FEDRAC MINS 11-25-2003
City of Federal Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
Tuesday, November 25, 2003
4:00 p.m.
City Hall
Mt. Baker Conference Room
MINUTES
Committee Members in Attendance: Chair Michael Park, Member Mary Gates, and Member Eric Faison.
City Council Members in Attendance: Mayor Jeanne Burbidge, Council Member Linda Kochmar
Staff Members in Attendance: Iwen Wang, Management Services Director; David Moseley, City Manager;
Derek Matheson, Assistant City Manager; Donna Hanson, Assistant City Manager, Pat Richardson, City Attorney;
Michael Olson, Deputy Director of Management Services, Karen Kirkpatrick, Deputy City Attorney, Mehdi Sadri,
Information Systems Manager, Mary Jaenicke, Administrative Assistant II.
Others in Attendance: Helene Thomas CEO Magazine, Doug Levy, Frank Evans
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Michael Park called the meeting to order at 4:04 p.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
5. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a) Approval of the October 28, 2003 meeting minutes
Motion to approve the October 28, 2003 meeting minutes. Motion seconded and carried.
b) Advertisement in CEO Magazine
Presented by Donna Hanson
Ms. Hanson reported that CEO Magazin e is tar geted to Wash in gton Ch ief Executive Officer s.
The possibility of being a part of this publication was discussed a year ago, but the timing was
not right. The City had not completed the permit process improvements or the strategic publicity
plan. Hanson stated that June is a good month to be in the magazine because the theme is “The
best companies in Washington State to work for.” CEO Media account executive Helene Thomas
stated that this issue is the number one seller on the newsstand.
Councilmember Gates asked that since the City is paying to be in this magazine, would the City
be able to ensure that our best side will be shown? Ms. Thomas answered that this would be an
editor ial piece. Th e pur pose of th e editor ial is to pr esen t wh at th e city h as to offer an d to h elp
readers determine if a certain store is needed in the area, or if businesses should relocate or
expand into this area. Ms. Thomas stated that each city has their pros and cons, and the full
story needs to be told. Current CEOs and business owners will be interviewed about the pros and
cons of doing business in the City. The distribution of the magazine is statewide.
A-1
Councilmember Park inquired where the $5,275.00 would come from. Ms. Wang answered that
there is not money budgeted for this, but they believe there will be savings from the City
Manager ’s oper ating budget. Otherwise, the City Managers contingency fund could be used.
Councilmember Park asked if the money could come from the Lodging Tax. Ms. Wang stated
she would look into it.
Motion to approve the purchase of a full-page ad in Washington CEO Magazine at a cost of
$5,275.00 and forward to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried.
c) 2004 Legislative Agenda Policies
Presented by Der ek Matheson and Doug Levy
Mr . Math eson pr ovided a br i ef over vi ew of t h e pr ocess. Mr . Levy r evi ewed t h e Legi sl a t i ve
Agenda. Th er e ar e th r ee differ en t types of ch an ges. Th ose ch an ges ar e 1) Updates, 2) New items,
and 3) Reprioritizations.
Mr. Levy reported on the following new items:
• Capital Budget needs – 2004 session project list
• Stormwater – Oppose onerous phase II stormwater permit requirements
• Financing Issues – Sales tax streamlining
• Transportation – Local option funding needs for cities.
• Financing Issues – Lodging Tax Advisory Committee authority
• Criminal Justice - Assess convicted domestic violence offenders
• Criminal Justice – DV perpetrated by police officers
• Criminal Justice – Allow repeat lewd conduct offenders to be prosecuted as felons
• Criminal Justice – Requiring all criminal interrogations to be videotaped.
• Efficien cy Measur es
• GMA
• Rights-of-way – Qwest
Councilmember Kochmar asked for clarification on the difference between active items and
support items. Mr. Levy answered that he would be very involved and lobbyi n g on t h e a ct i ve
items; concerning the support items, he would be more likely to support an advocacy than to lead.
Councilmember Park requested that Mr. Levy review the reprioritizations with the committee.
Motion to approve to incorporate the committee’s recommended changes and forward the
draft 2004 Legislative Agenda and Policies to the December 16, 2003 full City Council consent
agenda for adoption. Motion seconded and carried.
City Manager Moseley thanked Mr. Levy for all his work on the agenda.
d) Update on Cable Franchise Negotiations
Presented by Mehdi Sadri
Mr. Sadri provided an update on the Negotiations with Comcast Cable. Sadri stated they are
getting ready to do a community assessment. The franchise agreement is in the process of being
drafted by Beery & Elsner LLP. The draft will be completed by the first week of December an d
will be reviewed with Comcast. Group meetings will be held on December 10. Th e pur pose of
the meetings is to get feedback from the different organizations regarding what their
commun ication s n eeds ar e fr om th e cable compan y.
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The committee asked if there would be any additional administrative costs associated with having
two franchises as opposed to one. Mr. Sadri answered that in the preliminary discussions it was
stated that the City would like to combine the two into one. Ms. Kirkpatrick also stated that
when th e tr an sfer was appr oved, Comcast did agr ee to combin e th e fr an ch ises in to on e. Th er e
was also a question regarding how much the city gets per subscriber. Ms. Wang stated that there
is not a fee at this time, but this will be a policy issue to discuss during negotiations. Mr. Faison
stated that it is important to begin the process of upgrading the system and being able to offer
additional programs. He would like to see the website and the channel used more, and feels that
the additional capital dollars could make this happen. Ms. Wang clarified that the entities collect
capital dollars not just for capital, but also for operating the government channel. This is a
programming fee, not just for capital replacement. Faison asked if there were other cities that we
could join with in this fight. Sadri stated that they are working on this, and the legal firm that
they are working with is very knowledgeable about the other jurisdictions. Ms. Wang stated we
will be facing constraints on the ability to compete with Direct TV. Ms. Kirkpatrick stated that
we do not have the upper hand in the negotiations. Faison stated we should be able to get what
the neighboring cities have.
Mr. Sadri thanked Councilmember Gates for all of the support that she has given them in the
past sever al year s.
e) October 2003 Monthly Financial Report
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Mr. Olson reviewed the Quarterly Financial Report (QFR) with the Committee. He pointed out
the significant event of October was I-776. Year to date operation revenues are $37.5M, which is
0.5% below year to date budget. REET is above budget of about $883K year to date. Sales tax
and utility tax are below budget.
Gener al Gover nmental expenditures are below budget year to date by 5%. This is due to savings
and one-time programs.
Motion to accept the October 2003 Quarterly Financial Report and forward to full Council for
approval. Motion seconded and carried.
f) Voucher s
Presented by Mich ael Olson
Mr. Olson presented th e vouch er s for appr oval.
Motion to accept the vouchers and forward to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and
carried.
4. OTHER
Ch air Par k stated th at th e n ext meetin g is sch eduled for December 23, 2003. Ms. Wang stated that
typically th e December meetin g is can celled. If n eeded, a meetin g can be sch eduled in ear ly Jan uar y.
Motion to cancel the December meeting. Motion seconded and carried.
5. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING: January 27, 2004
6. ADJOURN
Chair Michael Park adjourned the meeting at 5:08p.m.
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Recorded by Mary Jaenicke