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FEDRAC MINS 05-24-2005 A-1 City of Federal Way City Council Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee Tuesday, May 24, 2005 5:30 p.m. City Hall Hylebos Conference Room MINUTES Committee Members in Attendance: Chair Eric Faison, Member Jeanne Burbidge, and Member Jim Ferrell. City Council Members in Attendance: Deputy Mayor Linda Kochmar. Staff Members in Attendance: Iwen Wang, Management Services Director; David Moseley, City Manager; Derek Matheson, Assistant City Manager; Pat Richardson, City Attorney; Tho Kraus, Finance Manager; Patrick Doherty, Director of Economic Development; Mark Turley, Senior Financial Analyst; Mehdi Sadri, Information Services Manager; Mary McDougal, Human Resources Manager; Jason Suzaka, Deputy City Clerk/Management Analyst. Others in Attendance: Doug Levy. 1. CALL TO ORDER Chair Eric Faison called the meeting to order at 5:35 p.m. 2. PUBLIC COMMENT None. 3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS Motion by Chair Faison to move item b) on the agenda to between items g) and h). Motion seconded and carried. a) Approval of the April 26, 2005 meeting minutes Motion to approve the April 26, 2005 meeting minutes. Motion seconded and carried. c) New City Hall Update Presented by Derek Matheson Mr. Matheson gave the committee an update on the project. The punchlist for the new city hall is just about done; the focus is now on the evidence building across the street. The Patrick Maher Memorial design is complete and is now in fabrication. d) Ordinance/Judge and Commissioner Salaries Presented by Mary McDougal Ms. McDougal presented the ordinance to the committee. The 95% requirement for Court Improvement Funds from the State is set by the legislature, and would be adjusted in order for the City to stay eligible for those funds. The ordinance would change the municipal judge to 40hrs/wk, and the commissioner to 22hrs/wk. Motion to forward option 3 to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried. K:\FEDRAC\2005\0524\052405 Minutes.doc A-2 It was also clarified that there are other ways for a municipal judge to be removed from office than those listed in the ordinance. They are contained in the state statute. e) Approval of Bid for Purchase of Police Laptops Presented by Mehdi Sadri Mr. Sadri reviewed the bids with the committee. Correction: The word “buggerized” in the committee action should be changed to “ruggerized.” Motion to forward the quote from CDW for seven police laptops to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried. f) Tourism Enhancement Grants Presented by Patrick Doherty Mr. Doherty reviewed the grant awards with the committee. . Motion to forward the Tourism Enhancement Grant awards to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried. The committee reiterated their desire to examine future TEG awards before forwarding to full Council for approval. g) Proposed Amendment to VSNL Telecommunications Franchise (Ordinance #05-485) Presented by Pat Richardson Ms. Richardson reviewed the proposed amendment with the committee. Motion to forward option 1 (approve the proposed ordinance) to full Council for first reading. Motion seconded and carried. b) Congressional and Legislative Affairs Update Presented by Derek Matheson The primary issues being worked on by our federal lobbyist are: TEA-21 reauthorization: The legislature is negotiating the level of funding for the program. Our federal lobbyist has been busy drafting letters to our congressional delegates and keeping in communication with them about the importance of transportation projects such as the triangle project. Community Development Block Grants (CDBG): The issue is maintaining the level of funding for this program and whether or not to consolidate it with other grant programs. The Senate has voted not to consolidate at this time; the House has not yet made a decision. A letter has been sent to our congressional delegates reiterating Federal Way’s position. Mr. Matheson introduced Doug Levy to give a end of session report on state legislative issues. Mr. Levy reported a very favorable session for Federal Way. The City is receiving funding for transportation projects such as the triangle project ($100 million over several years) I-5/272nd, and the City Center Access Study; capital projects such as Joe’s Creek and the Hylebos boardwalk replacement ($856,000 and $100,000, respectively); Han Woo-Ri Festival ($50,000); and a permanent board seat for the Puget Sound Regional Council. He credited good preparation on the City’s part for their success. K:\FEDRAC\2005\0524\052405 Minutes.doc A-3 Issues that the City wasn’t as successful were property tax lid lifts and sales tax streamlining. The Legislature generally did not provide any forms of financing in the form of local options; although they did provide some money in the form of a gas tax for cities. He recommended that funding for local options become one of the top priorities for the City in 2006. The Legislature provided a remedy for the issue involving Driving While License Suspended violations. Included in the remedy is a requirement for cities to provide a payment plan for those who cannot pay the fine all at once. A Job Development Fund was created by the State, which provides funding for infrastructure that will be help create jobs and retain existing jobs. The companion bill that was passed provides the Governor will a strategic grant fund for attracting and retaining businesses. Annexation financing died in Senate this year, but may come up again at the next session. Note: At the June 21, 2005 Council Meeting, Mr. Levy and our three legislators will be invited and recognized for their efforts during the 2005 legislative session. h) FWTV (Channel 21) Programming Presented by Iwen Wang Correction: The Resolution cited should be 98-283, not 98-293. Ms. Wang reviewed the memorandum with the committee. Some of the ideas offered were: Broadcasting city events such as MLK Celebration and State of the City Address; human services - funded groups/programs, replaying council committee/city council regular meetings. Staff reminded the committee that new equipment will allow for more programming beginning June 1st. i) April 2005 Monthly Financial Report Presented by Tho Kraus Ms. Kraus presented the April 2005 Monthly Financial Report to the committee. Revenues are currently $863,000 above year to date budget (favorable) and expenditures are $1,270,000 under year to date budget (favorable). It was noted that revenues from building permits, real estate excise taxes, and sales taxes from The Commons have been much higher than expected; a good sign for the City budget. Municipal Court revenues are lower than expected, partly due to a lower caseload. Motion to approve the Monthly Financial Report and forward to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried. j) Vouchers Presented by Tho Kraus Ms. Kraus reviewed the vouchers with the committee. Motion to accept the vouchers and forward them to full Council for approval. Motion seconded and carried. 4. OTHER None. K:\FEDRAC\2005\0524\052405 Minutes.doc A-4 5. FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS Ms. Wang announced that there would be an update on the Wi-Fi project at the June 28 FEDRAC meeting. 6. NEXT SCHEDULED MEETING June 28, 2005 at 5:30 p.m. in the Hylebos Conference Room. 7. ADJOURN Chair Eric Faison adjourned the meeting at 7:06pm. Recorded by Jason Suzaka