FEDRAC MINS 12-03-2002
City of Federal Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
Tuesday, December 3, 2002
9:30 a.m.
City Hall
Mt. Baker Conference Room
MINUTES
Committee Members in Attendance: Member Mary Gates, Member Eric Faison.
City Council Members in Attendance: Council Member Linda Kochmar
Staff Members in Attendance: Iwen Wang, Management Services Director; David Moseley, City Manager;
Donna Hanson, Assistant City Manager; Pat Richardson, City Attorney; Michael Olson, Deputy Director of
Management Services; Patrick Doherty, Deputy Director of Community Development; Jennifer Schroder, PARCS
Director, Medhi Sadri, Information Services Manager; Jason Suzaka, Management Analyst.
1. CALL TO ORDER
Member Mary Gates called the meeting to order at 9:30 a.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a) Approval of the October 29, 2002 meeting minutes
Motion to approve the October 29, 2002 meeting minutes. Motion seconded and carried.
b) Legislative and Regional Affairs Update
Presented by Der ek Math eson
Mr. Matheson was unable to attend due to illness. Ms. Gates said that Mr. Matheson’s update
will be emailed to her and she will submit his report as part of the public record.
Submitted by Mr. Matheson via email 12/4/02:
Legislative
The Legislature has selected its leaders. Sen. Jim West (R-Spokane) will be the Senate majority
leader. Sen. Lisa Brown (D-Spokane) will be the minority leader. Rep. Frank Chopp (D-Seattle)
will be the House speaker and Rep. Cathy McMorris (R-Colville) will be the minority leader.
Most House chairs will stay the same, except Rep. Ed Murray (D-Seattle) takes over
Transportation and Rep. Steve Kirby (D-Tacoma) will lead Local Government. The Senate will
get all new chairs. Sen. Jim Horn (R-Mercer Island) will head up Transportation and Sen. Pam
Roach (R-Auburn) will chair Government Operations and Elections, which will handle local
gover n m en t i ssues.
A-1
Following the failure of R-51 at the polls, the notion of an expanded regional solution is gaining
traction. The idea is to give the Regional Transportation Improvement District the authority
(with voter approval) to impose a local fuel tax of up to $.05 and to expand RTID tolling
authority, plus a couple other things. Given the need for legislative action, a November ballot
measure is more likely than a May one. In light of all the ideas out there, staff is monitoring the
situation and will likely need to get Council direction on how to lobby wh i ch ever i dea goes for t h
to the Legislature in bill format.
The big legislative issue this session is, of course, the state's $2 billion budget hole.
Staff is setting up our annual meeting between the City Council and our 30th District
Legislators. The meeting will likely occur in early January.
Regi on a l
The pr imary regional issue continues to be the county's budget, especially pools and human
services. The county executive has appointed his Budget Advisory Task Force to look at the
county's functions and suggest policy and operational changes. Bob Wallace of the Bellevue
Chamber and John Warner, formerly of Boeing, will lead the group.
The SCA appointments process is in full swing. The North and South caucuses will appoint
elected officials to r egion al boar ds on Jan . 8.
c) City Center Redevelopment Tools
Presented by Patrick Doherty
Mr. Doherty reviewed the memorandum and options with the committee. There are 3 main tools
that staff has researched: Right of Way (ROW) Improvement Standards, Community Renewal
Plan and Tax-Increment Financing, and City Participation in a Public Parking Structure.
The purpose of this discussion is to have some sort of plan if and when a developer comes to the
City with a proposal. It also helps set the ground rules when dealing with the developer.
Notes on Community Renewal Plan: The sales tax revenue listed on page C2 is Federal Way’s
portion only, and does not include any state, county, or other jurisdiction’s portion of the tax.
Note on the Parking Garage option: If the City decided to provide some sort of subsidy for a
parking structure, it must be made clear that the parking structure is for public use, and not solely
for a certain merchant or group of. However, the City could enter into an agreement where a
merchant could either buy parking stalls at market rates or rent them for their sole use during a
certain time of the day (would revert to public use outside those hours). City of Auburn has done
this with Sound Transit’s parking structure.
Mr. Faison stated that he would like to identify a funding mechanism, have some initial funding,
an d th en look for r oads th at would both r educe tr affic an d en cour age econ omic developmen t.
Although they may not necessarily spur economic development (such as in a residential area), the
roads serve another purpose by helping to ease traffic congestion and make the City more livable.
Concerning the parking garage, he prefers use of one-time funding instead of use of continuing
funds.
Ms. Kochmar asked how many grid streets there are in the city center. Mr. Moseley replied that
there is a map in the City’s comprehensive plan that shows this, but will look into exactly what
the number is.
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She also asked if staff has looked at the possibility of the City purchasing a level of the Sound
Transit garage. Mr. Moseley said that the City hired a consultant to look into the feasibility of
pur ch a si n g a l evel a bove t h e Soun d T r a n si t ga r a ge. However , i t wa s det er m i n ed t h a t t h i s a ct i on
would be cost-prohibitive for the City.
Ms. Gates stated that she would like staff to look into whether or not there is any way to provide
full financial disclosure without going into bonding. She also would like to determine to what
degr ee traffic would be dispersed with the street grids. Mr. Faison suggested a comparison of the
costs of putting in a street grid versus not putting it in.
Ms. Gates asked law to determine the legal issues surrounding using revenue from the Real
Estate Excise Tax to fund the street grids (mentioned as a possible source of funding in the
memo). Mr. Faison stated that he would not support using general fund money to pay for these
projects, but in stead use capital fun ds.
Ms. Gates asked staff to reword committee action #1 (page c5), using the word partnership to
show that the City is working with the developer, and not as a solo action. She concurred with
Mr. Faison’s support for using money from the capital fund, rather than general, for the street
grids. She would be more interested in a financing mechanism for grid streets than a parking
gar age. She also suggested an idea may be to start a pilot project, rather than funding the full
project.
Motion to direct staff to explore and develop further the following City Center redevelopment
tools and present back to FEDRAC:
1. Rights-of-Way
a. Analyze and prioritize grid street improvement, including an analysis of
whether additional turn lanes on existing streets affects grid street improvement
needs and/or prioritization, as well as what level of traffic improvement might
be ach ieved as gr id str eets ar e developed;
b. Explore alternatives for and ramifications of up-front City improvement of grid
streets or portions thereof as an incentive to desired redevelopment as
contrasted with City participation in grid street improvement in partnership
with private development projects;
c. Explore financing potential mechanisms that would utilize one-time funding
sources as opposed to gener al fund monies;
d. Explore the potential creation of a revolving fund to finance street grid
improvements, with reimbursement to the fund derived from property and sales
tax increments in the redevelopment area. Include in this an exploration of
potential late-comer reimbursement mechanisms.
2. Parking Garage
a. Further analyze potential costs of City participation in a parking garage in
conjunction with private development;
b. Explore financing options, including use of one-time funding and bonding,
a m on g ot h er s.
Motion seconded and carried.
d) Tourism Enhancement Grant Awards
Presented by Patrick Doherty
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Mr. Doherty reviewed the awards with the committee. When asked about the Tacoma-Pierce
County Sports Commission, he said that the commission did not propose any events or focus on
Federal Way (will be communicated to them as will all the other applicants).
Motion to approve the Tourism Enhancement Grants. Motion seconded and carried.
e) Feder al Way Sch ool Distr ict Boar d Meetin g Br oadcastin g Agr eemen t
Presented by Medhi Sadri
Mr. Sadri reviewed the agreement with the committee. He added that the words “Recommend to
full Council to” need to be added at the beginning of the committee action section in the memo.
Fortunately, staffin g th e br oadcasts usin g MIS staff h as n ot been a pr oblem. Th ey h ave been
willing to help out (voluntarily), so there has always been sufficient coverage of the broadcasts.
No one staff member has had to cover the whole load, providing all the coverage.
The school district has been notified and sent a copy of the memo by City staff. So far there has
been no indication that they want to discontinue; their cost of doing the broadcasts would be
much higher if they did it themselves. The agreement was never intended to be a city subsidy,
only a full cost recovery. Ms. Wang indicated that the school district is facing potential budget
cuts – so potentially the program may be eliminated in the future.
Motion to forward the amendment to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried.
f) Operation of Kenneth Jones Pool
Presented by Jen n ifer Sch r oder
Ms. Schroder reviewed the options with the committee (a summary is located on page F3). She
mentioned that the reason the item has been sent to FEDRAC as instead of the Parks committee
(of which Ms. Kochmar is the chairperson) is due to timing; the King County Council needs to
know what direction Federal Way will be going (in terms of the three options) by December 4th in
order to meet public notice requirements for their own Council meeting. The item is scheduled
on tonight’s Council agenda pending approval of the item by FEDRAC.
What is the future of the old pool if/when the new pool is constructed? In her conversations with
the school district, Ms. Schroder reported that at this time the school district is not interested in
continuing it as a pool, but are interested in getting the structure. Mr. Moseley stated that the
City would need to enter into an agreement with the school district and the County when the new
facility is built.
Ms. Schroder has requested a timeline regarding the transfer of the pool and Kenwood Pit from
the County. She also noted that there is a six-month transition period in which the County would
continue to operate the pool to ease the transition between the two entities (would occur January
– June 2003) and allow citizens to continue using the pool.
Are th er e an y an ticipated fee in cr eases for Feder al Way r esiden ts wh o use th e pool? Refer r in g to
the summary sheet, Ms. Schroder replied that as long as the County is operating the pool, fees
would incr ease for all users of the pool by 50% under their proposal. Ms. Gates stated that she
would like to see how much the fee increase is going to affect usage so that if/when the City does
take over th e pool, fees could be r eadjusted – 50% seems much too h igh .
What is the value of the Court facility? Mr. Moseley replied that the tax assessment is $1.2
million, but the County values it at $2.5 million, which is what it will be placed on the market
for .
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Motion to approve staff recommendation and forward to full Council at the December 3, 2002
meeting. Motion seconded and carried.
Before leaving for a scheduled meeting, Ms. Kochmar reported to the committee that Senator
Cantwell and Congressman Smith will be appearing at the Lakehaven Treatment Plant tomorrow
for a reception (media even t). Lakeh aven h as r eceived a feder al gr an t for $8 million.
g) 2002 Housekeeping Budget Adjustment
Presented by Iwen Wan g
Ms. Wang reviewed the ordinance with the committee. Note: Under downtown revitalization,
the $98,247 would be transferred from the Transfer Sign Incentive Program to the Sign Code
Legal Defense Fund (net-zero adjustment).
Motion to approve the ordinance and forward to full Council for first reading. Motion
seconded and carried.
h) AT&T Wir eless Fr an ch ise
Presented by Pat Rich ar dson
Ms. Richardson reviewed the proposed franchise with the Committee. She noted that by law, the
City cannot charge rent because it is located in a right-of-way.
How visible are the sites from the streets? Referring to the map located on page H26, Ms.
Richardson r eplied that the poles would be no higher than 60 feet, and there would not be any
additional ground equipment.
Motion to approve the proposed franchise agreement and forward to full Council for approval.
Motion seconded and approved.
i) October 2002 Monthly Financial Report
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Michael Olson reviewed the October 2002 Monthly Financial Report with the Committee.
Among the highlights:
• Revenues are 7.7% over the year-to-date (YTD) budget of $33.5 million
• Real Estate Excise Tax Revenues are 67.8% over the YTD budget
• Sales Tax Revenues are 9.5% over the YTD budget
• Hotel/Motel Tax is 0.7% under the YTD budget (dramatic improvement since earlier in the
ye a r )
Correction: General operating expenditures are actually $2.4 million or 2.4% below th e YTD
budget, not above a s pr evi ousl y st a t ed i n t h e r epor t .
Motion to approve the October 2002 Monthly Financial Report and forward to full Council for
approval. Motion seconded and carried.
j) Vouch er s
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Mr. Olson presented th e vouch er s for appr oval.
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Motion to accept the vouchers and forward to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and
carried.
4. OTHER
None.
5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
6. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING - TBA
7. ADJOURN
Mary Gates adjourned the meeting at 11:07a.m.
Recorded by Jason Suzaka