PRHSPSC MINS 02-11-2002City of Federal Way
City Council
PARKS, RECREATION, HUMAN SERVICES & PUBLIC SAFETY COUNCIL COMMITTEE
Monday, February 11, 2002
12:00 p.m.
SUMMARY
In attendance: Council Committee members Chair Linda Kochmar, Mary Gates and Michael Park. Staff: David Moseley,
City Manager, Anne Kirkpatrick, Chief of Public Safety, Bob Sterbank, City Attorney, Iwen Wang, Management Service
Director, Kathy McClung, Director of Community Development, Patrick Doherty, Deputy Director of Community
Development, Kelli O’Donnell, CDBG Coordinator, Mary Faber, Superintendent of Recreation and Cultural Services, Jon
Jainga, Parks Planning and Development Manager and Peg Wright, Parks Maintenance Administrative Assistant.
Guests: Karl Grosch, Parks and Recreation Commission, Donna Welch, Arts Commission, Tom Dugan, Oxford House
representative, H. David Kaplan, Joann Piquette and Twin Lakes residents: Bonnie Massey, Myla and Eugene
Montgomery, Faith Noble, Nicky Bryant, Judy Brooks and Judy Carlson.
Chair Kochmar called the meeting to order at 12:05 p.m. Chair Kochmar asked that staff and guests introduce themselves
prior to the meeting.
PUBLIC FORUM
Chair Kochmar said that residents from Twin Lakes and a representative from Oxford House had been invited to discuss
concerns.
Myla Montgomery asked what the crime rate was in the Twin Lakes area and the average response time per call. Chief
Kirkpatrick explained how 911 calls are rated by Priority 1 - 4 that is dictated by the severity of call and that dictates
response time. An example would be if you called 911 and it was rated a Priority 1, response time would be about 4
minutes. Kirkpatrick said that there is a public request in for that information and they are working on compiling it. The
report is being generated by Valley Communications and it will be 6-8 weeks to complete. Montgomery voiced her
displeasure with the Council’s decisions/actions on Oxford House to date. She told statistics of a Drug Abuse Outcome
Study tracking over 10,000 drug abusers and the findings of psychological problems, especially antisocial disorders.
Montgomery said they had asked but not received copies of the meeting minutes from the Planning Committee where the
Oxford House was discussed. She questioned why hadn’t statistics been kept and made public information from Oxford
House locations. She wanted to know the success rate of persons housed at Oxford Houses and questioned council
members if all criteria had been met to meet federal grant monies. She wanted to know why the city doesn’t do a
reasonable accommodation analysis.
Faith Noble asked if meeting minutes were available for the first meeting of Oxford House and staff. City Manager
Moseley replied that minutes are not taken at informational gathering meetings, which this was for staff and Oxford House
on criteria, applications, programs and questions asked from the January 2, 2002 meeting.
Tom Dugan, outreach worker for Oxford House, said that an informational seminar was scheduled for interested residents
at Calvary Lutheran Church, 2415 South 320th Street, Federal Way, on Tuesday, February 26, 2002 from 7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Flyers with this information were to be sent tomorrow. An Open House will be scheduled once the house is inhabited so
neighbors can come to meet the residents. Chair Kochmar asked Dugan to please send a copy of the invitation for the
February 26th seminar to the City. One resident asked for newspaper coverage the flyers didn’t get delivered.
Bonnie Massey read a letter from another resident in attendance, Nicki Bryant, on her disapproval of Oxford House. She
works for Teen Challenge and has seen the poor success rate of those who leave and return to drugs/alcohol.
Eugene Montgomery says he is against the home in the neighborhood. In his own personal experience dealing with others
with alcohol/drug problems, he feels it is just a matter of time until one of the Oxford House residents does something to
affect the neighborhood and he does not want to be a victim again.
Faith Noble disclosed her personal experience with a sister who is a drug abuser and how it has affected her entire family.
She said her sister bore 5 children addicted to “meth” with only one who does not have severe physical and mental
disabilities. She does not want to raise her children in a neighborhood like she came from where drugs and alcohol were
prevalent. She moved 1500 miles from her family to get away from it. She has seen her sister go back and forth in to
treatment and is adamant that such a house should not be in her neighborhood. Noble also asked Chief Kirkpatrick if a
patrol could come through the neighborhood occasionally. She said she had not seen a patrol car in their area on a regular
basis.
Judy Carlson asked Chief Kirkpatrick how they trace a problem area and what information reflects the statistics. Chief
Kirkpatrick said that the City is broke down in to “reporting districts” and they plug that data in for specific statistics.
Chair Kochmar thanked the Twin Lakes residents for coming to the meeting with their concerns, so they could be addressed
in a less formal manner. She reminded residents of the next meeting on February 26, 2002 at Calvary Lutheran Church.
She said comments would be given to the City Manager for appropriate action or review.
Dave Kaplan said he had seen on television that Parks Directors in South King County were meeting on the issue of an Off-
Leash Dog Park. He would like to see information on the City website, City TV channel, local newspapers on this project.
Faber said that at this point they are looking for suitable properties for a Regional park. Kaplan’s other comments dealt
with the Skate Park retainage on the agenda. He is concerned with the wet area on the west side of the park which has
always been there and wondered if prior to releasing the retainage, if some of the monies could be used to fix this problem.
COMMISSION COMMENTS
Joann Piquette stated that her final project on the Arts Committee was making a 16-minute video for the commission.
APPROVAL OF SUMMARY
Council members Gates and Park approved the December 10 meeting minutes as written.
BUSINESS ITEMS
Arts Commission 2002 Work Plan
Faber introduced Chair Welch of the Arts Commission to talk about the 2002 Work Plan. Welch said the committee has a
lot of projects with leads assigned to each project. This has worked out well in the past with the lead taking ownership of
the project. She said they have a lot of items they would like to do but have prioritized because of time and resources
available. Gates asked about a publicity plan making this information more available to the public. She would like to see it
added as item #5 on the work plan and have committee members brainstorm a publicity plan that could be initiated for
2003. Gates would like an amendment to the Work Plan recommendation to include this information. Faber responded
that the program is huge and the city employee who administers this program is part time at 20 hours a week. Also, she
stated that they are program centered with very few financial and staff resources available. Since publicity plans take
extensive work and resources, Faber feels that all is being done at this time to meet the need. Since the committee is still
working on the cultural planning process, they can look at how they can best publicize to assure program success. Council
member Park suggested tapping in to the resources of the Diversity Commission for assistance. Gates moved that the
recommendation read, “Authorize the Arts Commission to implement the 2002 Work Plan as revised, and forward
to the Full Council for approval of the Arts Commission 2002 Work Plan at the March 5, 2002 Council meeting”.
(Revision is adding a #5 to Work Plan concerning publicity plan for 2003.) Park seconded the motion; motion
passed.
Police and Municipal Court Lease Renewal
City Attorney Sterbank stated the current lease is to expire on June 3, 2002 and notice in writing must be submitted by
February 28 for one of the two recommendations. City staff is in the process of preparing a work program to assist Council
in reaching a decision on future construction of a combined City Hall/Municipal Court facility. Sterbank said
recommendation #2 is their suggestion so both options could be exercised plus extending the lease through June 30, 2004.
Council member Park moved that recommendation #2 be forwarded to full Council; Gates seconded. Motion
passed.
Proposed Property Acquisition/Armstrong Property
Jainga reported that four Federal Way residents have approached the City, proposing sale of their property for parks and/or
open space. The Parks and Recreation Commission established criteria guidelines for rating these properties for suitability
to the City parks needs. The Armstrong, Danilchek, Kenwood and Gadberry properties were visited by commissioners,
critiqued and scored for suitability with the Armstrong property being the only site scoring high enough to be considered
for acquisition. Jainga reported on the January 17, 2002 public meeting with residents from that area and their input on
what they would like in development. Most favored keeping it natural so not to disturb the wildlife and would even like to
have more native planting to replace what the City of Tacoma removed when installing the water line. The property
consists of five parcels of which four are located in Federal Way and one in Pierce County. Jainga has been in contact with
Pierce County on a joint venture, which they are considering. City Manager Moseley said the asking price for the five
parcels is $110,000.00. The staff recommendation is to go forward with a formal negotiation process on the four parcels.
Council member Park made a motion to forward to full Council; Gates seconded with motion passing unanimously.
Barclay Place Homeowners Association proposal for paved trail
Jainga gave information on the December meeting with the Homeowners Association. The Homeowners Association has
submitted a Neighborhood Matching Grant to pave a gravel trail and is asking the City to match the remaining funds not
covered. Jainga said if the Council Committee was in support to partner with the Homeowners, staff could prepare a
project description identifying necessary permits, engineering specifications, cost estimate and funding sources. The
project description would be submitted as part of the City’s capital improvement plan for consideration by the full Council
as part of the 2003/2004 Biennium Budget. Council member Gates made a motion to change agenda item 5D from
information to action item; Park seconded: motion passed. Kaplan asked the monetary amount of the grant with
discussion following. Jainga said it is generally $1500-$2500 but he did not know the amount Barclay Place Homeowners
Association had requested through the grant program. Gates asked that all resources including the trail budget monies be
considered for this project without using General Fund monies. Council member Gates made a motion; Park seconded
to move forward to full Council a proposal to pave the trail section in partnership with Barclay Place as part of the
City’s Capital Improvement Plan. Motion passed.
Skate Park Project Retainage Release
Jainga reported that the contractor on the Skate Park project had completed all his contractual requirements and the present
work going on at the site is a maintenance and operations addition (fencing and asphalt path). This was in response to
Kaplan’s question on the standing water and mud areas at the site. Council member Park asked about the final cost of the
Skate Park project with Jainga answering that it came in under budget. Council member Park made a motion with Gates
second to recommend final approval of the Skate Park and release retainage. Motion passed.
Batting Cage Update
Jainga reported that the Mentik’s have submitted a formal plan to Community Development for construction and it is being
reviewed at this time.
Committee 2002 Calendar
Jainga said Schroder thought distribution of a monthly calendar with all Council committee and commission meetings listed
would be a resourceful tool. Chair Kochmar asked Council members Gates and Park if the current schedule worked for
them or if there was another time that was more convenient. Park and Gates both agreed that the meeting in the middle of
the day was disruptive and would prefer early morning or late afternoon. After discussion, it was decided to move the
PRHSPS Council committee meetings to 4:00 p.m. beginning in March. Also, the March 11, 2002 meeting has been
changed to March 25, 2002 at 4:00 p.m.
PSO Vehicle – Dodge Intrepid
Chief Kirkpatrick explained that this agenda item did not require action but was informational only on the purchase of
Dodge Intrepid instead of Taurus’s for the PSO officers. Park asked why the change with Kirkpatrick responding for the
same cost you get a larger car.
Added Item to Agenda
Chair Kochmar wanted to thank Jainga for the beautiful photos of Celebration Park that she will be delivering to Maria
Cantwell for her Washington, D.C. office.
PENDING ITEMS
Federal Grants
Chief Kirkpatrick reported that the Universal Hiring Program Grant is no longer available.
Jainga reported that there is a new federal grant called the Urban Park Recreation and Recovery Grant that is based on the
needs of a new neighborhood park or upgrading an existing park. Chair Kochmar asked for information on this grant to
take back to Washington D.C. when she and Mayor Burbidge go March 8-11, 2002.
Public Information Officer
Pending
NEXT MEETING
March 25, 2002 at 4:00 p.m.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Kochmar adjourned the meeting at 1:25 p.m.