Tacoma City Council Meeting - November 6, 2012

With only a few hours left before the polls closed, we knew this was going to be a fast meeting, and it was.  Even the Pledge of Allegiance was fast.  And we don’t think we’ve ever heard the City Clerk talk that fast.

CONSENT AGENDA

RESOLUTIONS

Resolution No. 38565 Setting Tuesday, November 13, 2012, at approximately 5:30 p.m., as the date for a second public hearing by the City Council on the proposed establishment of a Transportation Benefit District to fund and make improvements to the City’s transportation system. [Kurtis Kingsolver, Assistant Public Works Director/ City Engineer; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]

Resolution No. 38566 Setting Thursday, December 13, 2012, at 9:00 a.m., as the date for a hearing before the Hearing Examiner to vacate a 4,700 square-foot portion of East Q Street, lying northwest of the Burlington Northern Rail right-of-way, to construct a section of the floodwall proposed under the Central Treatment Plant Flood Protection Project. (City of Tacoma; File No. 124.1329) [Troy Stevens, Senior Real Estate Specialist; Phyllis Macleod, Hearing Examiner]

Resolution No. 38567 Authorizing the execution of a grant agreement with the Washington State Department of Ecology, in the amount of $412,500, to fund a feasibility study for a compost/anaerobic digestion facility and a project to acquire and install equipment to recycle asphalt roofing shingles and asphalt pavement material into new asphalt material for street surfacing and repair; accepting and depositing said sum into the Solid Waste Fund; and authorizing the expenditure of $137,500 in matching City funds from the Solid Waste Fund for said study and project. [Michael P. Slevin III, P.E., Interim Director, Environmental Services]

PROCLAMATIONS, RECOGNITIONS, PRESENTATIONS, AND ANNOUNCEMENTS

PUBLIC COMMENT
No comment this evening.  Everyone must be glued to their national news outlet of choice.

REGULAR AGENDA

RESOLUTIONS

Purchase Resolution No. 38568 Awarding contracts to:

1. David Evans and Associates, Inc., in the amount of $87,922, sales tax not applicable, budgeted from the Streets Special Revenue Fund, to increase the contract for bridge inspection and inventory services related to the Murray Morgan Bridge Rehabilitation Project, for a cumulative total of $1,251,739, with a contract completion date of December 31, 2013 – Specification No. PW09-0002F [Chris Larson, Engineering Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works]; and
2. Petrocard, Inc., in the amount of $4,783,500, plus sales tax, budgeted from various departmental funds on an as-needed basis, to increase the contract for vehicle fuel and carwash services, for a cumulative total of $9,387,000, for the period of January 31, 2013 through January 31, 2014 –  Specification No. UF11-0577F [Jeff Jenkins, Facilities Division Manager; Dick McKinley, Director, Public Works].

Councilmember Boe recused himself from the vote to avoid any potential for the appearance of conflict of interest.  The resolution passed without further comment.

Resolution No. 38569 Authorizing Environmental Services to participate in a Tacoma Public Utilities, Water Division, contract with Kar-Vel Construction, Inc., and contribute the amount of $1,131,235.06, plus a 10 percent contingency, excluding sales tax, for a cumulative total of $1,244,358.57, budgeted from the Wastewater Fund, to replace underground wastewater pipes in the vicinity of Vassault Street to Pearl Street from North 51st Street to North Park Avenue and install curb ramps on Stevens Street at North 25th, North 24th, and North 22nd Streets. [John O’Loughlin, Science and Engineering Division Manager; Michael P. Slevin III, P.E., Interim Director, Environmental Services]

The item passed without comment.

FINAL READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28095 Amending Chapter 6B.160 of the Municipal Code, relating to pawnbrokers, secondhand dealers, and garage sales, to include the definition of precious metals and secondhand precious metal dealers; establish an exemption section to the license; eliminate the Secondhand Goods – Trade-In license; amend the redemption periods for pawned and secondhand property to align with state law; and expand the time and dates allowed to conduct pawn brokering transactions.[Danielle Larson, Tax and License Division Manager; Steve Call, Interim Director, Finance]

Councilmember Campbell thanked staff for their work on these important changes.

Ordinance No. 28096 Amending Chapter 6B.190 of the Municipal Code, relating to scrap metal and recyclable material dealers, to amend the type of marking required on vehicles used for the collection or disposal of scrap metal or recyclable materials; amend the type of reporting requirements to be made to the Tacoma Police Department; and amend the record-keeping requirement to align with state law.[Danielle Larson, Tax and License Division Manager; Steve Call, Interim Director, Finance]

The item passed without Council comment.

FIRST READING OF ORDINANCES

Ordinance No. 28097 Amending Chapter 11.15 of the Municipal Code, relating to special events, transferring the coordination and permitting authority from the City Clerk’s Office to the Community and Economic Development Department; clarifying and expanding definitions, public notification, insurance requirements, and types of events that are subject to constitutional protections and allowing promotion and coordination of events prior to the issuance of a permit. [Kala Dralle, Economic Development Specialist; Ricardo Noguera, Director, Community and Economic Development]

This ordinance requests changes to the special events permitting process.  The number of special events in Tacoma has increased in recent years, and these changes are intended to streamline the process, support automation of processes, and support small business involvement and economic development.

There was some discussion of how the City and Metro Parks could coordinate their event permitting processes to improve both the permitting process for event organizers, and the event experience for the public.  The City and Metro Parks are meeting on a regular basis to understand each other’s processes and discuss aligning fees, paperwork, etc.

If the ordinance passes, next steps will include a communications roll out to inform stakeholders of the changes, both internally to City departments and externally to the public and small businesses.  A new fee schedule will also be proposed for implementation; if this proposal passes, we’ll see the new fees come before Council in early December.

Ordinance No. 28098 Amending Chapter 12.13 of the Municipal Code, relating to Click! Network cable TV products, to increase rates for cable television products and related services, effective January 1, 2013. [Tenzin Gyaltsen, Click! General Manager; Ted Coates, Superintendent, Tacoma Power]

The proposed rate increase will allow Tacoma Power to recoup costs and maintain service levels, while supporting its long-term goals of providing cable service options for Tacomans and keeping costs in the area low through competition.  According to staff, even with this increase, Click! will maintain its competitive advantage, keeping rates in Tacoma 28% lower than in Olympia and Seattle.  If passed, the rate increases would go into effect January 1, 2013, and Click! rates remaining lower than the other provider in Tacoma.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS

REPORTS BY THE CITY MANAGER
The City’s landfill and shop remodel project was selected for the Northwest Construction Consumer Council’s 2012 Best Public Project Under $10 million.  The project is also seeking LEED Silver certification for the building’s reuse of harvested rainwater, hydronic solar thermal something-or-other, and diversion of waste.  The award will be presented at the NWCCC’s next annual conference.

COMMENTS AND COMMITTEE REPORTS OF THE CITY COUNCIL

Economic Development Committee – Councilmember Fey –
The committee received a presentation on the economic impact of Metro Parks, including its value to the community both in terms of increasing property values and the environmental, social health and other community health benefits.  Other topics included the Urban Land Institute Brewery District Analysis.  The “ULIBDA” presented methods to achieve the vision for the district as a high-density mixed-use center, with a focus on the completion of the Prairie Line Trail, leveraging of City-owned buildings, and other historic buildings in the district.  The next meeting will include updates from representatives of local business organizations on emerging issues. 

Councilmember Ibsen reminded us that it’s Election Day, and for those procrastinators out there who happened to be watching City Council, ballot dropboxes closed in 2 hrs and 20 minutes.

Mayor Strickland seconded the reminder to drop ballots off, warning that some didn’t get counted in the last election due to missing the cut-off.  Don’t leave it to chance

ADJOURNMENT

5:36.  Done.