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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015.09.28 Council Workshop PacketPage 2-7 8-12 Workshop Meeting AGENDA PASCO CITY COUNCIL 7:00 p.m. 1. CALL TO ORDER: 2. ROLL CALL: (a) Pledge of Allegiance 3. VERBAL REPORTS FROM COUNCILMEMBERS: 4. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: (a) National Citizen's Survey (b) Washington Survey and Rating Bureau Update 5. MISCELLANEOUS COUNCIL DISCUSSION: 6. EXECUTIVE SESSION: 7. ADJOURNMENT. September 28, 2015 REMINDERS: 5:30 p.m., Thursday, October 1, Pasco Senior Center — Area Parks & Recreation Commissions' Meeting. (COUNCILMEMBER SAUL MARTINEZ, Rep.; MIKE GARRISON, Alt.) This meeting is broadcast live on PSC -TV Channel 191 on Charter Cable and streamed at www.pasco-wa.gov/psctvlive. Audio equipment available for the hearing impaired; contact the Clerk for assistance. Page 1 of 12 AGENDA REPORT FOR: City Council September 22, 2015 TO: Dave Zabell, City Manager Workshop Meeting: 9/28/15 FROM: Stan Strebel, Deputy City Manager SUBJECT: National Citizen's Survey I. REFERENCE(S): Community Survey Questions from Prior Years II. ACTION REQUESTED OF COUNCIL / STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Discussion III. FISCAL IMPACT: Proposed at $14,280 IV. HISTORY AND FACTS BRIEF: Council discussed the possible options of the survey at the workshop of 9/14. As background, in furtherance of Council's goal of responsive and efficient government, staff is preparing the contract with the National Research Center (NRC) to conduct the National Citizens Survey (NCS) in Pasco, a biennial community survey effort consisting primarily of standard questions regarding the availability and quality of municipal services. The City has contracted for this survey to be completed in odd years since 2005. The results of this statistically valid survey has served as a valuable tool for Council in goal setting efforts and decision-making with respect to public investment and programmatic focus areas. With several cycles of experience, Council, staff and the public can identify trend lines where the city is making progress in the opinion of respondents, and where we are losing ground. The survey results and subsequent analysis provides policy -makers with reliable information on which to make decisions in the public interest and how Pasco compares in terms of performance with other cities utilizing the NCS as a tool. Historically, the City has conducted the NCS in the fall so the information is available for the Council's post-election cycle goal setting retreat, in this case in early 2016. Page 2 of 12 In additional to the questions specific to the major services the City provides, the Council may add up to three "policy" questions to the survey without additional cost. Each of the City's previous NCS efforts included policy questions. Attachment 1 includes those questions asked in prior survey cycles. In order to have the policy questions included in the survey this fall, NRC will need our finalized questions to them by late November. As discussed previously, the base survey cost as described above is $12,500 and includes the sampling of 1,400 random households (with random selection of the respondent if a multiple -adult member household) in order to produce a statistically valid result. The database utilized to generate the households is from the City's utility billing data. There are other survey enhancement options which can be added to the base survey which Council may want to consider as follows: 1. Preparation of a paper version of the survey in Spanish - $1,530. This has been attempted in the past; however, response was very low and a decision was made not to include this option in subsequent years. 2. The option for Spanish -only speaking residents to review and submit the survey online would cost $608. The costs are less than the paper option, however, per the contractor, results from this approach have typically been limited in other communities. 3. Allowing all residents to submit survey responses online (in addition to those of the random sample - results to be kept separate to maintain the scientific results of the base random survey) - $428. 4. Providing survey results by geographic areas is also an option. For example, survey results could be made available for each City Council voting district. The cost for this option is $743. V. DISCUSSION: Based on the September 14 Council discussion on the matter of survey enhancement options, staff suggests that for the relatively insignificant amount of additional expense, the City would benefit if options 2 (online Spanish language), 3 (online availability for all residents) and 4 (geographic, by Council -district) were added. Total cost would be $14,280 as opposed to $12,500 (with no options). The matter of the three policy questions remains open; and while it is still not essential to finalize any questions at this point, if Council has ideas that members would like to see further discussed or developed, it would be helpful to identify them this evening. With the potential for more than 1400 households to participate and provide input to their City government, the NCS is one of the City's largest interactive community outreach efforts in terms of numbers involved. Page 3 of 12 In an effort to stimulate discussion, staff offers the following questions, which we have observed through various avenues of public feedback over the past year, for Council's consideration: Recycling The City contracts with Basin Disposal Inc. (BDI) for solid waste collection and disposal services. BDI has indicated an ability to provide supplemental user rate estimates for implementing curbside recycling services for recyclable materials such as paper, aluminum, glass and plastics and/or for yard waste. Which form of recycling would you most prefer? a) Paper, aluminum, glass and plastics b) Yard waste c) Both d) None Safety Cameras Some of the most serious traffic accidents occur at signalized intersections, many of which involve red light violations. Some cities in the state and country have implemented safety cameras at high incident locations to discourage red light violators through automatic ticketing for violations. A study sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration of seven cities found that while right-angle or "T-bone" type collisions were reduced by 25% with the deployment of red light cameras; the incidence of year- end collisions at such intersections was increased by 15%. Rear -end collisions however are generally less costly and result in fewer injuries than "T-bone" collisions. Do you support or oppose the City's consideration of safety cameras to increase red light compliance and safety at certain signalized intersections? a) Strongly support b) Somewhat support c) Somewhat oppose d) Strongly oppose District -Based Voting The legislative branch of the City operates with seven members serving on the City Council. Two members are elected "at large" by all voters and regardless of the candidates' place of residence within the City. Five members are elected on the basis of residence, with only residents within the district able to file to run for election and only voters residing within the district voting on district candidates at primary elections. According to current state law, all voters within the City may vote on district candidates at the general election. While some favor the current system because, while it ensures geographical representation on the City Council, it suggests that members of the Council must look to city-wide interests and needs. Others favor a change to "district -based" voting for the general election where only district residents vote for City Council candidates at the general election, in order to assure that elected Page 4 of 12 Councilmembers represent the voters from within the district. Do you favor: a) The current system of voting (City-wide in the general election) b) District -based voting (allowing votes of only district residents in the general election) Public Records Requests The State Public Records Act provides that units of state and local government must be responsive to citizen requests to view or obtain copies of public documents. While most requests are specific in nature and limited in scope, some requestors have used the system to make burdensome or harassing requests for huge volumes of non-specific documents — resulting in significant public costs for responding to such requests. To what extent do you agree that public records requestors, if making frequent, large volume requests, should be required to pay a proportionate share of the costs of making such requests? a) Strongly Agree b) Somewhat Agree c) Somewhat Disagree d) Strongly Disagree Staff is seeking direction from the City Council in two areas so that we may properly instruct the contractor in this effort. 1. Which, if any, of the survey enhancement options noted above should be included in the NCS outreach effort. Staff recommends that Council authorize options 2 (online Spanish language), 3 (online availability for all residents) and 4 (geographic, by Council -district) be added to the basic survey for a total cost would be $14,280. 2. Does the City Council continue to see value in including three specific policy questions as part of the survey? And if so, what policy areas would the Council wish to pursue? Staff looks forward to the opportunity for Council deliberation and direction on this matter. Page 5 of 12 Community Survey Questions 2013 Survey: 1. Ambulance Fees in Fire District #3: The "donut hole" area surrounded by Pasco has received ambulance service from the Pasco Fire Department, paid by Fire District #3 at an equivalent fee of $1.00 per household per month (compared with Pasco residents' fee of $6.25/month). If the City continues to provide the same paramedic ambulance service to Fire District #3 that it provides to City residents, to what extent do you support or oppose altering the contract so that District residents pay at least the same fee as Pasco residents? 2. Funding Large Projects: Funding large projects, such as a convention center, performing arts center, aquatics facility or museum in Pasco can be done in a number of ways. Partnering with the Regional Public Facilities District (with the approval of Tri -City voters) can finance projects of $35 million or more. The Pasco Public Facilities District (Pasco only) could finance a project of about $10 million. To what extent do you support or oppose each of the following: continuing the partnership with the Regional Public Facilities District; working independently with the Pasco Public Facilities District to identify a project for Pasco; support abandoning efforts to consider future facilities? 3. Pasco Senior Center: Use of the Pasco Senior Center by seniors has continued to decline over time, but still requires increased funding to remain open. To what extent do you support or oppose transitioning the Pasco Senior Center into a "community recreation center?" 2011 Survey: 1. "Impact Fees" are assessed on all new housing construction to help pay for related public infrastructure (like roads and parks). To what extent do you support or oppose an impact fee to pay a portion of new school construction costs in Pasco? 2. The City of Pasco is considering asking the state to change the process arbitrators use in organized -labor negotiations to ensure that an individual city's budget or "ability to pay" is factored into the arbitration decision. To what extent do you support or oppose a change to reflect the city's "ability to pay?" 3. There are seven members of the City Council; five positions require a candidate to reside within a geographical district within the City and two positions are elected "at large" without regard to district residency. The purpose of having some districts is to assure reasonable geographic representation of Council members throughout the city. Please indicate which of the following best reflects your view: favor the current system as described above; prefer fewer at large representatives; prefer more at large representatives. 2009 Survey: 1. To what extent do you support or oppose establishing curbside recycling service, if it requires an increase to your garbage pickup service cost of $4 to $5 dollars per month? 2. To what extent do you support or oppose the City continuing to add fluoride to the City's drinking water system? 3. A committee, consisting of representatives of the cities of Kennewick, Richland and Pasco, has been studying the feasibility of developing regional centers (e.g., aquatic center, performing arts center, etc.) that could be used by all residents in the region and considering voter approved sales tax and property tax options to finance them. Because a sales tax would be paid by visitors as well as residents and would be paid in much smaller increments throughout the year, among other reasons, the committee has tentatively concluded that a sales tax increase would be preferable to a property tax increase. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this conclusion? Page 6 of 12 2007 Survey: 1. To what extent do you support or oppose the City taking a more active role in working to improve the downtown business area? 2. To what extent do you support or oppose the City installing and maintaining landscaping along select major street corridors to improve the appearance of the community? 3. As you may know, the three public pools in Pasco are in need of complete renovation. As an alternative, to what degree would you support or oppose the City building a new water park (including a pool slide and other water features) that would replace one (or possibly two) existing swimming pools? 2005 Survey: 1. To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement: "The City of Pasco should assume all the cost of maintaining and operating Chiawana Park?" 2. To what extent do you support or oppose an increased sales tax of 1/10 of one percent (one extra penny on each $10 purchase) to have a regional aquatic center in the Tri -Cities? 3. The City has a history of supporting Pasco School District programs and facilities with City funds. To what extent do you support or oppose the City of Pasco continuing to support Pasco School District programs and facilities with City funds? Page 7 of 12 AGENDA REPORT FOR: City Council September 24, 2015 TO: Dave Zabell, City Manager Workshop Meeting: 9/28/15 FROM: Bob Gear, Fire Chief Fire Department SUBJECT: Washington Survey and Rating Bureau Update I. REFERENCE(S): Issue/Goal Paper to Council, April 18, 2014 Retreat II. ACTION REQUESTED OF COUNCIL / STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS: Discussion III. FISCAL IMPACT: IV. HISTORY AND FACTS BRIEF: The City's insurance classification grade, as established by the Washington Surveying & Rating Bureau (WSRB), is a primary element used by insurers in the development of fire insurance rates for all public and private properties within the City. Accordingly, it is in the financial interest of all property owners that the City maintains the lowest insurance classification as possible. The City is currently graded as a Class 5 agency. In previous discussions on this topic, the City Council established maintenance of the Class 5 as a short-term goal with a longer-term goal of improving to a Class 4, should resources and opportunity converge to make it practical. The WSRB grading system is built around four specific areas: 1. Water Supply - in terms of ability to deliver. 2. Fire Department - in terms of staffing, equipment, logistics, emergency communication operations and automatic aid. 3. Emergency Communication Center - specifically targeted to the physical characteristics of the facility and equipment, operating software, redundant and adequacy of telephone connectivity, emergency power, staffing levels and training. 4. Fire Safety Control - Fire Inspection Program, public education, investigations and building code enforcement. Page 8 of 12 In August, the WSRB advised staff they would be visiting the City in October to conduct their planned grading assessment. Staff requested that the assessment be moved up to September in order to have the information available prior to final preparation and Council's consideration of the 2016 preliminary budget. WSRB staff accommodated the request and visited the City the first of September. The official results of the visit are anticipated within the next few weeks. However, as discussed previously with Council, prior conversations with WSRB staff indicate that it is likely the City could see a drop from a protection Class 5 to a protection Class 6. Staff estimates the impact of such a downgrade could correlate to an increase of 5% to 10% in fire insurance premiums costs for properties within the City. Should the WSRB lower the City's insurance classification Grade from a 5 to a 6, the process allows thirty (30) days for the City to develop and submit an improvement plan and six (6) months to implement that plan to maintain the current rating of Class 5. In the alternative the City could take no further action and accept the reduction and its corresponding impacts. V. DISCUSSION: Since the prior assessment, which was conducted November 5, 2007 the City has seen considerable growth in areas significant to the grading structure. The population of the City has increased from 52,406 to its current population of 68,648, an increase of 24%. The City has also increased in area from 28 square miles to 33.1 square miles, an increase of 15%. And, finally, the City has been successful in attracting significant private investment of industrial development. These projects have resulted in large buildings which require increased capability within the Fire Department section of the WSRB assessment. The upside of this growth is more assessed value and increased number of ratepayers over which to share the burden of funding, and this has been borne out by a property levy rate that has seen a decrease each year since 2007, and for several years prior. With the exception of two Council policy decisions approved for 2015; the reinstitution of a fire inspection program and the addition of a Fire Fighter position to take Battalion Chiefs off the engines, the structure of the Fire Department is much the same as it was in 2007. While these two Fire operational enhancements have kept the City in range of being able to re -attain a Class 5 rating, the combination of growth in service demand and relatively little growth in system capability necessitates some catch up in operational capacity in order to maintain the Class 5. In evaluating the prior WSRB assessment of the City and the preliminary assessment provided earlier this summer, the grading criteria, and taking into consideration changed conditions in the City as noted above, staff expects that the results of the WSRB re -rate process will indicate that the City will slip to a protection Class 6. As the time to react to the anticipated WSRB rating is limited and the time to implement Page 9 of 12 changes can be lengthy, a couple of major policy decisions will need to be made over the next several weeks as we consider budget. There are really only two opportunities that afford the City the ability to shed enough deficiency points to maintain a Class 5 rating, those being: 1. Shift Fire/EMS Dispatch Service to SECOMM - Moving the dispatch center for Fire/EMS from Franklin County to Benton County will result in an approximate reduction of 100 WSRB deficiency points. Staffing, training, and facilities at the Franklin County PSAP are all below the levels of the Benton County PSAP, this is in large part due to the anticipated consolidation of the two centers and some strategic decision making not to spend dollars on a facility that is phasing out of service. While a move to Benton County Dispatch will likely increase Fire/EMS dispatch costs, it is less costly than bringing the Franklin County PSAP up to a similar standard. 2. Staff an Additional Fire Station - The city has grown considerably since the 2007 rating and additional engine companies are required to meet the fire flow requirements and additional stations are required to adequately serve the community within established response times. Much of the Riverview area and the areas west of 20th Avenue have travel times from existing stations exceeding six minutes. Staffing of the Road 48 fire station, to be acquired as a result of the recently approved interlocal agreement with Fire District No 3, will improve our fire flow capability and reduce travel times. The station will need remodel work to have 24/7 capability and hiring and training sufficient additional staff will be a lengthy process. Staff recommends a 3 -person per -shift configuration at the Road 48 station. This is due largely to WAC -296-305-05002 (4) which states "Initial attack operations shall be organized to ensure that if, on arrival at the emergency scene responders find a known rescue situation where immediate action could prevent the loss of life or serious injury, such action shall only be permitted when no less than three personnel (2-in/1-out) are present and equipped to provide emergency assistance or rescue of the team entering the hot zone." Establishment of a fourth fire station at the Road 48 facility and the move to Benton County dispatch, coupled with the decisions made by Council in the 2015 budget should have the cumulative effect of maintaining a protection Class 5. There are simply not enough points in other areas to assure maintaining the protection Class 5. While the financial impacts of moving dispatching to Benton County and staffing fire station 84 are significant, we have to focus on facts related to these expenditures. The City has pursued residential, commercial and industrial growth more successfully than many other communities. As we grow we must support that growth with infrastructure and operational capacity in all services, particularly public safety, which is a priority responsibility of City government and one that must be paid for in one manner or another. There has been discussion that the choices before us on this topic are to allow the protection class rating to slip and all property owners, public and private pay higher Page 10 of 12 fire insurance premiums, or we strategically invest in Fire/EMS operations in such a way as to maintain the current Class 5 rating, set the City up for a possible improved rating in the future, and more important to the financial considerations in play, significantly improve the department's ability to protect life and property. From a funding standpoint, staff is nearing completion of an in depth analysis of resources and impacts, including the ambulance utility rate study authorized earlier this year which correlates to the issues discussed here. Council will see a detailed financial analysis in the coming weeks and prior to the 2016 budget discussions. Page 11 of 12 FIRE INSURANCE RATING ISSUE/GOAL: Improve the City's fire insurance Classification from Class 5 to Class 4. BACKGROUND/ACTION: The City of Pasco is currently graded a protection class 5 by the Washington Survey and Rating Bureau (WSRB). We can expect that grading to be re -visited in the 2015-2016 range. Maintaining that Class 5 is financially important to the industrial, commercial and residential property owners of the city, as it affects individual fire insurance premiums. Classes range from 1 to 10 with 1 being the best and 10 no protection. The city has consistently been graded a class 5 or 6 since 1935 (two Class 6 and four Class 5). The following table shows the possible number of deficiency points, the deficiency points received in the last grading, and the average deficiency points for the last 5 gradings. PROS/CONS: ■ Improving to Class 4 would reduce fire insurance premiums for commercial and industrial properties by 5-10%, but have no benefit for residential. ■ Could compliment industrial development goal. ■ Potential cost of improvements may exceed financial benefit. ■ Preserving Class 5 will avoid premium increases for all property owners. COSTS/TIMING: Improving the rating to Class 4 could include low-cost efforts (fire inspection for hazardous occupancies; staff training; improved response times; etc.) or high-cost efforts (additional staffing, equipment, more stations, etc.). Improving the rating to Class 4 could bring a fire insurance savings of about 10% to commercial and industrial owners but not residential; the cost of obtaining the Class 4 rating would apply to all taxpayers and must be balanced against the gain to the commercial and industrial owners. Efforts must be in place prior to rating visit (expected in 2015/2016). Page 12 of 12 Water Fire Fire Communications Additional Total Supply Department Safety Possible 1950 1950 450 650 not set 5000 Points 2007 Rating 311 1014 185 595 164 2257 Last 5 Ratings 598 883 276 524 104 2385 Average PROS/CONS: ■ Improving to Class 4 would reduce fire insurance premiums for commercial and industrial properties by 5-10%, but have no benefit for residential. ■ Could compliment industrial development goal. ■ Potential cost of improvements may exceed financial benefit. ■ Preserving Class 5 will avoid premium increases for all property owners. COSTS/TIMING: Improving the rating to Class 4 could include low-cost efforts (fire inspection for hazardous occupancies; staff training; improved response times; etc.) or high-cost efforts (additional staffing, equipment, more stations, etc.). Improving the rating to Class 4 could bring a fire insurance savings of about 10% to commercial and industrial owners but not residential; the cost of obtaining the Class 4 rating would apply to all taxpayers and must be balanced against the gain to the commercial and industrial owners. Efforts must be in place prior to rating visit (expected in 2015/2016). Page 12 of 12