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Home My WebLink About02-28-2013 * Committee of the Whole A,•T_ February 28, 2013 - 5:00 PM ' ' 'lJ j\j�J Auburn City Hall WASHINGTON MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Deputy Mayor Nancy Backus called the meeting to order at 5:00 p.m. in Council Chambers located at Auburn City Hall, 25 West Main Street in Auburn. Councilmembers present included Deputy Mayor Backus, Rich Wagner, Bill Peloza, John Partridge, Largo Wales, Wayne Osborne, and John Holman. Department Director and staff members present were Human Resources and Risk Management Brenda Heineman, Public Works Director Dennis Dowdy, Multimedia Manager Dana Heineman, Public Affairs and Marketing Manager Glenda Carino, Economic Development Manager Doug Lien, City Attorney Dan Heid, Parks, Arts and Recreation Director Daryl Faber, Assistant Police Chief Bill Pierson, and Deputy City Clerk Shawn Campbell. II. DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Wellness Committee Director Heineman presented the Wellness Program and introduced committee members present at the meeting. She recognized Employment Manager Eileen Sherlock for an outstanding job in completing the Well City Application. In order to qualify for a two percent discount on medical insurance premiums, the City must receive the Association of Washington Cities Well City Award. The Committee's 2013 Goals were developed from the results of a 2012 wellness questionnaire. The Committee developed activities to meet the needs of employees and fulfill the requirements for the Well City application. Councilmembers committed to participating on the Wellness Committee. B. Auburn History Project Mayor Lewis introduced David Spangler. Mr. Spangler has been contracted by the City to compile historical data regarding the Page 1 of 4 progression of the City of Auburn. Mr. Spangler worked together with the late David Grambush and other town historians to compile information for the Auburn History Project. Mr. Spangler is in the process of developing three interactive maps for the downtown area of Auburn from 1904, 1928 and 1941. The maps will show businesses, street names and locations, and the flow of the White and Stuck Rivers during each of the three time periods. C. City of Auburn Strategic Plan Deputy Mayor Backus introduced the concept of a strategic plan. The Council would recognize five to ten items that are budget priorities. The staff and Council would focus efforts on those items. Having a strategic plan can assist the City in securing grants and additional funding and also helps focus efforts during tough economic times. Councilmember Osborne said it is important to have a wide variety of citizen input. Councilmember Peloza stated the process would move faster if the City has a task force to work on this project including a Council representative. Mayor Lewis stated he liked the idea of having representatives from all parts of the City, but he has concerns with a councilmember being an active participant on the task force. Councilmember Wagner shared a concern about the task force being taken over by professional interests. He requested extra diligence be used to ensure the task force is made up of a diverse group of people. Councilmember Holman listed the core competencies for a city; not easy for competitors to imitate, can be reused widely for more products, services and markets and it contributes something to the end consumer. Deputy Mayor Backus stated a strategic plan would assist the Council in maintaining the trust and confidence of the citizens. Councilmember Wales said the Council needs to step back and let a diverse group of people look at a strategic plan in an unbiased fashion. The plan will need to be flexible with the changing needs of the City. Councilmember Wagner stated the City will need to hire someone to compile the data from the task force. The goals need to be measurable by results. Councilmember Partridge stated including citizens in the discussion builds ownership in the plan within the community. The plan needs to include market driven ideas that include developers and business owners also. The City can set the strategic principals and let the market put in the details. Page 2 of 4 Mayor Lewis stated the City would need to hold public meetings that are both demographically and culturally diverse in nature, along with simply talking to people on the street. Deputy Mayor Backus stated the goals would be set that represent the priorities of the citizens. There would be both short term and long term goals. D. Port to Port Initiative Mayor Lewis shared a map that showed the commercial transit routes of regional significance. The ports of Puget Sound connect the Valley Cities, they are the second largest industrial area on the west coast and the fourth in the nation. The State of Washington needs to improve the infrastructure of the roads to remain competitive with the other ports around the nation, most of which have already invested money in their ports recently in order to remain competitive. Councilmember Wagner noted that Burlington Northern and Union Pacific Railroads should be included in the discussion. Councilmember Holman said the National League of Cities has an active resolution the help the ports prepare for the Panamax ships including funding for fast freight corridors. Mayor Lewis stated the Ports have not historically worked together. The Port of Tacoma and the Port of Seattle are both represented in the Valley Cities Association. Both ports are beginning to recognize the importance of compiling a unified plan to be competitive in the marketplace. E. Code Enforcement Overview Development Services Manager Tate provided the Council with a Code Enforcement overview. The code enforcement staff interact with people in all areas of the community and cultures. The City has to ensure any new structure fits within the specific standards for the area. There are community vision and pollution issues that code enforcement must enforce. Councilmember Peloza recognized the effectiveness of the City's Wall of Shame program. F. Transit Now Community Shuttle Director Dowdy provided Council with a map of the City shuttle bus service routes and described the services offered. Mayor Lewis is working with the Muckleshoot Tribe on how to integrate the tribes Page 3 of 4 public transit schedule with the City's so citizens can get to and from all areas of the City. Director Dowdy stated the funding is approximately $100,000.00 per year and the Lakeland shuttle is an additional $116,000.00. The funding comes from the Arterial Street Fund. Councilmember Peloza requested the Transit, Trails and Transportation Committee talk about Sunday shuttle operations and public transportation from the west hill area. Mayor Lewis stated the City is looking at a bigger plan that will give services to more areas creating a more robust public transit system. Councilmember Wales asked how the areas of service are determined. Director Dowdy said this configuration was the initial determination. The routes met the needs of the City and buses in these areas. Councilmember Partridge asked who receives the fees paid by the riders. Director Dowdy said the fees go directly to Metro. The City, Pierce County and Metro share the cost of service. G. Council Retreat Deputy Mayor Backus stated once dates have been confirmed a list of possible dates for a Council Retreat will be sent out to get Councilmembers input. Councilmember Peloza requested the retreat be local. III. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business to come before the Council, the meeting adjourned at 7:36 p.m. APPROVED the 2nd day of September, 2013. Nancy B cu , Deputy Mayor Shawn Campbell, Deputy City Clerk Page 4 of 4