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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-13-2017 MinutesWASHINGTON CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION AND SPECIAL FOCUS AREA MARCH 13, 2017 — 5:30 PM Auburn City Hall MINUTES I. CALL TO ORDER Deputy Mayor Wales called the meeting to order at 5:31 and found no quorum. The call to order was paused for approximately ten minutes to allow a fourth Councilmember to arrive to create a quorum. Deputy Mayor Wales called the meeting to order at 5:45 p.m. A. Roll Call Councilmembers present: Deputy Mayor Wales, Bob Baggett, Claude DaCorsi, and Rich Wagner. Councilmembers John Holman, Bill Peloza, and Yolanda Trout -Manuel were excused. Mayor Nancy Backus and the following department directors and staff members were present: Innovation and Technology Director Paul Haugan, Police Chief Bob Lee, City Attorney Daniel B. Heid, Finance Director Shelley Coleman, Community Development and Public Works Director Kevin Snyder, Assistant Director of Engineering Services/City Engineer Ingrid Gaub, Utilities Engineering Manager Lisa Tobin, Chief City Prosecutor Harry Boesche, Police Detective Jon Postawa, Director of Administration Dana Hinman, and City Clerk Danielle Daskam. II. ANNOUNCEMENT, REPORTS AND PRESENTATIONS There was no announcement. III. AGENDA ITEMS FOR COUNCIL DISCUSSION A. IT Digital Parity Update Innovation and Technology Director Haugan presented the first quarter update on digital parity using a PowerPoint presentation. Director Haugan recalled the Council set a goal to increase internet access to achieve digital parity by 80 percent by the year 2020. Director Haugan spoke about the expansion of wireless access points in south Auburn and along Auburn Way North. IT staff are Page 1 City of Auburn Council Meetina Minutes. March 13, 2017 working on a complete update of internal IT practices and procedures. Major progress has been made in expanding fiber optics to Lea Hill, which brings high speed fiber optic connection to the Police Lea Hill substation. This will also allow the extension of Access Auburn to the Lea Hill area. The City's fiber optic network is now ready for regional extension to support the Community Connectivity Consortium. Director Haugan noted the expansion of fiber optics was achieved through private -public partnership with the help of Legal staff and Community Development and Public Works staff. The fiber optic expansion cost estimate was originally $1.5 million but was achieved at no cost to the City through private - public partnership. B. City Slogan Deputy Mayor Wales reported this discussion item was generated by Councilmembers. She indicated that there has been discussion over the years that the current slogan doesn't reflect what's really happening in Auburn. There was consensus the slogan needs to be changed. Councilmember DaCorsi cautioned that rebranding is expensive. Councilmember Baggett expressed concern with the cost of a new slogan and how it would be implemented. Mayor Backus stated city slogans are waning, and a slogan is used for a campaign or a specific purpose. Deputy Mayor Wales agreed. Councilmember Baggett suggested creating a committee for any change to the slogan. Deputy Mayor Wales suggested not having a slogan. She stated the current slogan has worked well for the City's parks and arts programs. Councilmember Baggett questioned the economic development aspect of a slogan. Councilmember Baggett agreed to gather further information on other cities' slogans and bring the information to a future Council study session. C. City Committee and Board Appointments Deputy Mayor Wales acknowledged City Attorney Heid's handout of Boards and Commissions and appointment provisions. Page 2 City of Auburn Council Meetin4.Minutes March 13, 2017 Councilmember Wagner suggested amending the code provisions so that all Boards and Commissions have similar verbiage and language. City Attorney Heid stated the Civil Service Commission, Planning Commission and the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) language is taken from state statutes. Many of the other Boards and Commissions are unique to Auburn. Councilmember Wagner questioned the term "serve at the pleasure of the Council' in some of the Board and Commission provisions. City Attorney Heid stated the verbiage for the LTAC is taken from the state statute. Deputy Mayor Wales suggested clarification on minimum membership requirements for appointees and a limit to the number of Boards and Commissions an individual can serve on. Deputy Mayor Wales suggested the Council review appointments at study sessions. Mayor Backus stated sometimes it is difficult to recruit individuals for volunteer Boards and Commissions, and open debate of committee and board volunteers at study sessions may reduce the pool of appointees. Councilmember Baggett. questioned debating the qualifications of appointees in public, since the information is made available to Councilmembers prior to confirmation. Councilmember DaCorsi stated he would like input from the three other Councilmembers who are not in attendance this evening. He suggested the City make it a simple enough process to volunteer while at the same time ensure the best and most qualified are appointed to the Boards and Commissions. Deputy Mayor Wales suggested referring this item to the next study session. Deputy Mayor Wales expressed concern with conflicts of interest. D. Airport Management Services Contract Community Development and Public Works Director Snyder presented the Airport Management Services Contract along with Assistant Director of Engineering Services/City Engineer Gaub and Jamelle Garcia, principal of Airport Management Group LLC. Page 3 City of Auburn -Council Meetina Minutes. March 13, 2017 Director Snyder provided a brief update on the progress of the contract negotiations. Director Snyder reported staff and Airport Management Group are close to finalizing the contract with the issue of prevailing wages the only item not settled. Mr. Garcia assured the Council that both sides are working diligently to finalize the contract. He stated the prevailing wage provision is a concern due to reporting requirements, fees, and increased wages. Assistant Director Gaub explained other changes in the contract clarify responsibility. Director Snyder stated it is anticipated the contract will be settled this week and available for Council consideration at the next regular meeting. Councilmember Baggett brought up recent emergency repairs to a hangar. Councilmember Baggett requested assurance that the new contract provides for periodic inspections of the facility. Director Snyder stated Airport Management Group routinely inspects the facility and brought the hangar beam issue to the City's attention. A more intensive inspection process will be built into the airport business practices. Councilmember Wagner suggested a glossary for the contract. Councilmember Wagner also recommended adding a provision that would allow Airport Management Group to bring forward suggested capital improvements. Councilmember DaCorsi suggested the City utilize a position of a Comprehensive Needs Assessment Analyst for facilities. Councilmembers discussed the potential for a longer term contract for airport management services rather than the two year agreement proposed. Director Snyder stated staff and Airport Advisory Board members agreed it is a good practice to periodically request for proposals for airport management services. There has been no issue with the provision of services by Airport Management Group. Page 4 City of Auburn Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2017 E. Regional Water Supply Discussion Utilities Engineering Manager Tobin led the presentation on the regional water supply discussion. In October 2015, staff discussed with the City Council two options for meeting future water supply demands and for providing redundant supplies when existing supplies are out of service for maintenance and rehabilitation. These options fall into two categories: 1) investing in Auburn -owned supplies, or 2) purchasing additional regional water supply from Tacoma Public Utilities and the Cascade Water Alliance. Under the terms of the 2013 agreement with Cascade Water Alliance, the City must notify Cascade Water Alliance by June30, 2017, if it intends to purchase additional regional water supply in addition to the regional water supply that Auburn has already purchased from Cascade and Tacoma. Staff is meeting with Cascade Water Alliance in late March to discuss the water supply option, and is seeking the City Council's affirmation of its previous decision to invest in Auburn. -owned sources rather than purchase additional regional water supply. There was no objection to staff s recommendation to invest in Auburn -owned water sources rather than purchase additional regional water. IV. HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES DISCUSSION ITEMS A. Domestic Violence Enforcement and Prosecution Report Police Detective Jon Postawa and Chief Prosecutor Harry Boesche presented a report on domestic violence enforcement and prosecution. Detective Postawa processes the majority of the domestic violence felony cases along with one other detective. Domestic violence is any crime against a family or household member. It is the Police Department's policy to document any incident where a crime is suspected and verbal domestic disputes where probable cause cannot be established. Detective Postawa reviewed the domestic violence statistics for the last four years in Auburn. There are roughly 2,000 domestic violence cases in the city each year; approximately half are verbal only. Cases are typically generated by Patrol after being dispatched to a call for service. Misdemeanor cases to the City Page 5 City of Auburn .Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2017 Prosecutor. Felony cases go to the major crimes detectives and are then filed with the county. Detective Postawa stated that in most of his felony cases, he can see a progression of the violence from a verbal argument, to a misdemeanor case, and then a felony incident. Detective Postawa referenced a Washington State Institute for Public Policy 2015 study which found that a history of domestic violence is the greatest predictor of future violent crime, not just future domestic violence. Additionally, an aggressive, proactive approach to domestic violence can reduce all violent crime. Domestic violence perpetrators are more likely to be violent toward others in the community, especially towards law enforcement. Detective Postawa discussed the difficulty in predicting domestic violence and the tools police can use in assessing overall risk. In order to ensure results with a conviction and protection of victims, it takes collaboration among police, the prosecutor's office, advocates, the courts and the community. Risk assessments on all criminal domestic violence cases assist victims and domestic violence prevention advocates, identifies offenders who need higher bail, conditions of release and appropriate supervision for the courts. Chief Prosecutor Boesche reported the prosecutor's office currently has three prosecutors and a fourth will be added in April. The Legal Department also consists of three paralegals that assist the prosecutors. The City's Prosecutor's Office prosecutes misdemeanors, gross misdemeanors and contested infractions that occur in Auburn city limits (King or Pierce County). By agreement with the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe, the prosecutor's office also prosecutes offenses that occur at the casino and bingo hall. Cases are heard by King County District Court. City prosecutors are in court every day. The Prosecutor's Office receives 60-100 cases for prosecution per week (not counting infractions, which are usually 75-100 per month). The prosecutors handle 3,000 to 3,500 criminal cases per year and attend 8,000 to 10,000 criminal case hearings per year. As stated earlier, domestic violence is virtually any crime committed between family or household members. Domestic violence can Page 6 City of.Auburn Council Meeting Minutes March 13, 2017 include assault, theft, property damage, trespassing, harassment/threats, stalking, breaking a no contact order and other crimes. Penalties differ from other crimes and can include domestic violence treatment, no contact orders, anger management, and other treatment. Chief Prosecutor Boesche explained that once police arrest and jail a domestic violence suspect, the police report is sent to the Prosecutor's Office for review and charging. Since the person is in jail, the prosecutor must decide Whether to proceed with the case within the next court day after arrest. If the suspect is not arrested at the time of the incident, the report is sent to the prosecutor for review. A decision on charging is made in the order the reports are received. The prosecutors have up to one year from the incident date to charge a misdemeanor and up to two years from the incident date to charge a gross misdemeanor. In response to a question from Deputy Mayor Wales, Chief Prosecutor Boesche explained, if a no contact order is entered, a domestic violence suspect has five days to surrender any firearms or file a declaration of non-surrenderance. Chief Prosecutor Boesche advised the prosecutors rotate domestic violence prosecution responsibility among the prosecutors. Each prosecutor focuses on domestic violence cases for four months during a year. During their rotation, the prosecutor makes domestic violence their primary focus, but remains part of the prosecution team to perform other needed tasks. Likewise, the other prosecutors are also available and able to prosecute DV cases as needed. A case will follow a prosecutor until its disposition. The City Prosecutor's Office received 687 DV cases in 2014 (338 declined); 774 DV cases in 2015 (249 declined); and 731 DV cases in 2016 (251 declined). Barriers to domestic violence include: witness/victim refuses to cooperate, witness/victims cannot be located, witness/victim dishonors a subpoena to attend trial, witness with credibility issues, lack of evidence, and questionable/retaliatory motive. V. OTHER DICUSSION Deputy Mayor Wales suggested continuation of discussion on the topics of City Slogan and City Committee and Board Appointments for the next study session. Page 7 City of Auburn.Council_Meetinp_Minutes March 13, 2017 VI. NEW BUSINESS There was no new business. VII. MATRIX Deputy Mayor Wales requested that Special Focus Area chairs submit items for the matrix. VIII. ADJOURNMENT There being no further discussion, the meeting adjourned at 8:20 p.m. APPROVED this day of eG44,J , 2017. R O WALES, DEPUTY MAYOR Danielle Daskam, City Clerk Page 8