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Council MIN 03-25-1992 Special city council Study Session February 25, 1992 1. CALL MEETING TO ORDER A Federal Way Study Session was called to order by Mayor Bob Stead, at the hour of 6:05 p.m., in Council Chambers, Federal Way City Hall, 33530 First Way South, Federal Way, Washington, on the 25th day of February, 1992. Councilmembers present: Deputy Mayor Joel Marks, Ray Tomlinson, Mary Gates, Ron Gintz, Lynn Templeton and Skip Priest. Staff present: J. Brent McFall, City Manager, and Maureen Swaney, City Clerk. ll. STATE OF THE CITY REPORT Mayor Stead handed over the gavel to Deputy Mayor Marks and gave his State of the city address to the City Council. A copy is attached hereto as Exhibit "A" and made a part of these minutes. lli. LONG RANGE FIRE DISTRICT PROTECTION PLAN REPORT Larry Springer and Paul Quarterman, Long Range Planning, reviewed the Long Range Fire District Protection Plan for the Council. King County Fire District #39 representatives were present to answer questions. This item will be on the March 3, 1992 agenda for action. IV. FIRE DISTRICT DE-ANNEXATION Mr. McFall told the Council they needed to decide if staff should study and analyze this issue and whether to include the Fire District in the review. The Council agreed to refer this issue to the Council's Contract Sub-Committee and request input by the Fire District. The meeting recessed at 7:25 p.m. and reconvened at 7:45 p.m. v. AIRPORT EXPANSION Mr. McFall announced that the puget Sound Regional Council has scheduled a hearing, in Federal Way, on the airport expansion issue. This hearing is tentatively set for March 12, 1992. VI. KING COUNTY ROAD MAINTENANCE CONTRACT STATUS REPORT Phillip Keightley, Public Works Director, reviewed the status of ORIGINAL study Session February 25, 1992 page Two the King County road maintenance contract. The Council requested additional information and will review this contract on March 10, 1992, and decide on March 17, 1992 whether or not to renew the agreement. Vll. ANNOUNCEMENTS The Council agreed with Mayor Stead's suggestion that at the end of each Regular Session, they review upcoming agenda items which are scheduled for meetings within the next 30 days. In response to a question from Councilmember Tomlinson, the Council will receive copies of all Parks Commission applications; the Mayor and Deputy Mayor will recommend an appointment process at the March 3,1992 meeting. Mayor Stead reminded the audience and Councilmembers of a Special Session, to be held Monday, March 2,1992, at 7:00 p.m. The Council reaffirmed their suggestion from the recent retreat, to have quarterly Council meetings outside of city Hall but within various areas of the community. Mayor Stead reminded the Council of the city's 2nd Year Open House, on Thursday, February 27,1992, from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Vlli. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. State of the City Address Mayor Bob Stead February 25, 1992 Fellow Councilmembers, City staff, and citizens of Federal Way, 1 am very pleased to have the opportunity to stand before you tonight on the eve of the second anniversary of our cityhood to report on the progress we have made and to outline for you some of the challenges that face us. Our first full year of incorporation, 1991, was filled with accomplishment and promise. We acquired over 100 acres of park land. This includes property adjacent to a school site, which will be developed jointly with the school district as a shared use facility. We dedicated a newly redeveloped neighborhood park, Coronado Park, that is now heavily used by neighborhood children and families. 1991 also marked the beginning of the city's recreation program, as we took on this responsibility from King County in September. Other activities in Parks included capital improvements such as tennis court lighting, irrigation systems, and parking lot improvements. Public safety was enhanced through several actions taken. The City's contract for police service with King County was renegotiated in a manner that allows Federal Way to determine the appropriate level of police service for our community. As a result of this renegotiation, we were able to add three commissioned police officers to the service as well as two community service officers and one clerical position. The City also opened its first police substation in the Westway Community Center. This is an important step in reaching out to the community and bringing law enforcement services closer to our citizens. Significantly, Federal Way led the way for the I;)<HIBIT .fl.: entire state in taking a strong stand on drunk driving. The City Council adopted the toughest drunk driving law in the state of Washington, and we have successfully defended challenges to this legislation. Human services is another area where significant progress has been made. The City, on the recommendation of its Human Services Commission, has entered into contracts with human service agencies to provide much needed services to our citizens. Federal Way is expending approximately 2.5% of its general fund on contracts for human services. Also in 1991, we began the fIrSt phase of our Community Development Block Grant program which has provided additional funding for human services agencies as well as funding for a housing rehabilitation program that will result in the fixing of some 14 or more low-income homes. The Westway Community Center was also rehabilitated using CDBG funds. In Public Works we have done a number of things to improve the city's infrastructure. Traffic signal improvements have been accomplished at several intersections throughout the community, thereby helping traffic flow. Additionally, maintenance of our street system has improved. In 1991 we undertook the first step of what will be an ongoing program of asphalt overlay and pavement maintenance to enhance street surfaces and prolong the life of these valuable assets. Community development, one of the first programs on which the City embarked, continued to be an area of special concern. This past year saw the beginnings of a true partnership with the community as we began the process of doing a downtown plan that will ultimately give us direction and policies that will shape the destiny of our community. As a part of this process, we have begun reviewing the city's codes to determine their workability and amending those to which we determine adjustments are necessary. Compliance with the state growth management legislation continues to be a major effort as we work toward adoption of a comprehensive plan and implementing policies that will meet the requirements of the law and this city. This effort will continue through 1994. Meanwhile, new construction and permit issuance continues with no sign of slowdown. Permit values in 1991 totaled $44,180,467, while our population grew by 5% to 70,660. In administration and finance we have made significant progress. The City's minority work force now makes up 11 % of the total staff. This has been accomplished through aggressive recruiting, which has helped us attract one of the most capable municipal work forces in the region. The City's financial condition continues to be strong. The ending fund balance in the general fund at December 31,1991 was $1,703,954, or 11.4% of budgeted revenue. This does not include an additional $2 million that was transferred into a strategic reserve fund at year end as a hedge against unfavorable revenue performance in future years. This remarkable achievement has been accomplished while maintaining a tax rate lower than that paid by property owners in the unincorporated parts of King County. Now, please allow me to address some of the major issue that I see facing Federal Way in this coming year. First is the matter of regional issues. Federal Way must be active in the region on such issues as high capacity transit, establishment of urban growth boundaries, implementation of county-wide growth policies in compliance with the growth management act, and more. We must work with neighboring jurisdictions to deal with transportation problems and land use issues. We exist in a metropolitan region that demands our participation. The problems we face do not respect city limit lines, and only through statesman-like efforts will we find solutions. We must define our services. Determining what we want to be in terms of recreation programs, surface water management, and public works will be essential to our long-term success. We must develop a strategic plan for implementation of our City Improvement Plan, which outlines the various funding options available to us and details how we will approach the significant and costly job of catching up with community needs for facilities. Finally, we must move ahead on the development of our comprehensive plan and transportation plan, as these two important plans will shape our future. Working with citizens, our coordinating committee, and staff, we must pull together a economically viable, plan based upon achievable reality, that will guide the transformation of Federal Way into a city of the future. I expect to stand here next year at this time and report the completion of many of these goals. Thank you all for your continuing efforts in support of Federal Way. Working together there is little that we cannot accomplish. We are only limited by our imagination and creativity. I look ahead to a productive year in service to our community.