CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 25, 2003
Shoreline Conference Center
7:30 p.m. Mt. Rainier Room
PRESENT: Mayor Jepsen, Deputy Mayor Grossman, Councilmembers Chang, Gustafson, Hansen, Montgomery and Ransom
ABSENT: none
1. CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. by Mayor Jepsen, who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Mayor Jepsen led the flag salute. Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT
Steve Burkett, City Manager, announced that the Council Workshop scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, has been cancelled. He also noted that work on the Interurban Trail began this week.
4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: none
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
(a) Janet Way, Shoreline, said that people are unclear about the City's plan and timetable for the North City/15th Avenue NE project. She said people are expressing concerns about excess traffic entering neighborhoods and schools areas, and the overall impact of the project on pedestrian safety. She asked the Council to clarify the schedule and explain what action will be taken to notify the community.
(b) Brian Doennebrink, Shoreline, described the progress the City has made in its efforts to improve the parks and recreation system, noting that citizen surveys have rated parks improvement as a high priority. He explained that a primary goal of the City when it incorporated was to assume responsibility for parks and recreation services from King County in an effort to improve them. He suggested that Council consider ideas for improvement that do not require a long-term operating commitment. He noted that his neighborhood, Echo Lake, has utilized the City’s Mini-Grant Program to improve both of its neighborhood parks. He urged the Council to continue to be responsive to survey results and to support the Neighborhood Mini-Grant Program so that neighborhoods can help improve the quality of their parks.
(c) Cindy Ryu, Shoreline, asked if Councilmembers had a conflict of interest regarding the City Hall site selection process. She said the Shoreline Enterprise reported that the owner of the Holiday Resorts property at Echo Lake stated that his property is a potential site for City Hall. He also owns the building currently leased by the City of Shoreline. She also questioned whether this owner and his partners may have made contributions to Councilmembers’ re-election campaigns. She contended that it is improper to negotiate with the current landlord behind closed doors in executive session for the purchase of one of his properties. She suggested that the "publicly announced" portions of the City Hall site selection process be opened to the public in order to dispel any hint of a conflict of interest.
(d) Mary Jo Heller, Shoreline, commended those Councilmembers who have made the construction of the Interurban Trail possible. She pointed out that the current conflict involving Aurora Avenue is similar to the Interurban Trail in that a vast majority of citizens favor the project while a small minority opposes it. She advocated for improving Aurora Avenue and making it Shoreline’s "Main Street" – something that Shoreline citizens and future generations can be proud of and that will serve to define the City. She urged the Council to pursue the Aurora project in the same way it promoted the Interurban Trail.
(e) Paulette Gust, Shoreline, thanked the Council for inviting her to the Interurban Trail groundbreaking ceremony. She was delighted that the project is finally being constructed. She presented the Council with a compact disc containing photographs she took at the ceremony as a gesture of appreciation.
Mayor Jepsen clarified that the City is not in any negotiations with any property owners for a City Hall. He said Council would have to take formal action in a public meeting to actually enter negotiations.
Mr. Burkett pointed out that the City is very conscious of the provisions of conflict of interest, which are outlined in State law. He explained that any purchase of property has to be based upon an appraised value. He said the reason for executive sessions on real estate purchases is to prevent owners from increasing the purchase price. He concurred that any final decision on a selected site would occur in an open public meeting.
Ian Sievers, City Attorney, noted that City Hall site selection is not a quasi-judicial matter, which is the type of action that is normally associated with conflict of interest. Conflict of interest issues typically involve a pecuniary (financial) advantage to an individual Councilmember. He noted that information on campaign contributions is available through the Public Disclosure Commission.
Mayor Jepsen commented that the North City project will be discussed in several upcoming Council meetings this fall.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Councilmember Gustafson moved approval of the agenda. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion, which carried unanimously and the agenda was approved.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Gustafson moved approval of the consent calendar. Councilmember Ransom seconded the motion, which carried 7-0, and the following items were approved:
Minutes of Workshop Meeting of July 7, 2003
Minutes of Dinner Meeting of July 14, 2003
Minutes of Regular Meeting of July 14, 2003
Minutes of Special Meeting of July 21, 2003
Minutes of Special Meeting of August 6, 2003
Approval of expenses and payroll as of August 15, 2003 in the amount of $3,215,889.12
Ordinance No. 334 amending Ordinance No. 327 vacating N 188th Street between Midvale Avenue and the Seattle City Light Transmission right-of-way to correct right-of-way areas to be added to Midvale Avenue N
Motion to authorize the City Manager to execute an Intergovernmental Cooperative Purchasing and Shared Small Works Roster Agreement with the City of Lynnwood
Ordinance No. 335 adopting revised purchasing procedures for the procurement of goods and services and amending Chapter 2.60 of the Shoreline Municipal Code
8. ADJOURNMENT
At 7:50 p.m., Mayor Jepsen declared the meeting adjourned.
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Sharon Mattioli, C
City Clerk