Monday, June 24, 2002, 7:30 p.m.

Shoreline Conference Center. Mt. Rainier Room

1. CALL TO ORDER

2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL

Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present with the exception of Councilmembers Gustafson and Montgomery.

(a) Proclamation of Kings High School Girls Track Week

Mayor Jepsen noted that the City Council has proclaimed this week as Kings High School Girls Track Week in honor of the team’s victory at the Class A Track and Field State Championship, the fourth time in six years this has occurred.

3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

City Manager Steve Burkett reported that the overlay program is moving ahead on schedule, with one-third of the paving already completed.

4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: none

5. PUBLIC COMMENT

(a) David Townsend, Shoreline, thanked the Councilmembers who attended the Green Light Relay on Saturday. He also distributed a flyer on pedestrian awareness that he asked be handed out when traffic citations related to pedestrian safety are issued.

6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

Mr. Burkett asked that the wording of Consent Calendar Item 7(e) be changed from "motion to authorize the City Manager to sign . . ." to "motion to approve . . .."

7. CONSENT CALENDAR

8. NEW BUSINESS

(a) Proposed Policy Position regarding King County

Metropolitan Parks Task Force

Bob Olander, Deputy City Manager, reviewed the recommendations of the King County Metropolitan Parks Task Force to address the budgetary problems of the King County parks system. He said the goal of the recommendations is to reduce and/or avoid park closures. After reviewing the recommendations, Mr. Olander highlighted the recommendations the City can support, including:

• King County stewardship of regionally significant parks, environmental areas and trails;
• orderly transfer of non-regionally significant parks to cities;
• efforts to achieve financial sustainability, including operational savings and reduction of overhead costs;
• recovery of operational expenses and overhead where possible; and
• partnerships of various types.

Mr. Olander emphasized that funding strategies must be equitable to all taxpayers. He said Shoreline will resist new levels of government or taxing districts in incorporated areas. Shoreline can support formation of a regional aquatics task force to address the difficult problem of what to do with the County’s swimming pools. Shoreline supports exploration of park districts in unincorporated King County but opposes new countywide taxes, such as sales tax increase or property tax levy lifts. Mr. Olander asked for Council approval of the proposed policy statement.

Responding to Councilmember Ransom, Mr. Burkett reviewed the situation with King County’s 16 swimming pools, all but three of which are in cities or potential annexation areas. He emphasized that Shoreline has already accepted its pool and has spent local funds to operate and upgrade it. Therefore, Shoreline opposes any funding mechanism that would mean that Shoreline taxes would go to operating other pools. A countywide pool district has been proposed that could fund all pools. Such a proposal would require voter approval.

Councilmember Hansen said the pool issue is the only one where there is complete lack of consensus. He supported formation of a regional group to look at this. He felt that most of the cities are willing to accept local parks but not pools.

Councilmember Ransom mentioned the proposal that King County divest itself of community centers and recreation programming. He felt this is the heart of what a parks program is all about and is inherently a county function. He said King County is clearly responsible for regional facilities and programs in unincorporated areas. In his view, the real budgetary problem is uncontrolled spending by the County. He said the solution is to look at jail and police budgets, as well as to focus on internal efficiencies.

Councilmember Hansen supported the operation of parks within cities by the cities themselves. Councilmember Ransom clarified that he does not oppose cities taking over parks within their boundaries.

Deputy Mayor Grossman concurred with Councilmember Hansen that cities can operate local park systems more efficiently than King County. He supported the proposed policy position, particularly having King County focus on regional parks.

Councilmember Chang concurred that staff has done a good job of protecting Shoreline’s interests. His wished to be sure Shoreline taxpayers are getting what they pay for.

Mayor Jepsen suggested rearranging the policy statements in the following order: a, b, e, c, d, g, h, f, i. He stated Council concurrence with the proposed policy position.

(b) Update for the North City Business District/ 15^th Avenue NE Corridor Project

Paul Haines, Public Works Director, reviewed the roles and responsibilities chart on page 82 of the Council packet. He said that this approach of defining roles and responsibilities will be taken on all of the City’s major projects.

Jan Knudson, project lead, then reviewed the work plan. She noted that three projects have been combined into this project and will be running concurrently. She reviewed the five phases of the work plan, noting that the earliest construction is scheduled to begin in January 2003.

Ms. Knudson said each of the three components will have its own form of public involvement. Most of the meetings for the North City Business District will be one-on-one with business owners, with open houses on the project as a whole. To address Corridor Safety, a citizens advisory group will be consulted about how to apply the technical data in a way that makes sense for the community. This project will probably run from September to March of next year. For the neighborhood traffic mitigation component, staff will do community outreach to determine what works best.

Continuing, Ms. Knudson said staff is moving forward on the signal warrant analysis for the intersection at 15^th Avenue NE and 170^th Street. The warrant analysis will begin right away, with traffic counts concluding after school is back in session. It is hoped that installation will be scheduled early next year if warranted. With regard to the lane reconfiguration on 15^th Avenue NE, she said something should be known about the design by the end of this year. She concluded that the goal is to get as many products on the ground as quickly as possible. She reviewed a chart showing the timelines for the various work products.

Mayor Jepsen called for public comment.

(a) Roger Chenard, Shoreline, opposed the lane restructuring on 15^th Avenue NE. He said that at a meeting last fall there was not one positive comment on this restructuring. He feared that traffic will increase on 5^th Avenue NE, where he lives.

(b) Mike MacMahon, Lake Forest Park, said he has a business on 15^th Avenue NE. He felt traffic is not the issue but the speed of the traffic is. He said the proposed plan, which was developed through the subarea process and had a lot of public involvement, will slow traffic. He did not think slowing the traffic will cause problems for neighborhoods.

(c) David Townsend, Shoreline, said he understands the planning process but he emphasized the need to take action at 170^th Street and 15^th Avenue NE. He shared research he has done regarding lighted crosswalks. He explained the Kirkland accident in which there was a fatality, noting the lighting was not a factor. He emphasized that putting in safety lights at the crosswalks would be free to the City through a grant and would be something that could be done right away to increase safety.

(d) Gretchen Atkinson, President of the North City Business Association, said businesses support the improvements and the extra parking the project will bring. She said if it makes a difference to the project, the alleys could be "pulled back" to keep the project on target.

Mayor Jepsen said the City’s intent on 15^th Avenue NE is to keep traffic moving but more efficiently. He said traffic will also be slowed but not diverted to neighborhood streets.

Councilmember Hansen was glad to see the project moving forward. He said if it should become necessary, steps can be taken to discourage cars from going through the neighborhoods. He did not think this would occur.

Deputy Mayor Grossman commended the North City Subarea planning process and said it should be a model for other planning efforts.

Mayor Jepsen asked staff to review the information presented by Mr. Townsend regarding safety lights in the crosswalk at 170^th Street.

Mayor Jepsen said he would like Council to discuss as a policy issue what types of traffic calming will be considered by the City. Mr. Burkett responded that several neighbor-hoods are in the education and enforcement phase of the Neighborhood Traffic Safety Program. If physical impediments to traffic are needed upon completion of this phase, Council will be asked to review the options.

Responding to Councilmember Chang, Ms. Knudson said potential traffic increases due to increased housing in North City have been taken into account in planning. She added that two potential private sector investors are on the horizon. She will continue to work with the development community to encourage investment.

Mr. Burkett said the Council will be updated on this project on a quarterly basis, since it is one of the Council’s 2002 goals.

Mr. Burkett explained the background on this item and outlined the key terms of the agreement. He noted the franchise will be extended for 15 years, at which time the Wastewater District will become part of the City.

Councilmember Hansen moved to approve Ordinance No. 307, amending it to change the date in Section 1 from September 30, 2002 to December 15, 2002. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion. Councilmember Hansen felt that it would be better to extend the time rather than to have to address the franchise again in September if negotiations are not complete.

Councilmember Ransom said the City has already been working with the District for five years. He felt waiting another 15 years for assumption is too long. He said the intent of the City has always been to become a full-service City and the District has known this. He felt 15 years sets a bad precedent for the assumption of other districts, and this length of time will create problems in the future.

Mayor Jepsen suggested a friendly amendment to change the date in Section 2 to December 15, 2002 to be consistent with the intent of Councilmember Hansen’s amendment. Councilmember Hansen concurred.

Mayor Jepsen felt keeping the earlier date keeps the pressure on to resolve the issues.

9. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENT

(a) Roz Bird, Executive Director of the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Arts Council, invited Council to attend the annual Shoreline Arts Festival.

(b) Don Scoby, Shoreline, said he would submit a public disclosure request form for the information he requested last week. He also referred to the latest edition of Currents, noting that pedestrian safety is mentioned. He was glad to see this reference but he felt the Police Department does not write as many pedestrian-related citations as are needed. He also commented on the amount of time he received last week to speak and the distinctions between the words "podium" and "lectern."

(c) Richard Miller, Shoreline, commented on the need to provide oil/water separators for street drainage in the 15^th Avenue NE and Aurora Corridor projects.

(d) Anthony Poland, Shoreline, commented on restrictions to beach access off Appletree Lane. He also asked a series of questions regarding costs of the Gateway project; the initiative referendum process; location of the City's western boundary line; use of the Metro pump station for a jointly-managed park; and the outcome of not proceeding with the Aurora Corridor Project. He felt bus lanes on Aurora Avenue should be paid for by Metro or the State rather than the City.

Moving on, Councilmember Chang asked about the status of the sister city project. He noted there are a number of communities eager to have a sister city relationship with Shoreline. Councilmember Ransom concurred and added that there is interest among Shoreline’s ethnic communities for some kind of cultural center.

Mayor Jepsen said the first step in establishing a sister city is formation of a sister cities association. A group of residents has been meeting to do this. He suggested that the School District might have a property that could perhaps house a cultural center.

Deputy Mayor Grossman pointed out that the School District and Community College already support many cultural awareness activities. He suggested building on these programs.

Councilmember Chang said the interest is in having a facility dedicated to uses by the ethnic communities to teach folk dancing and other arts and music.

Councilmember Ransom felt this could be accommodated within existing structures such as the Spartan Gym or the Richmond Highlands Recreation Center. He suggested the City could sponsor some ethnic events now using existing facilities.

10. ADJOURNMENT

At 9:24 p.m., Mayor Jepsen declared the meeting adjourned.

_____________________________

Sharon Mattioli, CMC

City Clerk