FEDRAC MINS 04-22-2008
,Af;;deral Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
Tuesday, April 22, 2008 City Hall
5:30 p.m. Hylebos Conference Room
SUMMARY MINUTES
.Committee Members in Attendance: Committee Chair Park and Committee Members
Duclos and Faison present.
Councilmembers in Attendance: Kochmar, Dovey (arrived at 5:50) and Burbidge (arrived
at 6:00)
1. CALL TO ORDER - Chair Park called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
MOTION:
Committee Member Duclos moved to add Executive Session for Potential
Litigation Pursuant to RCW 42.30. 11 O( 1) (i) to the agenda to begin at 7:00
p.m. Second by Committee Member Faison; carried 3-0.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT - None.
3. COMMITIEE BUSINESS
A. Approval of Minutes: March 25, 2008 FEDRAC Meeting - The Committee m/s/c to
approve the minutes as presented.
B. Legislative Update - Ms. Farmer noted the only significant change since the last
update was the last-minute loss of funding for the Dumas Bay Beach
Management District; staff is working to develop a contingency plan and to seek
community input.
Ms. Farmer proposed creating staff strategizing sessions regarding the Beach
Management District and will bring the issue forward at a future meeting.
Mr. Beets remarked that the City and Chamber were warmly received during the
recent visit to Washington, D.C. All the legislators voiced support for the Triangle
project, but noted much of the legislature is in a slight holding pattern while
waiting for the presidential election outcome.
D. City Center LIFT Request for Concepts - Draft Vision Statement and Process - Mr.
Doherty presented his staff report and noted the major differences and similarities
between this proposed RFC process and the RFQ process used for the former AMC
Theatre partnership project.
The Committee encouraged Mr. Doherty to begin marketing the potential
process to developers and business owners. Any marketing materials should note
that LIFT money has been made available and an RFC process for public-private
partnerships may be implemented in the coming months.
The Committee expressed strong support to create a selection sub-committee for
this opportunity similar to the AMC Theatre RFP /RFQ Selection sub-Committee.
The Committee also concurred that whatever process is decided upon in
selecting project partnerships, it must be strictly followed so that charges of
impropriety or unfairness cannot be made against the City.
The Committee m/s/c to approve the draft vision statement for the City Center LIFT
RFC and the accompanying process timeline and directed staff to return to
FEDRAC with a final draft of the complete RFC for Committee review and
subsequent City Council review and approval.
C. Citizen Survey - Ms. Farmer presented the staff report and noted the cost sheet had
be changed to reflect a lower cost of $27,000 for the survey. Committee members
questioned other options that may be available including the custom survey used
by the City of University Place. Ms. Farmer estimated that a custom survey would
cost approximately $45,000 to $55,000.
The Committee discussed the options available to modify this survey assuming
approval is given for its utilization. A concern was raised that the number of
questions is too high which may deter citizens from fully participating. Ms. Farmer
clarified that specific questions could be eliminated; however, questions may not
be changed, modified, or added.
The Committee requested a timeline for the project. Ms. Farmer proposed
approval of the survey at the May 20 City Council meeting to allow contract
execution with the vendor by June 1. The survey would be conducted in July and
August; the final report would be provided in September. Ms. Farmer stated her
proposed timeline ensures the survey results would be available before for the
budget process is too far along.
Ms. Farmer remarked that the City would be able to use the data from this survey as
a benchmark for cities, nation-wide, who have also utilized the identical survey
questions.
The Committee discussed expanding the foreign language option to include
Ukrainian or Russian instead of using only Korean. Ms. Farmer will ask the vendor
about adding those languages to the survey.
The Committee directed staff to bring the issue to the next two City Council Business
Agendas (May 6 and May 20) for full Council consideration. The Committee
expressed the importance of presenting the survey options to the entire Council at
once so they may decide if the survey should be a nation-wide comparison tool or
be more tailored to specific issues and topics in Federal Way. The Committee did
not take further action on this item.
E. Donation of Four Retired Police Vehicles to School District: Ms. Wang introduced
Heidi Hudson and remarked this was her first opportunity to attend a FEDRAC
meeting since her employment began almost four months ago. Ms. Hudson
commented that she was pleased to attend.
The Committee m/s/c to approve donating four police vehicles to the Federal Way
School District and forward to the May 6, 2008 Consent Agenda (Option 1).
F. Approval of Vouchers: No questions were posed.
The Committee m/s/c to approve the vouchers as presented and forward to the
May 6, 2008 City Council meeting.
G. Monthly financial Report: Mr. Turley presented the staff report and remarked the
figures are beginning to show a slight softening in the local economy.
Mr. Turley noted a new feature in the report detailing Iife-to-date collections and
expenditures for Proposition 1 funds. Ms. Wang mentioned the difficulty in tracking
specific police officers who were hired using the Proposition 1 revenue because of
turn over. For example, while an officer may have been initially hired using
Proposition 1 funds, the same officer may later fill a position vacated by an officer
who was not hired using those funds. The Committee briefly discussed whether or
not there is value in tracking officers that way.
Mr. Turley also highlighted the below-budget permit activity revenue but noted
several large permits are anticipated within the next month. These permits will likely
bring the figure more closely to projected levels.
The Committee m/s/c to approve the Monthly Financial Report as presented and
forward to the May 6, 2008 City Council meeting.
4. OTHER - Nothing further discussed.
5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS - None were discussed.
ADDED ITEM: At 7:00 p.m. the Committee adjourned to Executive Session to discuss
Potential Litigation Pursuant to RCW 42.30.11 O( 1) (i). The Committee returned to regular
session at 7:16 p.m.
6. ADJOURNMENT - Chair Park adjourned the meeting at 7:16
;I
Attest:
oe, Deputy Ity Clerk
~n
Committee Member
COMMITTEE APPROVAL:
\
~att;d.
Dini Duclos
Committee Member