The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutLUTC MINS 04-03-2006G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2006\04-03-06 LUTC Minutes.doc City of Federal Way City Council Land Use/Transportation Committee April 3rd, 2006 City Hall 5:30 pm City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES In attendance: Committee chair Jack Dovey; Committee member Dean McColgan; Committee member Eric Faison; Council Member Jeanne Burbidge; Council Member Linda Kochmar; Mayor Michael Park; Interim City Manager Derek Matheson; Public Works Director Cary Roe; Public Works Deputy Director Ken Miller; Community Development Deputy Director Greg Fewins; Street Systems Manager Marwan Salloum; Streets Project Engineer Al Emter; City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez; MIS Director Iwen Wang; Senior Planner Margaret Clark; Deputy City Attorney Karen Kirkpatrick; Associate Planner Andy Bergsagel; and Administrative Assistant II Marianne Lee. A. CALL TO ORDER Councilman Dovey called the meeting to order at 5:34 pm. B. APPROVAL OF MINUTES The March 20th, 2006, minutes were approved. C. PUBLIC COMMENT none D. BUSINESS ITEMS A. S 333rd and 1st Way South Traffic Signal – Project Award Cary Roe provided background information on this item. Moved: McColgan Seconded: Faison Passed: Unanimously Cmte PASSED staff recommendation on to the April 18th, 2006 Council Consent Agenda. B. Triangle Project Status Rick Perez provided the background information on WSDOT’s position and informed the LUTC that the DOT will be making a presentation after initial questions were asked. Committee member Faison asked how much it would cost to fix the intersection of Enchanted Pkwy and 356th? Rick responded that it would be an extra $4 million. Faison asked that, although $100 million has been invested in this project, an additional $4 million is too much to add? Rick said that yes that is a fair statement, although there are more factors involved. Committee member Faison asked if the City or DOT received the grant money. Rick responded that DOT got the state money, but the City of Federal Way got the Federal money, for the DOT, for this project. Committee member Faison noted that we need to resolve issues for the City in addition to the DOT. Jilma Jimenez, of Berger ABAM, began the presentation for DOT. The area they were looking at was from S 356th to Fife (and a proposed intersection of SR167 and I-5) as the North and South boundaries. They looked at the purpose and needs: 1. Safety; 2. Capacity; 3. Transportation Demand; 4. Roadway Deficiencies (short-weave loop interchanges on SR18 & I-5). DOT plans to initially replace two of the short-weave loops (with fly-over direct access ramps) at the SE and NW corners. The entire cost will be $165m - $225m; currently they have $113m so they will be moving forward in phases. Regarding the S 356th & SR161 intersection redesign, DOT prefers Alternative ‘C’, an off ramp at the edge of the bridge section of Enchanted over I-5, while the City feels Alternative ‘F’, modifying the S356th intersection, is a better solution. Councilmember Kochmar asked if the DOT’s alternative will entail a new light at the new intersection at the bridge. Jilma said yes, there will be a new light. Committee member McColgan said that the Level of Service (LOS) is not getting much better; it goes from an ‘F’ to an ‘F+’ on the DOT’s LOS chart. Jilma said it would be at ‘E’ for seven years before falling to ‘F’ in 2013. Councilwoman Burbidge asked why the LOS on the I-5 loops would be an ‘F’. Does the ‘F’ LOS incorporate the new lane? Jilma responded that it’s an ‘F’ because of the freeway capacity at the short-weave loop interchanges and yes, the ‘F’ Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 2 April 3rd, 2006 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2006\04-03-06 LUTC Minutes.doc incorporates the new lane. Committee chair Dovey asked if the chart was skewed due to the assigned points (no gradient, but a top score and multiple bottom scores). Council member Mayor Park asked, given the cost estimate of $165m - $225m, what is the top estimate? Jilma said DOT cannot tell yet. Mayor Park suggested that the 4m extra could perhaps be absorbed into the range of accepted cost. Jilma said that the timeframe in which DOT receives the money will affect the final price. She said that cost is just one criterion. Committee member Faison asked if $4 million is the only difference. Chair Dovey asked that if the $4 million is the only difference, is safety really DOT’s most important criterion. Is cost being chosen over safety? Jilma said that once you look at everything, Alternative C is still the best. Chair Dovey stated that the City wants the safest option, over the cheapest option. Committee member Faison asked about Alternative J. Is the fact that it included roundabouts the reason it was not chosen? Susan Everett responded that this alternative is not best for pedestrians, especially considering the nearby student population of Todd Beamer High School. A 3-lane roundabout has not been done “successfully” in the nation and with all the truck traffic and the high-school; this is not the best location to start putting them in. DOT does intend to use a 3-lane roundabout but they want the one they put in to be universally accepted as successful. Roundabouts have more accidents, although they are less severe, according to Jilma. Committee member Faison noted that reducing congestion is his top priority. Susan presented the Money & Funding side of DOT’s presentation. She said DOT is grateful for all the City’s work on getting the money. Of their expected price, $30m is inflation, $45m is contingency and risk. They have tried to quantify the risk, but she feels that $180m - $270m is the more accurate final price tag. There must be a successful Phase I of this project (interchange improvement) in order to get more Federal money. The cost of Phase I is approximately $140m. Committee member Faison asked how the City can support this if it does not meet the City’s needs. Susan Everett said that Alternatives C & F both meet the City’s needs. … The Committee discussed RTID funding and Chair Dovey noted that they are interested in the long-term livability of Federal Way. If it is between Safety and Dollars, he votes for safety. It seems to be coming down to money. Moved Alternative ‘F’: Faison Seconded: McColgan Passed: Unanimously Cmte PASSED staff recommendation, Alternative ‘F’, on to the April 18th, 2006 Council Consent Agenda. C. Comprehensive Plan Amendment Selection Process - Lee, Yen, & Lifeway Church Margaret Clark was available to answer questions from this item from the March 20th LUTC meeting. Committee member Faison asked if this item is tied to how the City pays for item D (Staff Position request). Chair Dovey said that if the items are separated from a comprehensive study, then Lifeway should be moved forward. The other two require a larger study before then can be decided; if voted upon now they will fail. Committee member McColgan said that he would require convincing that the larger study is not cost prohibitive. Kathy McClung gave some additional information. If these studies are done we will need an additional staff person (Sr. Planner). There is money in CD for the Planning position but this would also require additional traffic and SWM work. Moved: Faison Seconded: Dovey Passed: Unanimously Cmte PASSED amended staff recommendation and approved items 1.(b) for Lifeway Church, 2.(c) for Yen and 3.(c) for Lee. Lifeway Church will go forward to Council for a public hearing on May 16th, 2006. Lee & Yen will not be considered further at this time. D. Planning Staff Position Request Kathy McClung & Cary Roe presented the background information on this item. Ms. McClung stated that there is funding available in CD for the Senior Planner position, but these studies would also require work from the Traffic and SWM divisions of PW. Mr. Roe presented a table outlining the funding sources for the staff positions, of the $450,000 required, $250,000 can be funding with existing money. Moved: Faison Seconded: Dovey Passed: Unanimously Cmte PASSED parts of staff recommendation to the April 18th, 2006 Council Consent Agenda. Cmte approved the CD staff addition, the SWM work, and all of the PW work except the Rezone Traffic Analysis for SW 356th & BP to BC. Included in the PW work for additional staff resources is a Grid Road Analysis. 5. FUTURE MEETINGS The next scheduled meeting will be April 17th 2006. 6. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m.