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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03-05-1984 MinutesMINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MARCH 5, 1984 CALL TO ORDER Meeting called to order at 8 00 P M by Joe W Jackson, Mayor ROLL CALL By City Clerk Councilmen present were Susan Boothe, Beverly Green, Charles Grigg, Ira Schmidt, E A Snider, Joe Jackson and Emerson Morgan Also present were Lee Kraft, City Manager, Greg Rubstello, City Attorney, Jerry C Conner, Acting Finance Director; Dennis Wright, City Engineer, Donald Francis, Chief of Police, Larry Dickinson, Acting Fire Chief, Gary Crutchfield, Director of Community Development, and Webster Jackson, Personnel/ Purchasing Supervisor I CONSENT AGENDA Mr Snider moved to approve Consent Agenda with the exception of 3-D, Water Filtration Plant Site, which will be considered under Unfinished Business Seconded by Mrs Boothe Motion carried Consent items are as follows a) Approval of Minutes To approve minutes of regular meeting, held February 21, 1984 b) Bills To approve General Claims in the amount of $43,561 62; claim warrant nos 37795 through 37864 c) Fourth Avenue (Sylvester to Court) Proposal to Modify Existing Roadway from Two Lanes to Four Lanes by Eliminating Parking on each Side of the Street and Certain Parts of West Side To set a public hearing for 8 00 P M , Monday, April 2, 1984, to consider eliminating certain portions of the on-street parking on Fourth Avenue, between Shoshone and Court Streets, for the purpose of providing sufficient width to allow the roadway to be III marked as four lanes, together with left turn pockets at specified intersections, and to realign the intersection of Third and Fourth Avenues, and to notify all property owners who would stand to lose on-street parking, or who would have restrictions imposed on ingress and egress d) Senior Center Completion Fund Drive To confirm the support of the Council in the efforts of the Pasco/Franklin County Senior Citizens Association to raise roughly $350,000 in private donations for the expansion of the Senior Center e) Appointments to Park/Recreation Advisory Council To confirm the Mayor's reappointment of Tom Brandon and Dave Primus to the Park and Recreation Advisory Council, to three year terms of office which would both expire on February 2, 1987 f) Resolution No 1622 A Resolution accepting the work performed by Ray Poland and Sons Construction, Inc , under Contract with the City for construction of the East Pasco Booster Station and Raw Water Improvements, being City Project Nos 81-2-07 and 78-2-06 g) Resolution No 1623 A Resolution fixing the time and place for a public hearing to consider vacation of a certain alley in Block 21, Wehe's First Addition (Ephesus Church Alley Vacation) h) Resolution No 1624 A Resolution accepting the work by Transtate Paving Company, under contract for Project No 83-3-03 1) Columbia Basin Shrine Club - Waiver of City Admission Tax To waive the City Admission Tax for two performances of the Gold Unit of the Hubert Castle International 3-Ring Circus, to show at the Edgar Brown Stadium on Thursday, June 28, 1984, at 4 30 P M and 8 00 P M I Page Two MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MARCH 5, 1984 VISITORS Mr Robert Davis, Manager of Sun Dial Apartments, 821 S 9th, asked why the City could not tow away vehicles blocking private driveways properly posted, and further, why did it take an hour for Police to respond to a complaint Staff replied that laws are rather explicit what can or cannot be done in regard to vehicles blocking driveways Further, they were working on new language and Chief Francis was working with towing companies for a solution to problem Mr Davis agreed to meet with City Attorney and City Manager to resolve differences ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS NOT RELATED TO PUBLIC HEARINGS ORDINANCE NO 2490 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE 22, ZONING, BY ENACTING A NEW CHAPTER 22 35 ENTITLED "HOME OCCUPATIONS" AND REPEALING PMC SECTION 22 12 390 Ordinance No 2490 was read by title only Mr Schmidt moved to adopt Ordinance No 2490, amending Title 22, ZONING, by enacting a new Chapter 22 35 entitled "Home Occupations" and repealing PMC Section 22 12 390 Seconded by Mr Snider Motion carried by roll call vote of six (6) Councilperson Green voting no - Mr Grigg moved to adopt Summary of Ordinance No 2490, relating to "Home Occupations " Seconded by Mrs Boothe Motion carried by roll call vote of seven (7) UNFINISHED BUSINESS Water Filtration Plant Site - Proposed Installation of Curb/Gutter and Sidewalk Mr. Earl Warren was recognized and asked why the City was going to incur expense of putting curb, gutter and sidewalk in an area where there had been no problem He felt $20,000 could be better spent somewhere else The City Manager replied that money was coming from Water/Sewer Fund and it could not be spent for parks or social agencies Mr. Grigg defended improvement because the grass was growing in the street and he felt the City had an obligation to provide a safe place for children to play Mr Grigg moved to authorize staff to finalize plans and call for bids to install curb, gutter and sidewalk on the Water Treatment Plant side of each of the four streets adjacent to the Water Filtration Plant Seconded by Mr Schmidt. Motion carried NEW BUSINESS Request from Benton-Franklin Rape Relief & Sexual Assault Program Mrs Linda Clarkson was present and distributed copies of their budget as well as brochures detailing their program. She enlightened the Council on traumatic experiences of victims and was enthusiastic about their new "Child Awareness" Program dealing with sexual abuse Mrs Clarkson was hopeful that funds might be available from the City of Pasco to assist in continuing their program Mr Snider commended Mrs Clarkson and her staff for their worthwhile project, however, our 1984 Budget was extremely tight and there were no funds available at this time He encouraged her to submit her request in time for preparation of 1985 preliminary budget Bid Results - Liquid Chlorine Mr Grigg moved to award bid for the furnishing of liquid chlorine to the City of Pasco to All Pure Chemical Company for one year. (February 22, 1984 to Februa-y 19, 1985) Seconded by Mr Schmidt Motion carried Page Three MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MARCH 5, 1984 NEW BUSINESS - Continued Consolidation Petitions The City Attorney, Greg Rubstello, was recognized and gave highlights of his opinion on the petitions for consolidation and reasons for rejection of same Basically, they are as follows 1 The failure of the initiators of the petition to file a Notice of Intention with the Franklin County Boundary Review Board defeats the jurisdiction of the Pasco City Council to entertain the petition This jurisdictional defect cannot be "sidestepped" by the joint Resolution method of consolidation 2 HB 1435 is unconstitutional and void The legislation is in contravention of two articles of the Washington State Constitution which prohibits the creation of municipal corporations by special laws HB 1435 is further unconstitutional for the reason that the provision for a 21-member city council is patently unconstitutional, because it violates the one man, one vote requirements of our Federal and State constitutions 3 The petition requests consolidation pursuant to Chapter 35 10 RCW, but the petition submitted is materially insufficient under that Chapter for the reason that it fails to provide in any manner for the form of government of the consolidated city 4 Because the legislation leading to HB 1435 being adopted was introduced during the pendency of the consolidation petition drive, the petition language was misleading to its signators, thus making the petitions fatally defective and foreclosing jurisdiction of the City Council to call for a special election Mr Rubstello concluded his opinion with the following statement "The end result is that a petition for consolidation has been filed with the Pasco City Council that you cannot act upon because of a lack of jurisdiction due to the failure of the initiators of the petition to comply with statutory prerequisites and the insufficiency of the petition itself To act upon the petition as requested by its proponents could create an intolerable situation If the election were to be held and consolidation were to be approved, any action of the governing body of the new consolidated city could be challenged and voided at any time because of the voidness of the new corporation itself For example, see Town of Denver vs Spokane Falls, 7 Wash 226 (1893) I recommend, however, because of the notoriety of this matter, the confidence that I have in the opinions that I have given you and the cries of "obstructionism" that surely will be made, that the City of Pasco with or without the support of Kennewick and Richland, immediately file a Declaratory Judgement Action in the Superior Court to obtain a judicial determination of the issues that I have raised and discussed in this opinion In conclusion, let me say that I truly regret having to give the opinions with regard to the sufficiency of the petition that I have made in this opinion It is unfortunate that such things have to be said about a petition that has been signed by voters of this city and about legislation that has been passed by the State Legislature with the support of some local area legislators It was not I, however, nor this City Council, nor our Mayor, nor our City Manager, that put this petition before our citizens for signature or the legislation before our legislators for passage For that, I am glad I only have to explain how I put such a petition before our citizens for signatures or put such legislation before our State legislators for passage Those that did will have the much tougher job or the much more unpleasant ii task of explanation Therefore, he urged rejection of petition, as submitted No further business to come before , ATTEST , City Clerk PASSED and APPROVED this //, day he Council, meeting adjourned at 9 10 P M Page Four PASCO REGULAR MEETING CONSOLIDATION - Continued MINUTES CITY COUNCIL MARCH 5, 1984 I Mr Snider moved to reject the consolidation petitions, submitted to the City Council of Pasco, on the advice of the City Attorney, because the jurisdictional prerequisites of law relating to the filing of the petition have not been met Seconded by Mr Schmidt Motion carried by roll call vote of seven (7) Mr. Snider moved to direct the City Attorney, in concert with City Manager, to go to the Superior Court of Franklin County and seek an immediate Declaratory Judgement on the determination of the legal issues raised in the City Attorney's opinion and, further, that the Cities of Kennewick and Richland be invited to join in this action, if by Friday of this week it is their determination to do so Seconded by Mrs Green Mr Ed Hendler felt that proponents (Tri Citians for Strength Through Unity) should take this action and bear necessary expense in this issue He disagreed with recommendation that the City be plaintiffs in such Declaratory Judgement The City Attorney reiterated that we would be involved in any event Further, we needed some clear direction and we would control proceedings if it went to litigation Councilman Grigg suggested that the Staff replied that further informat kept informed City Council make the necessary decision on is forthcoming and the council will be Councilman Snider moved to withdraw his motion with concurrence of his second, Beverly Green Mrs Green concurred to withdraw her second Mr Ed Martin, Kennewick, Washington, voiced strong disapproval of consolidation on the basis that people were not fully aware of what they were signing when they signed petitions ADJOURNMENT I