FEDRAC MINS 02-26-2002
City of Federal Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
Tuesday, February 26, 2002
5:30 p.m.
City Hall
Mt. Baker Conference Room
MINUTES
Committee Members in Attendance: C ha ir Micha el Hellickson, Members Eric Faison and Ma r y
Gates.
City Council Member in Attendance: C ou nc il M emb er L inda K oc hma r .
Staff Members in Attendance: Iwen Wa ng, Ma na gement S er vices Dir ector ; Da vid Moseley, C it y
Manager; Derek Matheson, Assist a nt C it y Ma na ger ; Donna Ha nson, Assista nt C ity Ma na ger ; Bob
St er ba nk, C it y Attor ney; Micha el Olson, Deputy Dir ector of Ma na gement Ser vices; Ca r y Roe,
Public Works Director; Ken Miller , Deputy Director of Public Works; Patrick Doherty, Deputy
Direct or of C ommunity Development-Econ. Development; Rob Van Orsow, S olid
Wa s t e/R ecycling Coordinator; Mehdi Sadri, Information Systems Manager; Curt Ryser, GIS
Supervisor; Jason Suzaka, Management Ana lyst .
Others in Attendance: Jim Va n Or sow, Ia n Da vids on, a nd M ike Da vidson
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Michael Hellickson called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3. COMMISSION COMMENT
None.
4. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a) Approval of January 22, 2002 meeting minutes
MOTION TO APPROVE BY ERIC FAISON, SECONDED BY MARY
GATES. MOTION CARRIED.
b) Legislative and Regional Affairs Update
Present ed by Der ek M a t hes on
Gave r epor t on Ma na gement Boa r d a nd Inter -loca l C ooper a tion P olicy Boa r d
meet ing, whose wor k focused ma inly on Olympia .
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• Biggest issue is the budget deficit which including loss of feder a l
pa yments comes to a ppr oxima tely $2 billion dolla r s. Will be tougher for
city to keep $500,000 backfill payments.
• T ra ns por t a t ion issues: House Democrat version of transportation pla n
still being debated in committee. Negotia t ions on r egional bills still being
worked out.
• King C ount y Ut ility T ax issue still going nowher e and has continued to be
given chilly r esponse by cities. AWC has also agreed that tax should be
a pplied to unincorporated a r ea s fir st a nd if included in cit ies it should be
clea r ly ea r ma r ked for cer ta in r egiona l ser vices inst ea d of just t o meet
cou nt y’s own budget deficit .
• Jails: Bills t ha t would give the city the a uthority to send prisoners east of
mount a ins have been pa s s ed in their respective houses a nd is cur r ent ly
being debated in other house.
• Wir eless moratorium issue: Bill to r estr ict cities fr om extending mor a tor ia
past 180 days without consent of telecom companies stuck in committee.
c) Solid Waste and Recycling Grant Approvals
Pr es ent ed b y R ob Va n Or s ow
Gave an overview of the three grant applications (totaling $188,736) to support
wa ste r eduction a nd r ecycling projects for area residents and businesses. T hey
a r e: Depa r t ment of Ecology C oor dina t ed P r event ion Gr a nt, King County Wa ste
R educt ion and R ecycling Program Grant, and t he Loca l Hazardous Wa s t e
Ma na gement P r ogr a m Gr a nt .
Mary Ga t es a s ked a bout the electr onics disposa l pr oblem cur r ent ly being
highlighted in the media and how it is being a ddr essed in F eder a l Wa y (F W). Mr .
Va n Or sow infor med her tha t King C ounty a nd other r egiona l governments have
been ma king a big push to try and get ma nufa ct ur er s t o s t a r t t a ke-ba ck pr ogr a ms,
since ma ny of t he elect r onic products cont a in ha za r dous ma t er ia ls. F or t heir
r ecycling progra ms , F W ha s been using Goodwill Industries in Tacoma, which has
assured the city that they are processing the materials in an appropriate manner.
C ouncil Member Gates also asked about the lockboxes current ly being used to
st ore certain hazardous wa s t es for pickup – how long between the time the wa s t es
are called in for pickup by citizens and when they are actually picked up? Mr.
Van Orsow said that they are to be picked up that same day.
Micha el Hellickson asked about a phone number citizens ca n ca ll for a ny r ecycling
and waste disposal questions. Mr. Van Orsow said that residents can call 661-
4124.
Ms. Gates sugges t ed doing an article in the newsletter discussing waste
ma na gement billing.
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MOTION TO FORWARD TO FULL COUNCIL THE APPROVAL OF
THE THREE SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING GRANT
APPLICATIONS BY MARY GATES. SECONDED BY ERIC FAISON.
MOTION CARRIED.
d) King County Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan
Pr es ent ed b y R ob Va n Or s ow
Mr. Va n Or sow pr ovided a br ief over view a nd pa s t history of the King County
Compr ehensive S olid Waste Plan as it has gone through a r eview proces s by t he
Regional Policy Committee (RPC) in 2001. Asked FEDRAC to forward the
ordinance supporting the Plan to Council for the March 5th meet ing in order to
a llow for potential adoption prior to the end of the adoption period (end of M a r ch).
While there is no opposition to the Plan at the city level and the city’s adoption is
not cr itical to the Plan, fast-tracking the ordinance t o Ma r ch 5th would be a
courtesy move to the County.
Linda Kochma r endor s ed t he move, a lso not ing that the wa st e disposal rat es for
t he cit y would r ema in la r gely sta ble over a 20 yea r per iod.
Mary Gat es commended Ms. Kochma r ’s wor k on the RPC, especially on public-
pr ivate partner s hips, and for t he a mena bility of the ordinance leaving room for
cha nge.
MOTION TO FORWARD THE ORDINANCE TO THE MARCH 5TH
CITY COUNCIL MEETING FOR APPROVAL WITH A
RECOMMENDATION OF ADOPTION OF THE 2001 KING COUNTY
COMPREHENSIVE SOLID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN.
SECONDED BY ERIC FAISON. MOTION CARRIED.
e) 2002 Economic Development Work Plan
Present ed by P a t r ick Doher t y
Mr. Doher t y highlight ed t he gener a l economic development a ct ivit ies of t he pla n
(liaison, per mit applications, policy analysis, real est a t e da ta ba se
cr ea t ing/upda ting, r esponse to business inquir ies, et c.). T he da ta ba se, in
pa rticular, is being created in order to assist businesses who are interested in
moving into the city to find available property for their needs.
Micha el Hellickson noted the r ea l est a t e da ta ba se will not conta in a ll of the
a va ilable properties in t he cit y, a nd a lso sa id tha t while r esidentia l r ea l esta te
br oker s a r e r equir ed to post a va ila ble listings wit hin 24 hour s, commer cia l br oker s
a r e not. Wha t if t he da ta ba se sa ys the type of pr oper ty a business is looking for is
not available, but may actually be available? Can the city use referrals?
Mr. Doher t y sa id t ha t r efer r a l may be a solution, but staff would only give out
na mes of br oker s who a r e publicly listed on database. T he database was never
intended to be 100% accurate, only to help close the gap.
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Mary Ga t es a s ked a bout the possibility of thos e who a r e tr ying to sell properties
who wa nt t o us e t he da t a ba s e.
Er ic Faison asked how much t ime a nd effor t a nd city would be putting in the
project. Mr. Doher t y sa id the cit y would use a n ema il list of consenting br oker s,
not ing t he pr oject is would be modeled a r ound a number of simila r da ta ba ses used
by ot her cit ies, including T a coma . M r . Hellickson mentioned that the city may
possibly be duplicating efforts that private r eal estate br okers ar e alr eady doing.
T he C it y s hould spend mor e t ime pr omot ing t he cit y a s a whole, a nd not selling
p r op er t ies . M a yb e t he cit y ca n r ef er p r op er t y s eeker s t o loca l a gent s ins t ea d of
a ct ua lly being the agent . Mr . Doher ty sa id list ings would be in simple excel
for ma t , which would be self-sor ting a nd would use minimal sta ff time.
Ms. Gates a sked a bout lia bility in dispensing information that may be incorrect;
concer ned a bout the r isk/r ewa r d in liability vs. r evenues generated. Bob Sterbank
sa id that the use of disclaimers would be st a nda r d pr a ctice.
Mr. Dohert y ha s r es ea r ched t he idea of a farmers market. It would cost a bout
$25,000 to startup, with use of a half-time staff person to run. While there is a
sizea ble list of far mer s to br ing in, weekends are not doable, with too ma ny other
fa r mer s ma r ket s ha ppening in the region already at that time. A F eder a l Wa y
ma r ket would ha ve to occur dur ing the wor k week. Mr . Hellickson s a id that he
would like to see mor e in-depth pa r ticipa t ion a nd r esea r ch into economic
development ideas such as the farmers market. Ms. Gates also noted that ideas
such a s t hes e would help keep money in t he communit y a nd br ing s ens e of
communit y building.
f) 2001/2002 Lodging Tax Work Plan Update
Present ed by P a t r ick Doher t y
Mr. Hellickson asked about r equirements to form a Business Improvement Ar ea
(BIA). Mr. Sterbank said that usually 60% must vote against it. This is to
pr event a for ma t ion from ha ppening due t o people s imply not vot ing. Mr.
Hellickson was worried about the city imposing a BIA on downt own business
owner s who don’t want it, a nd felt tha t if no ma jor it y wa nts a BIA, don’t do it.
David Moseley also said that the requirement is a state statute, not a city
or dina nce. Ms. Ga t es sa id t ha t one of r ea sons for the r equir ement is t o pr event a
BIA fr om not ha ppening because a property owner who r es ides out of t own does
not vot e.
T our ism Enhancement Gr a nt (T EG)
Mr. Hellickson asked that Mr. Doherty bring to a future FEDRAC meeting a
repr es ent a t ive sa mpling of t he T EG number s a nd specifica lly numbers from
Knut sen T hea t r e. M s . Wa ng sa id that only 3 T EG grants have been awarded so
fa r . An economic impa ct fr om the gr ants is a va ila ble, with the only r equir ement
being that the gr a nt r ecipient s r epor t how ma ny lodging nights their par ticipa nts
used. Knut sen T hea tr e is mor e difficult t o ga uge the economic impa ct, ma inly
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beca us e t he us er s a r e pr edomina nt ly local residents. Any impa ct ma y be due to
users dining at surrounding restaurants.
Mr. Hellickson also asked staff to look at the use of TEGs in other communities
and compare them to Federal Way’s to see if the city is on the right track in terms
of giving out gr a nt s. Ms. Wa ng noted tha t the pr ogr am is fa ir ly unique in King
Count y. Mr . Hellickson felt that the use of economic impa ct studies of these types
of gr a nt s would a llow cit izens t o s ee how their ta x money is benefit ing t he
communit y economica lly.
Mr. Moseley said that for the March FEDRAC meet ing, staff could pr ovide
information on the 3 current programs and determine wha t it would t a ke to ga ther
information on Knutsen Thea t r e. M r . Hellickson also wanted the option of using
volunteers to get t he infor ma t ion.
CORRECTION – 2002 goal of “create a vibrant downtown” should read 6-8
events, not 608 as printed.
g) Digital Aerial Photography
Pr esent ed b y C u r t R ys er
CORRECT ION – The r ecommended funding sour ces for the pr oject in the
Proposal section should read $11,500 for GIS and $6,500 for SWM as reported in
the summary section, and not the $12,000 and $6,000 figures given, respectively.
Mr. Ryser ga ve a n over view of t he pr oposa l, in which a er ia l photogr a phs ta ken in
1999 would be used to replace/update the data from photography taken in 1991
a nd 93. While the costs of the cit y pa ying for t he da ta by it self would cost in the
neighborhood of $35-40,000, the cost savings of doing a joint venture with
neighboring cities and districts would cost a bout ha lf t ha t .
MOTION TO MOVE TO FULL COUNCIL AND RECOMMEND
APPROVAL TO ACQUIRE 1999 DIGITAL AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY
BY ERIC FAISON. SECONDED BY MARY GATES. MOTION
CARRIED.
h) Vouchers
Present ed by Micha el Olson
Ma ry Ga t es a s ked a bout voucher fr om US Ma r sha ls S er vice. Iwen sa id it would
be looked into. Eric Faison asked why cit y ha s so ma ny wir eless ser vices . It wa s
expla ined t ha t t he cit y wa s a wide va r iety of plans availa ble to it a nd some ma y be
old plans.
Linda Kochma r a sked a bout the bills fr om P r eston, Ga tes, a nd Ellis, which Bob
St er ba nk sa id wa s fr om lega l defens e fees fr om t he sign code a nd Déjà vu
litigation.
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Er ic Faison suggested maybe cit y should t a ke a look a t ha ving a policy that would
discour a ge the city using ser vices in which tha t a r e in litigation wit h.
MOTION TO FORWARD TO FULL COUNCIL THE APPROVAL OF
VOUCHERS. MOTION CARRIED.
i) 2001 Year End Financial Report
Present ed by Micha el Olson
Ma r y Ga t es not ed t ha t t he city oper a ting expendit ur es increa s ed only 2.8%,
compa r ed t o t he C P I (cost of living index), which incr ea sed 3.9%. Da vid Moseley
t hought t he city should a ler t cit izens tha t while r evenues ca me in a bove
expectations (4%), expenditures were well below the budget allotment (8.7%).
Er ic Faison asked a bout t he license revenue being substant ially lower, which Ms.
Wa ng r eplied tha t it wa s largely beca use of business license r enewa ls being
delayed a month fr om the online business license renewa l pr ogr a m the city is
imp lement ing.
T her e wa s dis cus s ion a s t o why r evenues a r en’t ca tching up wit h expenditures.
Part of the reason was that the city uses a special rate structure for local
per for ming gr oups a s a for m of subsidy a nd tha t contr ibutes to the shor tfa ll. Mr .
Hellickson requested t ha t he would like t o see wha t it would look like if there were
no subsidies involved.
MOTION TO FORWARD TO FULL COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE
YEAR END REPORT BY ERIC FAISON. SECONDED BY MARY
GATES. MOTION CARRIED.
j) Carry Forward Budget Adjustment
Pr esent ed b y I wen Wa ng
Ms. Wang ga ve a n over view of the or dina nce which sa id tha t $1.76 million would
be available for capital or one-time expenses in the 2003-04 budget cycle.
Mr. Faison suggested using $60,000 (0.06 million) of the a mount to fund a one-
yea r st a ff for communit y development t o help wit h per mit pr ocessing. Mr .
Moseley said he would r eview it and make a recommenda t ion a t the next
FEDRAC meet ing.
MOTION TO CARRY FORWARD THE BUDGET ADJUSTMENT TO
FULL COUNCIL FOR APPROVAL BY MARY GATES. SECONDED BY
ERIC FAISON. MOTION CARRIED.
5. COMMITTEE REPORT
None.
6. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
None.
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7. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
March 26, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mt. Baker Conference Room.
7. ADJOURN
Chair Michael Hellickson adjourned the meeting at 7:30 p.m.
Recorded by Jason Suzaka