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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1997.05.05 Council MinutesMINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING MAY 5, 1997 CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 7 30 P M by Charles D Kilbury, Mayor Mayor Kilbury recessed to at executive session at 7 32 p m to discuss potential litigation and reconvened the meeting at 7 55 p m ROLL CALL By Deputy City Clerk Councilmembers present Michael Garrison, Joe Jackson, Chris Jensen, Charles Kilbury, Dan Lathim, Rebecca Francik, and Carl Strode Also present Gary Crutchfield, City Manager, Leland B Kerr, City Attorney, Dan Underwood, Finance Director, Dave McDonald, City Planner, Webster Jackson, Administrative Services Manager, Denis Austin, Police Chief, Dick Erickson, Parks & Recreation Director, Richard Smith, Community & Economic Dev Director, Kurt Luhrs, Personnel/Risk Manager, and Tim Arntzen, Management Assistant PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE The meeting was opened with the Pledge of Allegiance CONSENT AGENDA MOTION Mr Garrison moved to approve the Consent Agenda Seconded by Mr Lathim Motion carried unanimously Consent items are as follows A) Approval of Minutes To approve minutes of Regular Meeting held April 21, 1997 To approve minutes of Special Meeting held April 28, 1997 B) Bills and Communications To approve General Claims in the amount of $875,683 77 ($15,926 22 being in the form of Wire Transfer Nos 3058 and 3059, and $859,757 55 consisting of Claim Warrants numbered 102001 through 102243) Payroll Claims To approve Payroll Claims in the amount of $661,484 10, Payroll Voucher Nos 3447 through 3919 Bad Debt Write-offs To approve bad debt write-offs for utility billing, ambulance, Municipal Court non-criminal, criminal and parking accounts receivable, in the total amount of $278,877 45 and, of that amount, authorize $277,427 51 be turned over for collection C) Surplus Personal Property To declare the bleachers located at the Memorial Swimming Pool surplus to city need and authorize staff to transfer said bleachers to the Pasco School District D) Special Permit Location of an Electrical Substation on South Oregon Avenue (MF #97-42-SP) To approve the special permit for the Franklin County PUD substation on South Oregon Avenue, as recommended by the Planning Commission E) Resolution No 2308 To approve Resolution No 2308, fixing 7 30 p m, June 2, 1997, as the time and date for a public hearing to consider the proposed vacation of a portion of the east/west alley in Block 1, Gray's East Riverside Addition MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 PROCLAMATIONS AND ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Yard of the Month Award Mayor Kilbury presented Yard of the Month Awards for April, 1997 to the following Pasco residents Virginia Chavez, 203 North Owen Avenue (unable to attend) Rosa Tnllayes, 1224 South 4th Avenue Bill 85 Sandy Clark, 1504 West Bonneville Street Anne Taber, 1315 North 15th Avenue William 85 Janet Allen, 2212 West Pearl Street (unable to attend) Marvin &Evelyn Ricard, 4100 Horizon Drive Clifford 86 Wanda Haines, 4305 West Ruby Street VISITORS Mayor Kilbury acknowledged the presence of Troop #159, under the guidance of Mr Tom Roach REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES AND/OR OFFICERS Ms Francik invited anyone interested to apply for a position on the Mid- Columbia Arts Council to fill boardmember vacancies PUBLIC HEARINGS Demolition/Clean Up 120 West Shoshone Street Mr David McDonald, City Planner, addressed Council and noted for the record that notice of the public hearing was published as required by law Mr McDonald explained that the owner of the property failed to take corrective action as requested by the City to eliminate the substandard conditions on his property As a result the City, though application of the Uniform Housing Code, hired a contractor to remove the remains of an apartment building and accompanying debris from the property at an incurred cost of $4,627 27 Staff recommends making the costs for abatement a personal obligation of the owner In this case the property had a change in ownership while the work was being accomplished, making it difficult for a lien to be effective To avoid protracted legal expenses on the recovery of costs, staff and Mr Newborne have reached a mutual agreement on a payment schedule for the abatement costs Mr Newborne will make 12 monthly payments to the City to satisfy his obligation MAYOR KILBURY DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN TO CONSIDER RECOVERY OF ABATEMENT COSTS FOR DEMOLITION/CLEAN UP OF 120 WEST SHOSHONE STREET Following three (3) calls from Mayor Kilbury for comments from the floor, either for or against, and there being none, the public hearing was declared closed MOTION Mr Garrison moved to make the abatement costs for demolition work at 120 West Shoshone Street a personal obligation of William A Newborne and direct the City Attorney to collect abatement costs by use of all appropriate legal remedies Mr Lathim seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously Easement Vacation - Vacate a portion of utility easement in Main Avenue abutting Blocks 29 and 30, Frey's Addition (MF #97-40-V) Mr David McDonald, City Planner, addressed Council and noted for the record that notice of the public hearing was published and posted as required by law -2- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 Mr McDonald explained that Mr Kurt Lockard, the owner of Blocks 29 and 30, Frey's Addition, filed a petition requesting a 20 foot easement on either side of vacated Main Avenue (east/west) The easement contains a large sewer line that services the King City Truck Stop area and during discussions with the property owner and the City Engineer, it was determined that the best option would be to only vacate 20 feet on the east side of the easement This would leave a 60 foot easement for the sewer line The 20 foot vacation would allow a new building to be constructed on the property, and a part of the easement, which would result in a new business coming to Pasco MAYOR KILBURY DECLARED THE PUBLIC HEARING OPEN TO CONSIDER THE VACATION OF THE EAST AND WEST 20 FEET OF THE UTILITY EASEMENT LOCATED IN VACATED MAIN AVENUE BETWEEN THE SOUTH LINE OF SUPERIOR STREET AND THE NORTH LINE OF PUEBLO STREET Following three (3) calls from Mayor Kilbury for comments from the floor, either for or against, and there being none, the public hearing was declared closed ORDINANCE NO. 3230 AN ORDINANCE VACATING A PORTION OF THE EASEMENT IN VACATED MAIN AVENUE BETWEEN BLOCKS 29 AND 30, FREY'S ADDITION MOTION Ordinance No 3230, was read by title only Mr Garrison moved to adopt Ordinance No 3230, vacating portions of Main Avenue between Superior Street and Pueblo Street Mr Jensen seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously ORDINANCES/RESOLUTIONS NOT RELATED TO PUBLIC HEARINGS Mayor Kilbury explained that he would remove himself from the discussion of the following ordinance due to a conflict of interest and turning the meeting over to Mr Garrison, as Mayor Pro-tern ORDINANCE NO. 3231 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PMC 5 04 160 IN REGARDS TO RENTAL-DWELLING UNIT BUSINESS LICENSE FEES AND CREATING NEW CHAPTER 5 78 ENTITLED "RENTAL LICENSE" PROVIDING FOR THE LICENSING AND INSPECTION OF RESIDENTIAL DWELLING UNITS Mr Smith explained to Council that at the conclusion of the 1996 retreat, Council identified streamlining the code enforcement process and establishing a rental licensing and inspection program as a top priority for 1996-97 In November 1996, the Council adopted an ordinance creating the Pasco Code Enforcement Board (CEB) and establishing a system to process violations of the Pasco Municipal Code as civil violations Code Enforcement Officers have found that a heavy preponderance of serious code violations are found on rental properties Of the forty-two (42) civil violation cases which have been brought before the new CEB since March 1997, a total of twenty-six (62%) have been for violations at non- owner occupied properties In the City of Seattle approximately seventy percent (70%) of the units inspected in conjunction with their rental licensing and inspection program were found to be in violation of housing and related codes By licensing and systematically inspecting all rental dwellings, code enforcement staff can pro-actively address the most serious code violations -3- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 Mr Jensen questioned what would happen if a tenant notified the City that they did not want the inspection done, would the City force the inspection'? Mr Jensen also asked if it would be the City's intention to schedule the inspections when tenant's were not at home? Mr Smith stated that the City would not force entry into the tenant's residence and staff would encourage the tenant to be present during the inspection, as well as the landlord The landlord would be given a ten (10) day notice prior to the inspection of the property Mayor Pro-tern Garrison read the following statement into the record "I had a number of phone calls over the last three (3) days Most of the calls were from renters given only half of the facts Some of the calls were questions, some stated opinions and several were threatening and rude The facts, as I understand them are, that under the Landlord/Tenant Act a landlord has the right to inspect any rental property after giving forty-eight (48) hours notice to the renter The City will provide the landlord with, at least, ten (10) days notice of an inspection The City would make the inspections with the landlord, or his representative who arranged for the inspection, with the renter No City Inspector will for their way into any rental unit, nor will they show up without any notice from the landlord Inspections would be, at the most, once a year More likely, once every fourteen (14) to twenty-four (24) months In order for the landlord to rent they must have a business license In order to keep their business license rental properties must meet building, health and safety codes, which would require inspections This ordinance will add rental duplexes and single family rentals, which have not been license before I believe that many of the problem rentals, that are out there at this point in time, are of that size because they have not been regulated I believer the inspections, even for the best ran rental units, is good because finding one code or safety item that could prevent an injury or death is worth the trouble" Mayor Pro-tern Garrison explained that he lives next to an apartment complex and feels it is one of the best maintained in the Tr-Cities, however, he feels it would be of benefit to the tenants' to have the inspection Ms Ellen Rangle, of Sun Gardens West #10, spoke for herself and six (6) other apartment residents about the proposed ordinance and asked if individual units in a large complex would be inspected 2 What would be the purpose of the inspection as far as the residents were concerned and would a search warrant be used in the event a tenant refused to allow the inspection? Mr Smith explained that individual units in an apartment complex would be inspected and the inspections would be to assure that the facility meets minimum standards of health and safety, i e , is the plumbing functioning properly or does the roof leak Mr Crutchfield explained that if a tenant refused the inspection it would be between the tenant and the landlord The City would only deal with the landlord with respect to that issue The City would not force entry into anyone's apartment Ms Brenda Alford, spoke as a representative of the Franklin County Republican Central Committee, spoke in opposition to the proposed ordinance and felt it would unnecessarily extend the government's role in the landlord-tenant relationship and create additional unnecessary regulations The Republican CentralCommittee also feels that adoption of the ordinance would infringe upon personal freedoms and rights to privacy by subjecting landlords and tenants to annual inspections of the rental units -4- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 Ms Linda Hinton, of 1720 West Court Street #D, spoke in opposition and felt an inspection of her unit would be intrusive and an invasion of her privacy She felt Council should go after the slum landlords Mr Devon Woodward, of 1907 West Jay Street #G, questioned whatever happened to normal fire inspections and to decent people taking care of themselves and their property'? He felt any additional costs incurred by the landlord would be passed on to the tenant Ms Birtha Glat, of 4212 Mojave Drive, asked if the City would be hiring an inspector who would work evenings and weekends to make it convenient for the tenant'? Mr Crutchfield explained that the City would likely have to do just that and the City already has a lot of employees that work off the normal daytime hours Mayor Pro-tem Garrison asked if staff could schedule a "Town Meeting" to answer questions and concerns from tenants and landlords'? Mr Crutchfield agreed that it would be beneficial to all concerned to hold a meeting at the Franklin County PUD Auditorium to answer the kinds of questions that are being raised Mr Tom Thomlm, of 1721 North 10 Avenue, was opposed to the ordinance because it would invade his privacy Mr Gabe Penley, of 507 North 4 Avenue #602, was opposed to the ordinance Mr Allen Gunter stated the pink flyer was put out by the Columbia Basin Apartment Association and felt it was an accurate explanation of what the City was proposing with the ordinance He also stated that no where in the City's proposed ordinance does it state that the City will give ten (10) days notice before an inspection Ms Charlene Snyder, of 1604 Jadwm Avenue #4-A, Richland, explained that people who live in subsidized housing are used to being inspected Mr Kent McMullen, spoke as a representative of the Franklin County Farm Bureau, and stated he viewed the proposed ordinance as a threat to a stable work force and felt the ordinance was discriminating against a segment of society Mr Jason Anderson, of 1821 North 21 Avenue, was opposed to the ordinance and didn't want his privacy invaded Mr Earl Wash, manager of the Americana Apartments, explained that he follows very strict guidelines for the maintenance of the apartments through HUD and that the apartments are inspected twice a year Mr Wash felt that subsidized housing should be exempt from additional inspections conducted by the City Mr Crutchfield explained that the proposed ordinance would exempt those rental units owned and maintained by the Pasco Housing Authority The rational being that those units are being inspected at least annually by HUD and the inspections records are available to the City for review It could be put into the ordinance that any other subsidized housing, that is subject to periodic inspection, would not require additional inspections Ms Nancy De Lorenzo, 2326 Easton Avenue of Richland, informed Council that she felt this ordinance would set a precedent through out the Tr- Cities -5- MINUTES REGULAR MEETING PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 Ms Jennifer Jones, no address given, felt the ordinance would be a violation of her right to privacy Ms Minnie Pesma, of 407 West Shoshone Street, felt the Council was doing the correct thing to hold a "Town Meeting" She wanted to remind the City to advertise in the Spanish Newspaper and on Spanish Radio Mr Mel DeWeber, no address given - owns property in Pasco, was opposed to the ordinance Ms Jennifer Marsh, of Sacajawea Apartments #509, was concerned about how the ordinance would be enforced MOTION Mr Strode moved to table the ordinance until such time that staff can conduct a "Town Meeting" to answer questions from the public Mr Jackson seconded the motion Motion carried (Kilbury - Abstain) Mayor Pro-tern Garrison turned the meeting back over to Mayor Kilbury Mayor Kilbury recessed for a short break at 9 04 p m and reconvened at 9 09 p m RESOLUTION NO. 2309 A RESOLUTION ACCEPTING WORK BY TRANSTATE PAVING, INC UNDER CONTRACT PROJECT NO 94-3-03 MOTION Resolution No 2309, was read by title only Mr Garrison moved to approve Resolution No 2309, accepting the work performed by Transtate Paving, Inc for Project No 94-3-03, which was the "A" Street Overlay Mr Lathim seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously ORDINANCE NO. 3232 AN ORDINANCE INCREASING THE MONTHLY COMPENSATION PAID THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCILMEMBERS, AND AMENDING SECTION 2 16 010 OF THE PASCO MUNICIPAL CODE MOTION Ordinance No 3232, was read by title only Mr Garrison moved to adopt Ordinance No 3232, increasing the monthly compensation paid the Mayor and Councilmembers Mr Lathim seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously UNFINISHED BUSINESS None NEW BUSINESS Contract between the City of Pasco and Ravenhurst Development, Inc for the preparation of Market and Economic Analysis for a grocery store in East Pasco MOTION Mr Garrison moved to approve the agreement with Ravenhurst Development, Inc for the preparation of market and economic analysis for a grocery store in East Pasco Mr Lathim seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously Drilling of Well - Baseball/Soccer Fields MOTION Mr Garrison moved to table this issue until a special meeting to be held on May 12, 1997, at 7 30 p m Mr Lathim seconded the motion Motion carried unanimously -6- ', i /AA , i i..A. I A' "es D Kilburcr, ayor MINUTES PASCO CITY COUNCIL MAY 5, 1997 REGULAR MEETING MISCELLANEOUS - INCLUDING SUGGESTIONS FROM COUNCIL Mayor Kalbury recessed to an executive session at 9 20 p m to discuss a personnel matter ADJOURNMENT No further business, the meeting was adjourned at 9 45 P M ATTEST Cathenne D Seaman Deputy City Clerk PASSED and APPROVED this 19 day of May , 1997 -7-