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City of Federal Way
City Council
Finance/Economic Development/Regional Affairs Committee
Tuesday, August 23, 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:
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; Mehdi Sadri,
Information Systems Manager; Jason Suzaka, Deputy City Clerk/Management Analyst.
Others in Attendance:
1. CALL TO ORDER
Chair Eric Faison called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m.
2. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.
3. COMMITTEE BUSINESS
a) Approval of the July 26, 2005 meeting minutes
Motion to approve the July 26, 2005 meeting minutes. Motion seconded and carried.
b) Congressional and Legislative Affairs Update
Presented by Derek Matheson
This past month has been particular quiet in the Legislature, as many legislators and lobbyists
typically are on vacation around this time and committees start up again next month.
Transportation issues have been largely quiet, due in part to Initiative 912.
Streamlined Sales Tax: Both positively and negatively impacted cities continue to meet; but both
sides are optimistic that an agreement will be reached for proposal to the Legislature.
Housing: Staff will meet with State Rep. Mark Miloscia (chair of House Housing Committee); they
will discuss CDBG and human services funding, and will take him on a tour of some housing
projects that were funded largely by city funding.
Stormwater: The Department of Ecology (DOE) is in charge of a statewide permit for stormwater
discharge, and are required to implement federal guidelines. However, stormwater managers are
worried that DOE is going above and beyond those guidelines, creating an unfunded mandate. The
Association of Washington Cities (AWC) has sent a letter to the DOE outlining those concerns,
and recently met with DOE’s new director. If no agreement is reached, this could become an item
on our legislative agenda for the upcoming session.
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The draft legislative agenda will be submitted to Council for their review in October.
Federal Issues: President Bush has signed the TEA-LU reauthorization for transportation projects;
it includes $5.6 million for the triangle project. Attention is now focused on the appropriations
process, which we have requested $10 million for the triangle project, and $3 million each for the
City Center Access Study and South 348th HOV Lanes project. The appropriations bill went
through the House and is in Senate committee; we expect action to be taken in September.
CDBG: Both Houses declined to consolidate the program with 17 other programs; current funding
proposal in the House is set at $500 million than last year’s levels, and $350 million in the Senate.
Our CDBG Coordinator estimates that CDBG funding for Federal Way will be about 10% less
than last year due to federal money and population growth in other jurisdictions.
Another bill to watch out for is a bill that will stop local governments from regulating cable and
broadband. It would severely limit cities from requiring franchise agreements and fees, and
charging for right-of-way permit applications.
Finally, there is another bill to watch out for that would prevent cities from offering WiFi services.
c) WiFi Project Update
Presented by Mehdi Sadri
Mr. Sadri gave an update on the project, as outlined in the agenda packet.
In terms of advertising, the City currently has updates available through the e-subscribe email
system, and the local newspapers have been publishing articles about the program. Staff is also
developing a marketing plan; however, it will not be launched until all the rates and provided
services are finalized.
Ms. Wang added that the current plan calls for online billing only; it is both cheaper and easier to
implement than paper billing. Bandwidth speed is limited by factors such as coverage, the number
of people using the network, and pricing plans.
d) July 2005 Monthly Financial Report
Presented by Tho Kraus
Ms. Kraus reviewed the report with the committee. Revenues are $1.9 million (9.9%) over year to
date budget; mainly due to permits and positive sales tax revenues. Expenditures are $913,000
(0.5%) below year to date budget.
It appears that the new Target store is doing better at its new location at The Commons compared
to their former location. It was clarified that in the Sales Tax Comparison by Area section, the S.
312th – S. 316th category only covers Pacific Hwy. S. - 20th Ave. S.; it does not go all the way to
23rd Ave. S. The Pavilion Center numbers do not include the QFC store closure as of yet.
Motion to accept the Monthly Financial Report and forward to full Council for approval.
Motion seconded and carried.
e) Vouchers
Presented by Tho Kraus
Ms. Kraus presented the vouchers to the committee. There was a question regarding the patrol
cars purchased through Columbia Ford on page E28. Ms. Wang explained that the cars were
purchased through the state bid, which is the most cost efficient way of obtaining the cars. It was
not at the time if Columbia Ford is the parent company of Pacific Coast Ford, or a separate entity;
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staff will investigate the matter further. The police department purchased 10 video cameras for the
patrol cars through a law enforcement grant; more will be eventually purchased through grant
funding.
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
September 20, 2005 at 5:30 p.m. in the Hylebos Conference Room.
7. ADJOURN
Chair Eric Faison adjourned the meeting at 6:21pm.
Recorded by Jason Suzaka