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HomeMy WebLinkAbout4/20/2017 - City Council - City Council Meeting Minutes - Nick Gerde, Finance DirectorEAST WENATCHEE CITY COUNCIL EAST WENATCHEE CITY HALL 271 9T" ST. NE, EAST WENATCHEE, WA APRIL 20, 2017 5:30 P.M. WORKSHOP SUMMARY MINUTES Present: Councilmember Tim Detering, Councilmember Sandra McCourt, Councilmember Wayne Barnhart, Councilmember Harry Raab, Councilmember Chuck Johnson, Councilmember Jerrilea Crawford, Finance Director Nick Gerde, City Engineer Greg Pezoldt, and Community Development Director Lori Barnett. Approximately 45 people were in attendance at the workshop. Mayor Pro Temp Detering brought the meeting to order at 5:30 PM. Mr. Detering explained that this was a workshop for the Council and there is typically no public comment period for these meetings. As the majority of the attendees were there for discussion item #3 on the Agenda regarding the Freedom Foundation submittal, it was moved to the top of the agenda. 1. Freedom Foundation: Good Government Labor Reform Opportunities for Washington Counties. Steve Bruchman, Yakima Business Representative for Teamsters 760 indicated that Lincoln County's proposal to open negotiations was currently in litigation. There was a discussion regarding allowing public comment. Recognizing the number of people in attendance for that item, Councilmember Johnson suggested that the Council allow public comment. Following a general discussion amongst the Council regarding the public comment question, Mr. Detering indicated that the Council may allow limited public comment. Mr. Gerde distributed a letter from the Lincoln County Commissioners and from Theresa Sloan, 479 N. Joseph Ave, East Wenatchee regarding the topic. Councilmember Crawford asked for clarification regarding the City's current bargaining process. Mr. Gerde explained that the process includes the Mayor, Teresa Allen, Devin Poulson and himself on behalf of the City, City staff appointed by the union members, and union representatives. The process is generally initiated before the termination of the existing contract. Negotiations continue until a contract is agreed upon and presented to Council. Councilmember Johnson asked the audience to raise their hands if they were opposed to the Freedom Foundation proposal. Most of the attendees raised their hands. He asked for a show of hands of those supporting the proposal. No hands were raised. Paul Parmley distributed a written rebuttal to the Freedom Foundation proposal. He indicated that the agenda of that group was to decimate unions. He expressed concern that the process they are proposing could impact the free flow of information between negotiators. Tom Cash, representing Local 846, indicated that he represents the City administrative staff and street department staff. The transparency initiative is unnecessary. CITY OF EAST WENATCHEE COUNCIL WORKSHOP SUMMARY MINUTES APRIL 20, 2017 Steve Bruchman indicated that some information shared in negotiations is sensitive the process is not about people it is about the service to the community. The process is not broken. Lyle Deskin, 15th St. NE, indicated that he was in construction and all the negotiations he has been participating in have been closed. That is what the Council is elected to do. Billy Wallace, Washington and Idaho District Council of Laborers, distributed a letter to the Council. He indicated that open negotiations are not only unnecessary, they are illegal. Patrick Jones, 1728 25th Ave expressed concern for the proposal and suggested that the Council follow the Grays Harbor County example and oppose the proposal. Mayor Pro Temp Detering clarified that the Council workshop was to obtain more information as part of their due diligence process, they would not be taking any action. Councilmember Johnson explained that his experience led him to conclude that their existing process worked and he was not inclined to change it. There was a discussion regarding whether to bring the proposal back to a regular Council meeting. It was decided that it did need to be brought back to a Council meeting to give some resolution to the matter. Mayor Pro Temp Detering thanked those in the audience for attending and took a 10 minute recess to allow the people who wished to leave and opportunity to do so. 2. Street Department Facility discussion with Architects. This item was moved up on the Agenda to accommodate the architects. Greg Pezoldt, City Engineer, introduced Dave Schott and Gale Britt with DOH and Associates Architects. Mr. Pezoldt indicated that the Council had discussed several times the need to upgrade and expand the street department facilities. Initially, the set aside was $1.2 to $2 million. Once the initial planning was finished, the architects concluded that the project is more expansive that anticipated and the cost would be nearer to $4.4 million. Some phasing could be done. Mr. Schott went through the estimate that had been prepared for the discussion. The full buildout is probably more than the City is willing or able to spend. He is recommending that the Council commission a Master Plan that can be phased and then take on projects as funds become available. Mr. Britt provided an example where the Douglas County PUD did a space needs analysis and a plan for expansion was developed that could be constructed over time with minimal disruption to their operations. He indicated that when everything was finished, the total cost was very close to the original estimate. Councilmember Johnson stressed that he would like to make sure that whatever is planned can be easily expanded. He did not want to repeat what was done with the design of the existing City Hall which severely limits expansion options. There was a general consensus that a master plan approach should be considered. 3. Budget Amendments. Nick Gerde, Finance Director went through the items on the April 17, 2017 memo. 2 CITY OF EAST WENATCHEE COUNCIL WORKSHOP SUMMARY MINUTES APRIL 20, 2017 1. Street Improvement Fund: o Highline Drive: Increase cost by $492,000 and reduce revenue by $469,300 o Baker Ave: Increase cost by $501,310 and revenue by $674,934 — increase stormwater contribution 0 9t" St. Roundabout: Decrease cost by $216,400 and revenue by$197,186- the project is being delayed 2. Legislative: Training Forum Consulting training and development of a Safety Manual - $4,800 — this is a result of Labor and Industry issues that came up last year necessitating some additional training and development of procedures 3. Law Enforcement Professional Services: $13,000 for Lexipol Consulting for updating the policy and procedure manual for that department. $6,000for the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs' audit process. 4. Information Technology: $14,000 for purchase and training on new software for business licenses and payroll that is integrated with the City's financial software 5. Drug Fund: $10,000 for purchase of drug enforcement tools and equipment. The funds come from seizures during drug related enforcement actions. 6. Street Maintenance Fund: $30,000 for late winter materials for snow removal 7. General Government Contributions: $5,000 to the Wenatchee Valley Sports Foundation to support the 2017 Winter Olympics. 4. Joint discussion of Open Space Standards with the County Commissioners, Eastmont Park District, and East Wenatchee Planning Commission. Lori Barnett, Community Development Director explained that the meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 27, 2017 starting at 5.30 PM in the City Council Chambers. 5. Council Salary Change Process: Councilmember Johnson mentioned that he believes there should be a process that increases Council salaries on an annual basis to get away from the discrepancies between what they are being paid now based upon when they are elected. 6. Mr. Gerde provided an analysis that he prepared comparing Council compensation between 12 different cities. East Wenatchee's compensation is higher than the cities used in the comparison with the exception of Airway Heights and Wenatchee. There was a discussion of whether the Council's other assigned meetings were similar to the other cities. Mr. Gerde noted that Moses Lake also pays $30 per meeting. Due to the lateness of the hour, the last two items on the Agenda were postponed until the next workshop 7. Flower Pots on Valley Mall Parkway 8. Annexations The meeting was adjourned at 6.59 PM Lori Barnett, Community Development Director