they are legally considered more like a
parking ticket. It, therefore, makes sense that the program includes
provisions for late penalties and collection costs, in parity with the
way these matters are treated in other areas of the code.
Vice Chair Peloza moved and Member Wagner seconded to
forward Ordinance No. 6016 to full Council for approval.
MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 3-0
B. Resolutions
There were no Resolutions for Committee consideration.
v. INFORMATION/DISCUSSION ITEMS
A. Ordinance No. 6004
An Ordinance of the City Council of the City of Auburn, Washington,
amending Ordinance No. 5970, the 2006 Budget Ordinance, and
authorizing amendment to the City of Auburn 2006 Budget as set forth in
Schedule "A".
Finance Director Shelley Coleman advised the Committee that this
Ordinance is the first budget amendment for the 2006 budget. It consists
mostly of carry-forwards; grants; the addition of two (2) half-time Full-Time
Employees (FTE's) in the Parks Department due to a recent
reorganization; and $35,000.00 added to the Drug Forfeiture Fund for the
purchase, support, and installation of four (4) laptops in drug enforcement
police vehicles.
Director Coleman proceeded with a detailed explanation of the recent
Parks reorganization. One (1) FTE Parks Department position was moved
to Multimedia and one (1) FTE Parks Department position was moved to
Finance. To compensate for these moves, Mayor Lewis is recommending
the City add two (2) half-time FTE's, or the equivalent of one (1) FTE,
back to the Parks Department to help backfill the duties left by those
employees who have moved. Essentially, there is one (1) less Parks
Department employee. The overall FTE gain to the City, however, is one
(1 ).
On a side note, Chair Cerino commended Solid Waste Supervisor Sharon
Hlavka and her department on the spring clean-up efforts.
B. Airport Appraisals and Update
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Jamelle Garcia, Manager of the Auburn Municipal Airport, distributed, and
reviewed with the Committee, a new Land Leases Market Rate Analysis,
with changes highlighted, indicating original lease terms, land areas,
original square footage, current square footage, market rate per
appraisals, and 2006 monthly rates and rates per square foot.
As defined by Mr. Garcia, "absolute net" means "all expenses".
Page 27, Property Description, Last Sentence: Member Wagner noted
the discrepancy between what the lease states as land area and what the
drawings attached to the lease states. According to Director Coleman, the
land area indicated (26,765) was obtained from the most recent lease and
accounts for five feet (5') between the buildings and three feet (3') for
foundation. It is not the exact footprint of the building.
Page 29, Comments, First Sentence: Mr. Garcia will confirm there is a
signed Lease under the current terms.
Page 23, Correlation and Conclusion to Market Value, Last Sentence of
First Paragraph: At this time, there is no specific justification for the
"approximate 50% upland versus wetland ratio". Based on the
Committee's request, Mr. Garcia will send a written request for justification
of this ratio and report back to the Committee.
At this juncture, this information is being presented to the Committee as
"Information" only. It is not going to the full Council for approval. Member
Wagner will talk to Mayor Lewis about the possibility of having this
presented to the full Council for approval.
Mr. Garcia distributed, and reviewed with the Committee, an update to the
improvements and current status of projects indicating Auburn Municipal
Airport's mission, vision, accomplishments, on-going tasks, some projects
in progress, and working capital for the periods of December 13, 2004 and
December 13, 2005.
Mr. Garcia provided a detailed explanation of the capital budget and
answered questions from the Committee. He also addressed
maintenance and safety issues relating to the hangers and headers, and
bids in connection with repairs. Mr. Garcia and Director Coleman are in
the process of preparing a cost proposal for repairing the leaking hangers.
C. Citizen Survey Presentation
Paul Irby of Hebert Research, Inc. provided a detailed report, and
answered questions from the Committee, on the objectives, methodology,
respondent profile, survey questions, rate of response, findings, and
conclusions of the City of Auburn Summary Report Resident Survey dated
March, 2006. The purpose of the Survey, in part, was to examine the
attitudes and perceptions of the citizens regarding overall quality of life in
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Auburn, examine priorities of citizens, and determine how well the City is
doing in providing services and programs.
In summary, the overall quality of life in the City remains high, but appears
to have declined slightly since 2005. Quality of life driver variables
included the natural environment, recreational and cultural opportunities,
crime and safety, job and economic opportunities, traffic congestion,
roads, and public transit. Traffic and crime were among the most
important problems of the citizens, with traffic being the major concern.
A good trend to see, as identified by Mr. Irby, was that over eighty percent
(80%) of the respondents "agreed" or "strongly agreed" that Auburn is a
good place for families. This is a competitive advantage compared to
other cities. Overall satisfaction with City services was good, with over
ninety-six percent (96%) having a high to moderate level of satisfaction.
Areas of high importance, performing well, included parks and recreation,
major events, communication with the public, public access TV,
helpfulness/friendliness of City staff, and opportunities for involvement in
public decision-making. There were four (4) areas that were higher in
importance, yet lower in performance. They included code enforcement,
sidewalk and street landscaping, adequacy of street lighting, adequate
flood drains, and street maintenance. Mr. Irby suggested that the City
may want to devote more effort in these areas.
Taxes were an issue of moderate concern for the respondents. Mr. Irby
strongly recommended the City watch this over time. Roads were the first
priority of the respondents for spending extra dollars.
D. Possible Garbage Strike Contingency Plan
Solid Waste Supervisor Sharon Hlavka distributed a copy of Waste
Management's March 31, 2006 letter for the Committee's review. Waste
Management will be negotiating for two (2) more weeks. Two (2) dates
have been set and both sides are talking to arrive at a fair agreement.
They are in touch with Supervisor Hlavka on a daily basis. The City
intends to hold to its contract with Waste Management. Supervisor Hlavka
has asked Allied and Waste Connections if they would step in if needed.
Allied has not responded; Waste Connections said they could step in, but
not until there was a default of the contract.
E. Photo Enforcement Update
As reported by Chief of Public Safety Jim Kelly, photo enforcement is still
on the move. Signs will appear at all major arterial intersections. In
addition, there are other signs stating there is a $101.00 fine with more
detailed information.
During contract negotiations with Red Flex regarding motor vehicle
detection, the City agreed to use video as opposed to cutting loops in the
road. Red Flex has asked, and the City has consented, to use loop
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April 3, 2006
detection. It is more accurate and will pose fewer problems in the future.
This just for detecting the violation; video will still be available to view the
actual violator. Mayor Lewis wants to ensure that the cost neutrality is not
affected by the loop detection, Red Flex has to repair the infrastructure at
their cost, and they have to upgrade the City's loop system when they tie
into it, if it needs upgrading.
May 3, 2006 is the scheduled "active" date for the first two (2)
intersections. Warning notices will be issued for the first thirty (30) days.
By June 3, 2006 the system should be active for infractions. After a thirty
(30) day evaluation period, the City will be pushing Red Flex to get the
rest of the other eight (8) intersections active. Multimedia is planning a
public education campaign that will start in the very near future.
VI. ADJOURNMENT:
With no further public business the meeting adjourned at 7:08 pm.
Approved this / 711 day of April, 2006.
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~~ Tracy ~inton
Chair Fire Department Secretary
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