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Home My WebLink AboutLUTC MINS 04-30-2007G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2007\04-30-07 LUTC Minutes.doc City of Federal Way City Council Land Use/Transportation Committee April 30,2007 City Hall 5:30 pm City Council Chambers MEETING MINUTES In attendance:Committee Chair Jack Dovey,Committee Member Dean McColgan and Committee Member Eric Faison;City Manger Neal Beets,Council Member Linda Kochmar,Council Member Jeanne Burbidge,Assistant City Manager/Emergency Manager Cary Roe;Deputy Public Works Director Ken Miller;Acting Deputy Public Works Director/Street Systems Manager Marwan Salloum;City Attorney Patricia Richardson;Senior Traffic Engineer Maryanne Zukowski,City Traffic Engineer Rick Perez,Administrative Assistant II Darlene LeMaster 1.CALL TO ORDER Chairman Dovey called the meeting to order at 5:32 p.m. 2.PUBLIC COMMENT There was no public comment. 3.BUSINESS ITEMS A.City Center Access Project Authorization to Proceed Maryanne Zukowski provided the background information on this item.Council Member Kochmar questioned the road going through Steel Lake .Ms.Zukowski clarified that there is no new road,it is a representation that there exists a north and south part of Steel Lake park,on either side of S 312th St and may be widened and improved as a comprehensive plan element,and analyzed for need with this project.Mr.Perez added that there would be a bike trail that begins at S 324th St extending to Truman High School and then to Steel Lake.The widening of S 312th St to five lanes is in the 20-year Comp plan.The four-way stop at 28th Ave S and S 312th St would either be a round-a-bout or would be signalized.Regardless of either alternative (Modification I or II),nothing has been designed yet.Potential designs will come as part of the Environmental Assessment (EA)process.Council Member Kochmar asked about LINK (light rail).Mr.Perez answered that there has been no set alignment for light rail to date,possibly not until 2020.Mr.Perez reiterated that Council has expressed the preference for an I-5 alignment and possibly to align light rail to connect with the Transit Center at S 317th St at the HOV off/on ramp;however,whether this would happen or not is purely speculative.Committee Member McColgan asked hypothetically,if there is no CCAP,when S 320th St will get out of control.Mr.Perez responded that S 320th St is already at capacity and will fail within six years.For this reason,Phase 1 of the CCAP would be to widen the offramp and S 312th St.To construct any of these projects,an EA needs to be done to analyze all of the alternatives. Committee Member McColgan commented that without the project,all intersections will fail.Ms.Zukowski concurred that all intersections will continue to fail all on their own.Committee Member McColgan commented on the economic impact to the public.Ms.Zukowski commented that people won t travel to or through the downtown core if they can t get through the gridlock.How does Economic Development play into the CCAP?Our goal is to attract businesses and not just have people travel through.Mr.Perez commented on level of service standards that had been discussed thoroughly when brought before Council earlier this year.Committee Chair Dovey wanted more of an illustration of just what is failure .Ms.Zukowski described it as sitting through multiple signal cycles,signal after signal,during multiple times of the day.Our perception of level of service and reliability,getting from place to place,etc.define failure .I-5 currently backs up daily onto the southbound exit ramp.Other local areas into the city core also backing up daily are Peasley Canyon,SR 18 and NB onramp.Rush hour would become rush hours multiple times daily.The city core also experiences backups on the weekends and during weekday mid-day.Mr.Perez added that how fast this failure progresses is dependent on the pace of development.Committee Chair Dovey asked that if the EA does not begin,what is the shelf life of the feasibility study.Ms.Zukowski reiterated that the draft APDR was submitted in 2006,based on the data that was generated in 2003.There is a three-year shelf life on data.There is not a specific shelf life for a draft APDR,but it is in the gray area of becoming outdated.If we continue forward with an EA soon,our prior work will still be valid.Assistant City Manager Roe added that once the EA is done,the City would establish a progression of project phases (Phases I through VII).When asked if there was any significance to the May 15,2007 date to go to Council,Ms. Zukowski said this date was the date chosen.There was no significance.Committee Chair Dovey expressed more concern over what the City was planning to due to acquire more emergency supplies.If there is only a limited amount of money available,shouldn t we spend what we know we have now on emergency supplies before we spend money on a study that will not produce results for years in the future.Assistant City Manager Roe explained that purchase of an auxiliary power source and snow and ice equipment is already in process,with an estimated cost between $500K and $1 Land Use/Transportation Committee Page 2 March 12,2007 G:\LUTC\LUTC Agendas and Summaries 2007\04-30-07 LUTC Minutes.doc Million.City Manager Beets and Assistant City Manager Wang feel there are uncommitted funds available for one-time funding right now if Council approves purchase of this equipment.Assistant City Manager Roe plans to take this before LUTC and Council in June of this year.Committee Member Faison asked if solar powered equipment may be an option for emergency equipment.Assistant City Manager Roe commented that solar power is not an option for City Hall or the Community Center;but for traffic signals,solar power has worked.It has been less reliable,but it has worked as a backup.The City is also looking at battery powered backup equipment.Committee Member McColgan asked for clarification on why if the Council had money in the 2007/2008 budget for the EA,why is staff back before LUTC and Council?Assistant City Manager Roe clarified that the money was budgeted in the 2007/2008 budget with the condition that staff return to LUTC and Council,asking support to proceed with the EA,hence the reason for the topic this evening. In a side conversation,Committee Chair Dovey stated that if he had to choose,he would vote for emergency funds over the CCAP.Committee Chair Faison felt confident that staff articulated there are currently funds available emergency equipment.Committee Chair Dovey wants to make sure that Council will have a discussion on how to fund emergency equipment.Council Member Kochmar also feels that funding emergency equipment should be a priority.Assistant City Manager Roe restated that funds are available right now (funds carried over from 2006). Moved:McColgan Seconded:Faison Passed:Unanimously Committee PASSED Option 1 on to the May 15,2007 City Council Consent Agenda for approval. 5.FUTURE MEETING The next regular meeting is May 21,2007. 6.ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 6:32 p.m.