Council MIN 01-03-2007 Special
FEDERAL WAY CITY COUNCIL
. SPECIAL MEETING
Hylebos Conference Room - City Hall
January 3, 2007 - 7:30 a.m.
(www.cityoffedera/way.com)
SUMMARY MINUTES
Council Present: Senator Tracey Eide; Representative Skip Priest; Representative Mark Miloscia; Mayor Mike Park;
Council members Kochmar, McColgan, Dovey, Burbidge, & Deputy Mayor Ferrell via conference call.
Council member Faison excused.
Staff Present: City Manager Neal Beets; Assistant City Manager Derek Matheson; Public Works Director Cary Roe;
City Attorney Pat Richardson; Public Safety Director Brian Wilson; and Deputy City Clerk Krystal
Kelsey.
Others Present: Peter Dodds, Senior Legislative Assistant ~o Senator Eide; and LobbyistDoug Levy.
I. WELCOME AND INTRODUCTIONS
Mayor Park thanked each legislator for attending and introduced Assistant City Manager Derek Matheson.
II. OVERVIEW ON HOW THE CITY'S 2007 LEGISLATIVE AGENDA WAS DEVELOPED AND REVISED
FROM PRIOR YEARS & WHAT'S IN AGENDA BOOKLETS
Mr. Matheson distributed and gave a brief overview of the Legislative Agenda and also distributed a graph
depicting the City's General/Street Fund Budget Projections.
III. PRESENTATIONS ON CITY'S ACTIVE ITEMS FOR THE 2007 SESSION
.
TRANSPORTATION: Council member Burbidge reviewed the money allocated to date for several Federal Way
transportation projects including the triangle project. Council member Burbidge spoke regarding the
importance of continued funding and empathized with the difficulties in funding so many projects
throughout the state, especially given rising construction costs and high-profile projects including the 520
Bridge and Alaska Way Viaduct projects. Council member Burbidge announced that a stakeholders group
concerning the Triangle Project would be meeting on Tuesday, January 9 at 7:30 a.m.
.
CAPITAL BUDGET REOUESTS: Councilmember Dovey briefed the audience and legislators on the Camp
Kilworth acquisition including the history of the project and the outstanding budget needs. To date King
County has given $400,000; the City of Federal Way has contributed $1,500,000 and the lAC has
contributed $1,100,000. The City of Federal Way is requesting $1,000,000 from the state toward the
outstanding balance. Council member Dovey remarked that purchasing the park would be a tremendous
quality of life benefit for residents of Federal Way as well as visitors.
Senator Eide commented that she recently toured Camp Kilworth with Senator Karen Fraser (D-22), Ways
and Means Vice Chair Capital Budget Chair, and understands the opportunities at Camp Kilworth. Senator
Eide, Representative Priest and Representative Miloscia all agreed that funding this project is important and
Federal Way's request will be brought forward.
.
STREAMUNED SALES TAX: Council member McColgan reviewed the history of the Streamlined Sales Tax
Agreement (SSTA) and asked for.support at the Senate and House levels.
.
INFRASTRUCTURE/EcONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REVENUE AND TOOLS: Mr. Matheson spoke to this topic and
reviewed the budget graph handout he distributed at the beginning of the meeting. Mr. Matheson
highlighted long-term funding growth versus expenditure rates and remarked that the problem will continue
to exist if revenues do not grow at the same rate as costs of services.
The group discussed tools that have had some success, including the Local Infrastructure Financing Tool
(LIFT). Further discussion included the City's purchase of the former AMC Theater site and the process
being implemented to identify developers who will work with the Council's vision for redevelopment in
dqwntown including mixed use - retail. Representative Miloscia requested that the Council consider
housing as a vital component in redevelopment to keep the area vital after the business community leaves
at the end of the day.
.
AUTOMOBILE THEFT PREVENTION: Deputy Mayor Ferrell spoke regarding the need for tougher sentencing
guidelines and penalties'to fit the impacts of this crime. The Legislators discussed bills in the works and
. potential changes including multipliers and changing the placement of auto theft on the sentencing scale.
Deputy Mayor Ferrell encouraged the Legislators to contact him directly with any questions regarding
proposed bill language.
The group also discussed the rising metal theft rates and changes to the scrap metal dealing laws.
.
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: Council member Kochmar discussed the impact of this crime on the community as a
whole and specifically on children who witness domestic violence. The tegislators expressed a keen
interest in Ordinance 06-527 Criminalizing Domestic Violence in the Presence of Children and Domestic
Violence Strangulation which was passed by City Council in June 2006. Ms. Richardson estimated that 50
counts of exposing children to domestic violence and 20 counts of strangulation have been charged since
enactment of the ordinance. Mr. Matheson committed to providing a copy of the ordinance to each
legislator at the conclusion of the meeting. Deputy Mayor Ferrell again offered his help with proposed
language and questions from the Legislature.
.
TOURISM-RELATED ISSUES: Mayor Park discussed two high-profile events that were held in Federal Way in
2006: The Subaru Triathlon and the Han Woo-Ri Festival. Funding needs still exist for these and other
similar events. Mayor Park also reviewed the impact of the Attorney General's ruling on allocating Lodging
Tax funds for Tourism Enhancement Grants (TEG) toward marketing and advertising only. Mayor Park
asked the Legislators to consider a simple modification of the law's language to clarify the ability to use
Lodging Tax dollars for funding complete events, not just advertising/marketing.
IV. LEGISLATOR UPDATES - 30TH DISTRICT LEGISLATORS OUTLINE THEIR KEY 2007 INITIATIVES
AND ALERT US AS TO HOW WE CAN HELP
.
SENATOR EIDE: Education remains a top priority for Senator Eide.
REPRESENTATIVE PRIEST: Education was also the top priority for Representative Priest.
REPRESENTATIVE MILOSCIA: Low-income housing and homelessness are the issues Representative Miloscia
is continuing to work toward this year including encouraging economic development which creates living
wage jobs versus economic development which creates hardships for working class citizens.
.
.
V. OTHER ISSUES/WRAP-UP/NEXT STEPS
Mr. Matheson announced the AWC's City Legislative Action Conference on February 14 and 15 in Olympia.
VI. ADJOURN
The meeting adjourned at 9:02 a.m.