Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout12-22-1980 MinutesMINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 CALL TO ORDER. Meeting called to order at 8 00 P.M by the Honorable Chet Bailie, Mayor. ROLL CALL. By City Clerk. Councilmen present were S K. Adams, J.C. Bailie, Charles Grigg, Ira Schmidt, Beverly Green and E.A. Snider. Also present were Dennis De Felice, City Attorney; Lee Kraft, City Manager; Tom Cnscola, Finance Director; James Ajax, City Engineer, John Hastig, Assistant City Engineer, Richard Erickson, Director of Parks 6, Recreation; Webster Jackson, Administrative Assistant; and Gary Crutchfield, Director of Community Development. ORDINANCES ORDINANCE NO. 2210. (Supplemental Budget Ordinance) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE 1980 ANNUAL BUDGET OF THE CITY OF PASCO BY PROVIDING -A SUPPLEMENT THERETO; BY APPROPRIATING AND REAPPROPRIATING REVENUE; BY PROVIDING TRANSFER AND EXPENDITURE AUTHORITY; BY ADJUSTING THE EXPENDITURE PROGRAM OF VARIOUS FUNDS AND BUDGETS WITHIN FUNDS; AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY Ordinance No. 2210 was read by title only (second reading). Mr. Grigg moved that Ordinance No 2210, which is a supplemental appropriation ordinance,to the 1980 budget,be -adopted. Seconded by ,Mr. Snider. Motion carried by roll call vote of six (6). ORDINANCE NO. 2216- (Vagrancy) 2] caA .NORDINANCE.a RELATIING -TO THECRIME/10FNAGRANCY,,,,,BY, A-MENaDIN.,Gce P-AS -efleMUNICIPALoCODE-SE-CTIONE9:087 -.10;20;' 13.o _ _ _ ioltu -cr-a. _a e [r-__ ---,YIN.; Ordinancet-No,:i 2]r6).wa st3readtbwitit1ek047,. lViraSieuder ithoved ifiet Ordinance No. 2216 amending Pasco Municipal Code SeCtion -9 -.0-8.-020-tann_iii, fortunetellers, clairvoyance, etc., be adopted. Seconded by Mr. Grigg. Motion carried by roll call vote of five (5). Mr. Adams voting no. ORDINANCE NO. 2218 (Animal Control) AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO ANIMAL CONTROL, DOGS, LICENSING OF DOGS, LICENSING FEES, VOLUNTARY LICENSING OF CATS, ANIMALS DISTURBING THE PEACE, AND PENALTIES FOR VIOLATIONS OF CHAPTER P M.C. 8 04 BY AMENDING P.M.C. 8.04.060,8.04.080, 8.04.190, 8.04.340, AND 8.04.360 AND BY ENACTING P.M C. 8.04.195. Ordinance No. 2218 was read by title only. Mr. Grigg moved that Ordinance No. 2218 relating to Animal Control be adopted. Seconded by Mr. Adams. Motion carried by roll call vote of four (4). Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Snider voting no. ORDINANCE NO. 2220. (City Water and Sewer Rates) AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE CITY WATER AND SEWER RATES, FEES AND CHARGES, AND PROVIDING FOR SYSTEM CAPITAL EXPANSION REPLACEMENT CHARGES BY AMENDING SECTION 13.20.020, 13.20.030, 13.20.050, 13.40 020, 13.40 030 and 13.40.040 OF THE PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE AND BY ENACTING SECTIONS 13.20.055, 13.22.010, 13.22.020, 13.22.030, 13.40.045, 13.42.010, 13.42.020 AND 13.42.030 TO THE PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 Ordinance No. 2220 was read by title only. Mr. Ajax handed out copies of the City of Pasco 1980 Combined Water Sewer Utility Rate Study, dated December 3, 1980, to various interested people attending the Special Meeting. For the benefit of everyone attending, Mr. Ajax explained the contents of the Water Sewer Utility Rate Study. Mr. Snider stated that in this rate increase that is proposed, the area that has been excluded is primarily that east of the Burlington Northern tracks. He asked Mr. Ajax if he felt that the new addition by the water reservoir, on which the City has previous agreements on pertaining to water and sewer should be included, as with the remaining newer areas in town, for additional charges. Mr. Ajax replied that he was very appreciative of what these developers had done for the City of Pasco in general The City of Pasco, through present ratepayers, has spent some $200,000 on a water booster station and the City will have to build a standpipe for this area. Through the system fees, if one were to take what amounts to probably on the order of 900 lots out of the 1,050 that are preliminary or totally platted in that area and are unbuilt on, the developers would not begin to fully pay the expenses in terms of booster station and, primdrily,' the standpipe that will be required to serve that area. Mr. Paul Lawson, who resides at 319 S. 26th Avenue, said it is not so much the amount of the water rate and, also, he referred to the automatic increases based on the cost of living index He said that whatever increase we have on a yearly basis should be-placed °rya budget at that time; the City should not assume that things are going to go up every year. Mr. Lawson thinks the City should look at the water rates yearly and the Council should vote on them yearly, instead of having a cost of living increase automatically. Mr. Howard McGhee said he was for a rate increase and he believed the Council would be well advised to raise the rates at this time in order to have money to put into future improvements: Mr. Leonard Dietrich stated that he did not have a problem with the rate increase. The problem he had was possibly on the $200 service charge. He thought it foolish to water a lawn with treated water. He suggested that if the City has a new development going in, it would be encouraging for the Council to at least look at the possibility of that development 'putting in an irrigation system and give some consideration to this $200 fee, because it costs a lot of money to process the water through a treatment plant. Mr. Jim Remson, representing Sunland Heights owned by Sunland Investments, of Section 14, stated that', to his knowledge, a standpipe is not needed to serve Section 14 with water. It had always been his understanding from Mr. Buckberry and Mr Bosch, and the other people who are developing Section 14, that the booster station coming out of the reservoir, and the sewer trunk line which the developers paid for themselves, adequately serves both the sewer and water needs of Section 14, and that anything over and above that, serves some other area What he needed to know from Mr. Ajax tonight was, what area is the City serving. He mentioned the problem with the fire flow protection requirements. Mr. Ajax replied that if all the area in the city limits was ,developed, the City would not have enough water to meet peak day demands. Right now, the City's peak day is approximately 15 million gallons on the hottest day of the Summer With the City's filter plant runmngiflat out perfectly, it would produce 18 million gallons. In Section 14 alone, there is about 900 to 950 vacant lots that are preliminary or final platted; -1-n ---Edst Pasco, just in this year's L I.D. , there are about 280. Therefore, without annexing any additional territory, if the City were simply to fill in, we would have to upgrade the water plant. MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 , 7 Tim Remson stated that it seemed to him that the developers are not going to have to pay much, as opposed to the Section 14 people. All of the Section 14 developers have signed a number of agreements during the last two years with the City concerning water, sewer, etc. He thought Section 14 ought to be excluded from the $200 per unit capital recovery fee. The water lines have all been put in by the developers. The City hasn't paid anything, except a booster station. Mr. Harry Moore, representing the Apartment Association, stated that at this particular time, the apartment owners had a 35 percent vacancy factor, which means that the owners of the apartments are paying for vacant apartments to the City, the ambulance service, the sewer charge, the water charge, and they had no way of recovering for these vacant apartments. Mr. Wayne Wilson said "there is no free ride",. His personal opinion was, that if one is going to have a city or a county that is to grow, we are going to have to go along with some kind of a proposal to take care of inflation. He recommended that the Council accept the recommendation of Jim Ajax and the city staff. Mr. Gary Bosch commended the Council and the City for the future ideas in the expansion program. He does not disagree with what the City is proposing at all. However, he felt concerned about Section 14. He said that, in the past, the City had made commitments to the developers of Section 14 The only thing the developers are asking now, is let them be competitive and the City honor its past agreements. Mr. Adams said he couldn't find any fault as far as raising the water rates to pay for the increased costs of maintenance and operation was concerned. He does have some concerns about an automatic CPI index rate increase for the next number of years. He did not like the idea of imposing an automatic increase. Mr. Adams could not vote for this present ordinance the way it is. Mr. Schmidt pointed out that we are all against inflation and, if we automatically say we are going to vote for an inflation increase each and every year, then we are saying we agree with inflation. He felt that he could take the time to discuss the increase each and every year it comes up. Mr. Snider stated that there are a lot of people already digging out their lawns and putting in gravel because they can't afford to use city water. If the City increases the rates to this magnitude, we are going to see more of this There are a lot of people who are retired and on a fixed income and can barely afford to meet the water bill the way it is now and also buy groceries. A Summer time rate increase of this size is going to create a lot of hardship for a great many people I can't support taking this big of a bite all at once and also tieing it to the CPI to get an automatic increase every year, and think it should be addressed year by year. Mr. Grigg said if the Council address the rate increase every year, it is going to be the same question We really don't need to do that. We are just postponing the ultimate. If we do it now, we have it accomplished. At this point, the City Clerk read a letter received from Mr. Wilbur M Miller, 1516W. Irving, Pasco, dated December 19, 1980, which is hereby recorded in the minutes, as follows "I am opposed to the principle of automatic annual increases in water, sewer, etc , as presently being proposed by certain individuals. Naturally, I am opposed to increases in general ,-, ,-- It appears that all too many people, on the one hand, greatly lament the inflation plaguing us, and on the other hand, center their attention, and MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL - SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 thinking on some one pet project, and in order to further that, push for the very things that only serve to "feed" inflation! , ' So, in reality, they must LOVE inflation! When are we all going to start "putting first things first?" That is, _ stopping inflation -- before America goes under! 1- , In one other area, I respectfully criticize the government of Pasco is In certain benefits to senior citizens you already have benefits "indexed" -,at an income level that excludes those of us who worked and were able to arrange for our retirement years at a, hopefully, respectable level. In other words we are being penalized for our efforts! Business firms who _ grant 'senior citizen discounts don't ask about income level Sincerely, Wilbur M. Miller." Mr. Adams moved to delete Section 4, page 2, relating to ANNUAL COST OF LIVING INCREASE, and Section 11, page 3, which ,also relates to the Annual Cost of Living Increase, of Ordinance No. 2220. Seconded by ,Mr. Schmidt. Motion failed by roll call vote of three (3). Mr. Bailie, Mr. Grigg, and , Mr 4 Snider, voting no. - Mr.,Bailie moved that Ordinance No. 2220, setting fees and charges to the City Water and Sewer Rates, be adopted. Motion failed by roll call vote of four (4). Mr. Adams, Mrs Green, Mr Schmidt, and Mr Snider voting no. Mr. Snider requested that Ordinance No 2220 , be placed back on Workshop for the Meeting of January 12, 1981 , Council, agreed to this. 1 ORDINANCE NO 2222- (Ambulance Service Excise Tax) AN ORDINANCE AMENDING'SECTION 3.05.020 OF THE 'PASCO MUNICIPAL , CODE RELATING TO AMBULANCE SERVICE EXCISE TAX Ordinance No. 2222 was read by title only Mr. Snider moved that Ordinance No 2222 increasing the Rousehold Tax from $1.20 per month to $1.40 be adopted Seconded by Mr. Grigg Motion carried by roll call 'vote of six (6) ORDINANCE NO 2223 (Business Licenses) - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE SECTIONS 5.04 120, 5.04 140, 5 04 160, 5.04.190, 5.08 050, 5 12.060, 5 16.040, 5 20.100, 5 20 120, 5 24 020, 5 28.050, 5 44.020, 5 48 060, 5 60 120 AND 5.64.010 AND REPEALING PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 5 04 150 ALL IN,RELATION TO BUSINESS LICENSES AND REGULATIONS , n , Ordinance No. 2223 was read by title only. 1 , - Dorothy Schoeppach, President of the Pasco Chamber of Commerce, presented a 'letter from the,Pasco Chamber of Commerce, dated December 22, 1980, and which is hereby recorded in the niinutes, as follows , i It , "Dear Mayor Bailie and Members of the Pasco City Councils The Board of Directors of the Greater Pasco Chamber of Commerce agree that possibly some increase of the business license fee may be MINUTES , PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL s MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 , justifiable at this time. However, the lack of communication and/or conflicting information between the business community and the Council regarding this issue causes great concern. The consensus is, that other means of balancing the budget might be more equitable, and a close review of increased expenditures should be made. In, the future the Board would urge the Council to seek other solutions, and encourage the formation of a citizens advisory group to pursue alternate financial resources. , - , , _ PASCOordially, , Dorothy Schoeppach, President." Mr. Adams stated that he thought it was kind of late in the day to bring this in front of the Council and present it to the business community of Pasco without having adequate time to address fit and comment Mr. Kraft explained that there isn't a lot one can do about it. The budget starts to get prepared fundamentally in July and then is presented to the douncil the first Council ,Meeting in November and, by state law, he has to present a balanced budget. When the Council met recently, they agreed that $48,000 of additional money would be added back to the budget by increasing some fees; including the business license fees. What bothers the business community is that consideration of the business license fees,-is being given at this date , date,and they have so little time to react. , Mr Grigg said the Council has an obvious choice. Mr. Kraft gave the city a balanced budget, without any increases. It was a good budget except it left out some critical items. Council said they did not want to cut ,any labor, so if you don't cut, then you have to add. "I am not opposed to the business license being raised by 50% because we are still within the ballpark, and I don't really think the business community is going to become unglued. I agree one hundred percent that we have got to get the business community more actively involved. I would hope that at the first of the year we could set up something to start working on that budget very early. " Mr Snider moved that Ordinance No. 2223, which increases business licenses, be adopted. Seconded by Mr. Schmidt. Motion carried by roll call vote of four (4). Mr. Adams and Mrs. Green voting no ORDINANCE NO 2221 (City of Pasco 1981 Budget) AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE CITY OF PASCO BUDGET FOR THE YEAR 1981. , Ordinance No. 2221 was , read by !title only. Mr. Snider moved that Ordinance _ _ _ No. 2221, which will implement the 1981 budget at a level of $11,407,300, be adopted. Seconded by Mr. Schmidt. Motion carried by roll call vote of six (6). UNFINISHED BUSINESS. AGREEMENT BETWEEN CITY AND BENTON-FRANKLIN COUNTY HUMANE SOCIETY, INC Mr. Grigg moved to authorize the City Manager to sign the agreement between the City of Pasco and the Benton-Franklin County Humane Society, Inc., covering Humane Society services for the year 1981. Seconded by Mr. Adams. Motion carried by roll call vote of four (4). , Mr. Schmidt and Mr. Snider voting no. Patricia Trudeau, Deputy City Clerk T PASSED and APPROVED this L.) day of , 1980. MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING DECEMBER 22, 1980 NEW BUSINESS CALL FOR BIDS - GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE FACILITY Mr. Adams moved to authorize staff to call for bids for the new maintenance facility at the golf course. Seconded by Mr. Snider. Motion carried by roll call vote of six (6). MISCELLANEOUS -- INCLUDING SUGGESTIONS FROM THE COUNCIL- Mr. Snider raised the question of the upcoming vacancy on the Council, due to Mr. Bailie's resignation. Council directed staff to advertise this vacancy. It was agreed that the cut-off date for this advertising and receiving applications was to be the end of January, 1981. Mr Bailie stated that he had enjoyed working with the Council. He said he thought the Council had accomplished a lot during the last four years. He looked forward to a continuing good relationship with the Pasco City Council, in his position as Franklin County Commissioner. ADJOURNMENT Meeting adjourned at 10 30 P.M Chet Bailie, Mayor I ATTEST- I