FEDRAC MINS 08-27-2002
City of Federal Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
DRAFT
Tuesday, August 27, 2002
9:00 a.m.
City Hall
Mt. Baker Conference Room
MINUTES
Committee Members in Attendance: Member Mary Gates, Member Eric Faison.
Excused Absence: Chair Michael Hellickson.
City Council Members in Attendance: Council Member Linda Kochmar
Staff Members in Attendance: Iwen Wang, Management Services Director; David Moseley, City Manager;
Derek Matheson, Assistant City Manager; Michael Olson, Deputy Director of Management Services; Patrick
Doherty, Deputy Director of Community Development; Jason Suzaka, Management Analyst.
Others in Attendance: None.
1. CALL TO ORDER
Member Mary Gates called the meeting to order at 9:00 am.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a) Approval of the July 23, 2002 meeting minutes
The committee asked that in Section E “On the expenditure…” that the word department be
changed to departments. The last paragraph in the section about ticket prices was also stricken
because it was actually not formally requested by the committee.
Motion to approve the July 23, 2002 meeting minutes as amended. Motion seconded and
carried.
b) Legislative and Regional Affairs Update
Presented by Der ek Math eson
Regional Transportation Package: The Regional Transportation Investment District (RTID)
Boar d met last Thursday. All of Federal Way’s supported projects on the South County Area
Transportation Board (SCATBd) list made the first cut before the regional board. The Board
also moved from a 10 to a 15 year construction schedule, and resolved some differences of
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opinion between the counties over the level of sales tax. The Board decided to go with a phased
system, going from a 0.3% sales tax for the first five years and 0.4% for the next five years, and
0.5% for the last 5. The Board also voted 6 to 1 to target a May ballot measure. The latest
polling data on the state measure shows some softening by the opposition.
The committee asked if there was any way that the City could help keep its top priority projects
on the list? Mr. Matheson replied that the Land Use/Transportation Committee (LUTC) and full
Council have already adopted a memo that prioritizes the projects.
Th e Coun ties ar e wor kin g on a n in e-poin t list addr essin g r even ue con cer n s. Th ey ar e talkin g
about extending to Counties the same taxing authority in their unincorporated areas that cities
currently have within their incorporated areas, which was Federal Way position on the issue.
They are also looking at more flexibility in their revenue streams; as well as a new taxing
authority where the County takes a portion for regional services and then distributes the
remaining to the unincorporated areas and cities for local services. Another idea is that upon
annexation the County would take an inventory of its assets, debt, and staff in the area and hand
them over to the cities.
Patrick Doherty is involved in a plan (led by the City of Kent) to create a Sales Tax-based tax
increment financing system that uses not just the city-portion of the sales tax but other portions
as well.
Lakehaven Utility District has hired former Federal Way Councilmember Phil Watkins as its
l obbyi st .
The committee also asked Mr. Matheson to also track the happenings of the 2nd regional airport
subcommittee and the AWC Annexation committee.
c) Redevelopment Incentives in City Center
Presented by Patrick Doherty
Mr. Doherty reviewed the list of possible incentives with the committee.
They are as follows:
1. SEPA Plan n ed Action
2. Housing Tax Exemption
3. Waive Developmen t Fees
4. Waive Mitigation Fees
5. Waive Utility Taxes
6. Reduce Infrastructure Requirements/Build Infrastructure Improvements
7. Build Public Parking Garage (see below)
8. Land Purchase/Assembly
9. Loans and/or Other Financial Assistance (Through Community Renewal Plan)
There was some concern on the committee that the City could do more to get the word out on
incentives that were already out there for developers, instead of creating new ones and losing
revenue to fund other City services.
During the discussion on option 8, Councilmember Gates mentioned that Don Meyer did a very
good presentation on the Foss Waterway and could perhaps be asked to make a presentation to
Ci t y st a ff a n d/or offi ci a l s.
After discussing each option, the committee selected options 1, 2, 6, 7, 9 for further examination
and asked staff to bring the analyses back to FEDRAC before making recommendations to full
Council.
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The committee further suggested that option 7 be retitled as “support building of a public parking
gar age.”
Motion to direct staff to perform further analysis into options 1, 2, 6, 7, and 9 ( in conjunction
with #6 and 7) , changing option 7 to “support building of a public garage” and report back to
the committee at the next FEDRAC meeting. Motion seconded and carried.
d) Resolution to Establish Parks Refund Checking Account
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Mr. Olson reviewed the resolution with the committee. This resolution would make processing
refunds for Parks programs much faster an d cost effective for th e City.
Motion to forward the proposed resolution to full Council for approval at the September 17,
2002 Council meeting. Motion seconded and carried.
e) Monthly Financial Report
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Michael Olson reviewed the Monthly Financial Report (MFR) with the Committee.
Correction: On page E9, operating general governmental expenditures are actually 6.3% below
the year-to-date budget, not above.
Reven ues a r e a bove t h e yea r -t o-da t e budget pr imarily due to the Real Estate Excise Tax. Sales
T a x r even ue i s a l so a bove YT D budget, which is a lot better than many cities. Two standouts are
Best Buy and Enchanted Parks, which are both doing very well. Gambling Tax revenues are up
a bove l a st yea r ’s, but col l ect i on s a r e a ct ua l l y down .
Motion to accept the July 2002 MFR and forward to full Council on September 17, 2002 for
full approval. Motion seconded and carried.
f) Voucher s
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Mr. Olson presented th e vouch er s for appr oval.
Clar ification : KPFF Con sulting Engineering for the Sound Transit project (F16): This is the
engineering cost to determine how much it would cost to add two levels to the transit center. The
City VISA charges on page F29 are a culmination of all the city has charged for the month of
June (city-business trips, etc.) The Public Safety Department has its own cards mainly for
accountability purposes. US Bank and other banks have been making a push to put names on the
VISAs instead of just “City of Federal Way” on it.
Motion to accept the vouchers and forward them to full Council for approval. Motion
seconded and carried.
4. OTHER
None.
5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
A. Voicestream BPA/Twin Lakes Lease
B. Olympic Pipeline
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Councilmember Gates requested that, with the financial difficulties experienced by the wireless
services providers, instead of bonds, staff look into requiring a letter of credit to future wireless
tower contracts.
6. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING
September 24, 2002 at 5:30 p.m. in the Mt. Baker Conference Room.
7. ADJOURN
Member Mary Gates adjourned the meeting at 10:38am.
Recorded by Jason Suzaka