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HomeMy WebLinkAbout06-29-2009 A TY OF, * CITY COUNCIL COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE WASHINGTON June 29, 2009 5:00 PM Council Chambers COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE Councilmember Rich Wagner presided over the meeting and called the meeting to order at 5:03 p.m. Councilmembers present included: Rich Wagner, Gene Cerino, Bill Peloza, Lynn Norman and Virginia Haugen. Mayor Pro Tern Sue Singer and Councilmember Nancy Backus were excused. Mayor Peter B. Lewis was also in attendance. Staff members in attendance included: Planning, Building and Community Director Cindy Baker; Human Resources/Risk and Property Management Director Brenda Heineman; Public Works Director Dennis Dowdy; M & O Manager Randy Bailey; Emergency Preparedness Manager Sarah Miller; Network Engineer Brian Garbarino; Chief of Police Jim Kelly; Economic Development Manager Dave Baron; City Engineer Dennis Selle; Assistant City Engineer Ingrid Gaub; Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Daryl Faber; City Attorney Daniel B. Heid; Street Systems Engineer Seth Wickstrom; Planner Jennifer Shih; Environmental Protection Manager Kelly McClain-Aardal; Utilities Engineer Dan Repp; and City Clerk Danielle Daskam. 1. Street & Road Maintenance Presentation - Miles Sand & Gravel Regarding Sustainable Concrete Pavements Mr. Jerry Trudeau of Miles Sand & Gravel introduced Bob Thompson, Sales Manager for Miles Sand & Gravel, Cory Cannon and Drew Jared, Regional Sales Managers for cement suppliers, Dave Lewis of Miles Sand & Gravel, Andy Marks, PE, Managing Director of the Puget Sound Concrete Specifications Council; and James Powell, PE, who serves as the Executive Director of the American Concrete Pavement Association Northwest Chapter. Mr. Powell presented a PowerPoint presentation on the sustainability of concrete pavements to minimize the environmental impact in fuel savings, Page I City of Auburn Committee of the Whole June 29, 2009 reduction in urban air temperature, savings in raw materials, and improved water quality. Mr. Powell referred to a study by the Canadian government that found that heavy trucks save anywhere from 0.8% to 6.9% less fuel on concrete pavements versus flexible or asphalt pavements. Mr. Powell also referred to studies that show that cities are as much as four degrees warmer than the surrounding countryside. Cities are hotter due to darker roofs and pavements. Mr. Powell stated that concrete pavements can help mitigate the urban heat island effect. Mr. Powell stated a nine inch concrete pavement for an urban arterial will use 4,277 tons of aggregate per mile of pavement; a comparably designed asphalt pavement would require 6,111 tons of aggregate. Concrete pavement minimizes long term costs. Asphalt pavement requires overlays every fifteen years or less while concrete requires little or no maintenance for fifteen years or longer. Mr. Powell displayed examples of concrete pavements, including white topping, intersections, roundabouts, and diamond grinding. Mr. Powell stated that with today's technology, concrete pavements can be installed today and be driven on the next day. Mr. Marks spoke regarding pervious concrete surfaces and displayed several examples of use for slow speed traffic. Pervious concrete surfaces are a stormwater management tool that can be driven on and parked on. Pervious concrete's primary use is low speed areas such as residential streets, parking lots, and sidewalks. Mr. Marks stated there are national specifications for construction, national certification program for contracts, and Mr. Marks is working with the State Department of Transportation to develop a Washington State Department of Transportation specification for pervious pavement which is expected to be published within the week. II. Auburn Environmental Park and Green Zone Grant and College Cooperation Update Councilmember Wagner provided an update on the Auburn Environmental Park grant and partnerships with Washington State University and Green River Community College. Councilmember Wagner displayed a PowerPoint presentation prepared by Deputy Mayor Singer Page 2 City of Auburn Committee of the Whole June 29, 2009 and Councilmember Wagner that is used in soliciting potential grant funding and potential partnerships. The PowerPoint slides provide the regional location of Auburn and the Auburn Environmental Park (AEP) and potential park expansion to the west. The presentation portrays the AEP as an outdoor laboratory for wetlands, wildlife and urban storm water detention. It also depicts the AEP as an educational opportunity and a business incubator site. Councilmember Wagner reviewed the engineering and scientific research already completed. He displayed a cross-section from the hydrological study from 1999. Councilmember Wagner discussed the connection to Washington State University's (WSU's) Institute for Sustainable Design and Green River Community College (GRCC). Councilmember Wagner reviewed examples of WSU's and GRCC's potential interaction with the AEP and incubator. Other partners and connections as part of the grant application process or project include: Project Greenhouse, New Energy Solutions, Weyerhaeuser Tech Center, Parametrix, other Auburn clean tech/green businesses, Syntrix Biosystems and labs, environmental non-profits, Muckleshoot Tribe, Auburn School District, Audubon Society, Auburn Small Business Assistance Center and the Chamber of Commerce. Future needs include: acquisition of incubator/educational center site, renovation of building to LEED standards, operational underwriting, and funding for demonstration projects. III. Howard Hanson Dam Update Emergency Preparedness Manager Sarah Miller distributed Green River Flood Impact maps and updated the Council on the status of Howard Hanson Dam and community outreach for flood preparedness. Last week the Corps of Engineers announced that their testing revealed that the sinkhole and seepage through the dam abutment is as bad as in January. The Corps plans construct a concrete curtain in the wall of the dam, but the project won't be complete until November, the beginning flood season. Manager Miller reviewed the Green River Flood Impact map that is available to the public. A new public map will be made available in the near future that will show anticipated utility outages. Page 3 City of Auburn Committee of the Whole June 29, 2009 Public outreach will continue throughout the summer and other updates will be distributed through the media. IV. SCA / PSRC Population Targets Planning, Building and Community Director Baker presented a PowerPoint presentation on Housing and Job Growth Targets: Update 2009 Populations are forecast by the Washington State Office of Financial Management (OFM), and population forecasts are issued every five years. The latest OFM projections were released in 2007. The Puget Sound Regional Council supplies information and data relative to transportation, etc. King County has the right under state law to allocate population to cities. The Suburban Cities Association serves as a consultant to King County and the cities to assist in calculating the population targets. Every five years OFM provides King and Pierce counties with the population targets. The county collaborates with the cities to allocate the population. The City will be updating its Comprehensive Plan in 2011 to accommodate new growth. The latest OFM projections released in 2007 reveal that King and Pierce counties are growing faster over the long-term than previously forecast. The Regional Growth Strategy focuses the majority of the region's growth in both Metropolitan and Core Cities; specifically within Regional Growth Centers. Core Cities will be receiving 32% of the growth. The Core Cities include Auburn, Bothell, Burien, Federal Way, Kent, Kirkland, Redmond, Renton, SeaTac and Tukwila. The draft revised capacity for housing units for Auburn is 8,000 on the low end, 8,400 in the mid range and 8,800 on the high range. The capacity allocation does not account for the annexation areas. The population targets are updated now to satisfy overlapping Growth Management Act mandates. The final targets are expected to be ratified in September. The Planning and Community Development Committee is in favor of the 8,400 allocation with the proviso that Auburn's population target has been estimated by Suburban Cities Association and generally reflects the amount of growth Auburn is willing to accept with the caveat that until adequate infrastructure funding is available, Auburn is unlikely to achieve this population target. Councilmembers suggested including language that the City is willing to accept the allocation for the current boundaries of the city, which includes the annexation areas. Page 4 City of Auburn Committee of the Whole June 29, 2009 V. Promenade Grant Status Economic Development Manager Baron gave a brief update on the status of the Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant application for the Promenade project. The EDA headquarters in Washington, D.C., concurred with the EDA Seattle Regional Office to proceed with Auburn's application process and project. Staff members are working to complete the required paperwork with a July 24th deadline. If the project is formally approved, staff anticipates receiving funding as early as first or second quarter of 2010. The grant application is for $3 million of an $8 million project that consists of utility improvements and pavement in the downtown area. VI. Community Center Grant Status Director Heineman provided a brief update on the grant status for the Community Center project. Staff members continue to look for other grant opportunities and other funding sources. Director Heineman also reported on discussions with the Girls and Boys Club. A meeting is scheduled for next week to begin negotiations on a partnership agreement for the Activity Center. VII. Old Post Office Update Director Baker referred to the information in the agenda packet regarding the historic post office, a national and state historic registered building. She proposed a project for the old post office as the Health Care Training and Business Accelerator Center. The Center would foster accelerated training programs in health care and business enterprises. Mayor Lewis noted the post office was built in 1926 and is one of two buildings remaining in the city built for public purpose. In the early 1960's in was deeded through GSA to King County to be used as a public facility, specifically for public health, for a period of twenty years. In the City's first meeting with King County regarding the disposition of the vacant post office building, the City was provided with an appraisal of $950,000 which would be the cost of purchasing the property. Staff members are working with county representatives to ensure that the post office remains a public building. VIII. SCORE Update Page 5 City of Auburn Committee of the Whole June 29, 2009 Chief Kelly presented a virtual tour of the proposed SCORE (South Correctional Entity) facility, a 668 bed jail facility. He also presented a written SCORE update and SCORE jail project schedule. Chief Kelly stated that the same design/structure has been constructed across the county. Chief Kelly advised that cost estimates will be finalized by the end of July. IX. Adjournment There being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 7:09 p.m. Summary Prepared by: La4&4~ Danielle Daskam, City Clerk Page 6