Council MIN 05-24-2011 Special� �Feder�l Way
MINUTES
FEDERAL WAY CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
Patrick Maher Room - City Hall
May 24, 2011
7:00 p.m.
www. cityoffederalway. com
1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Priest called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
Councilmembers present: Mayor Skip Priest, Deputy Mayor Dini Duclos, Councilmember Jim Ferrell,
Councilmember Linda Kochmar, Councilmember Mike Park, Councilmember Jeanne Burbidge,
Councilmember Jack Dovey and Councilmember Roger Freeman.
Staff present: City Attorney Pat Richardson and Deputy City Clerk Krystal Roe.
Mayor Priest entertained motions for a 10-minute recess. Motion made and second to recess for
ten minutes. Motion carried 7— 0. Mayor Priest called a 10-minute recess.
Mayor Priest reconvened the meeting at 7:10 p.m.
2. CITIZEN COMMENT
John Hatcher, Vice President of the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, spoke in strong
support of the Council's draft resolution and discussed the vital importance of light rail to Federal
W ay.
Keith Tyler noted light rail is important in bringing visitors to Federal Way; it's is not just intended to
help commuters exit Federal Way to other destinations. He views light rail as an entire regional
transportation issue, not a local one.
3. RESOLUTION: SOUND TRANSIT LIGHT RAIL TO FEDERAL WAY
Traffic Engineer Rick Perez introduced the draft resolution. Councilmembers discussed the
importance of sub-area equity, the amount collected annually (estimated at $6 million) from Federal
Way taxpayers and the total revenue collected by the end of the 30-year building period (estimated at
$240 million). The Council also inquired where the money collected from this sub-area would be going
if light rail is not built here and asked about the chances of getting it returned.
ln response to a Council inquiry Mr. Perez answered that Sound Transit has not provided a response
to the questions Council raised at its regular meeting on May 17.
The Mayor and Council discussed the possibility of forming a summit between Federal Way elected
officials and members of the Sound Transit board to discuss revamping and revisiting the numbers
City Council Minutes — May 24, 2011 Special Meeting Page 1 of 2
and projects, reprioritizing the other subarea projects in order to find a way to bring light rail to Federal
Way, and to consider a new build option/location in Federal Way.
The Council inquired if, in general, it would be less expensive to run a light rail system down I-5 rather
than along Hwy 99. Mr. Perez affirmed that in general, it would be a less expensive option.
The Council next discussed the lack of language pertaining to penalties against Sound Transit.
Council discussed whether Sound Transit could be considered in breech of the 2008 ST2 voter-
approved ballot measure.
City Attorney Richardson stated her department is looking into the issue and recourse available
through litigation. Councilmembers expressed a desire to include a reference to possible litigation
language in the resolution.
Mayor Priest called for a motion to recess allowing City Attorney Richardson an opportunity to draft
the requested language. Motion made and second to recess for five minutes. Motion carried 7— 0.
Mayor Priest called a five-minute recess at 7:50 p.m..
Mayor Priest reconvened the meeting at 7:55 p.m. City Attorney Richardson introduced her
recommended language:
"The City is reviewing legal options to enforce the ballot measure Sound Transit
presented to the voters on the November 2008, election to specifically bring light rail
to Federal Way."
Ms. Richardson stated this paragraph would be to be numbered as Section 2 with all existing sections
to be renumbered sequentially.
The Council discussed the weight of the language and whether or not a more forceful wording should
be used to indicate pending legal action. Consensus was reached that Council has not yet received
enough information to commit to a lawsuit. After a lengthy conversation, Council agreed the original
language was preferred.
Motion made and second to approve the draft resolution inclusive of the language
recommended and provided by City Attorney Richardson. Motion carried 7— 0.
Mayor Priest thanked the staff for their work in pulling this together in such a short period of time.
Mayor Priest announced he and several Councilmembers would be attending the Sound Transit
Board Meeting on May 26, 2011 at 1:30 p.m. to publicly speak about the City's concerns in delaying or
cancelling plans to bring light rail to this community. Mayor Priest asked Councilmembers to notify Ms.
Richardson if they plan to attend to provide time to publish notice of the Council Quorum by 11:00
a.m. on May 25 in accordance with the Open Public Meetings Act.
4. ADJOURNMENT
With no additional business before the Council, Mayor Priest adjourned the meeting at 8:10 p.m.
T T:
�
Kryst I o, Deputy City Clerk
Approved by Council: June 7, 2011
City Council Minutes — May 24, 2011 Special Meeting Page 2 oJ�2