CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING
Monday, February 8, 1999
7:30 p.m.
Shoreline Conference Center
Mt. Rainier Room
PRESENT: Mayor Jepsen, Deputy Mayor Montgomery, Councilmembers Gustafson, Hansen, King, Lee 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 by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Robert Deis, City Manager, reminded Council that the Aurora Pre-Design Open House will take place at Bethel Lutheran Church on Tuesday evening. He also noted that Council could add Ordinance No. 190 to tonight’s agenda.
Mike Gillespie, City Engineer, updated the Council on the four projects associated with 175th Avenue between Meridian Avenue and I-5, one being done by METRO, one by the Washington State Department of Transportation and two by the City. He answered Council questions about these and other possible projects.
Mayor Jepsen made three announcements: 1) the King County Housing Authority has re-opened its Section 8 program; 2) Councilmember Ransom was appointed by the Board of Directors of the Suburban Cities Association to serve as an alternate on the King County Jail Advisory Committee; and 3) Council received a letter from King County Councilmember Fimia, saying that "based on the information I have received, I can support the City’s park improvements as shown in the draft plan . . . [for the] Saltwater Park bluff trail."
4. REPORTS OF BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS: None
5. PUBLIC COMMENTS
(a) Nancy Marx, 505 N 200th Street, asked Council to reconsider placement of the ball field at Shoreview Park and the recommendation of the experts, who said that the lower site (the Council’s preferred site) will be difficult and costly to mitigate.
Mr. Deis said the Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) on Shoreview Park will be published this week, and the Richmond Beach Library FEIS will be published the first week in March.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Councilmember Hansen moved approval of the amended agenda, adding Ordinance No. 190 as Item 8 (c). Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion, which carried 7-0, and the agenda was approved as amended.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilmember Ransom moved approval of the consent calendar. Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion, which carried 7-0, and the following items were approved:
Workshop minutes of January 19, 1999
Regular Meeting minutes of January 25, 1999
Approval of payroll and expenses as of January 29, 1999 in the amount of $1,215,978.29
8. OTHER ACTION ITEMS: ORDINANCES, RESOLUTIONS AND MOTIONS
(a) Motion to adopt the Citizen Advisory Committee’s Recommendation for allocating $50,000 in 1999 General Funds and authorizing the City Manager to enter into agreements for implementing these projects
Rachael Markle, Grants Coordinator, reviewed the staff report and the recommendation of the Citizen Advisory Committee. She noted that the applications were reviewed in the context of the "desired outcomes" of the 1998 Health and Human Service Strategies and that there was a need to expedite the process in order to use the funds in 1999. She said only a select group of providers were invited to apply: 1) those agencies that approached Council for funding from the 1999 General Fund; 2) non-funded applicants for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds; 3) CDBG applicants who did not receive 100 percent funding in 1998; and 4) the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.
Councilmember Hansen moved to adopt the recommendation of the Citizen Advisory Committee as outlined on page 19 of the Council packet. Councilmember Gustafson seconded the motion.
Councilmember Lee felt the recommendation does not address some of the other services the City should be providing because the allocations go to the same type of organizations supported in the past. She also asked about funding from King County Councilmember Fimia for Club Kellogg.
Larry Bauman, Assistant City Manager, confirmed the $10,000 King County grant provided to Club Kellogg.
Deputy Mayor Montgomery shared Councilmember Lee’s concerns and suggested that the process be redone.
Responding to Councilmember Gustafson’s question about whether Club Kellogg needs the City’s $10,000, given receipt of the King County grant, Mr. Bauman said he has not seen the request, but he believed it was to augment Club Kellogg’s program.
Councilmember Gustafson said the 30-35 students originally to be served has been increased to over 80 students. He applauded this and supported funding if there is a need.
Mr. Deis suggested awarding the remaining $40,000 and determining whether the King County grant is for an expanded program. He explained that the City contacted the same group of applicants because this is an interim phase. An expanded process this year would have impacted the timeline for distribution of the funds.
Mayor Jepsen viewed this process as supplemental to the highly competitive process that occurred last year. He supported the Committee’s recommendation because it was too late to open the competition this year. He suggested that going to a biennial allocation would provide more stability. He concluded that each funded agency will have a contract with a scope of work and if Councilmember Fimia has provided $10,000 in additional funding, Shoreline will still expect Club Kellogg to perform the items it asked the City to fund.
Mr. Deis supported the consideration of a biennial process.
Councilmember Gustafson moved to withhold the $10,000 funding for Club Kellogg pending a review of need, given the additional funding provided by Councilmember Fimia’s Office. Councilmember King seconded the motion.
Councilmember Lee commented that Lutheran Social Services serves a growing group of Shoreline residents and did not receive funding. She further noted that half of the $50,000 will be going to teen programs. She suggested there should be a balance with the emerging needs in the community. She advocated reallocation of the funds and questioned whether the small amounts in some cases will make a difference.
Councilmember Hansen also asked about the small amounts involved in some of the recommendations. Ms. Markle said all applicants who were not funded at 100 percent were given the opportunity to reapply. She said the Committee did not fund any requests under $500.
A vote was taken on the amendment, which carried 6 - 1, with Mayor Jepsen dissenting, and Club Kellogg was deleted from the list of grant recipients.
Responding to Councilmember Lee, Mr. Deis said in the event that staff determines that Club Kellogg does not want or need the additional funding, it will return with an alternative recommendation, which will probably be the next agency on the Committee’s list.
A vote was taken on the main motion as amended, which carried 5 - 2, with Deputy Mayor Montgomery and Councilmember Lee dissenting, and the following funding allocations were approved:
Center for Human Services -- $16,000 Substance Abuse, $10,000 Family Counseling
City of Shoreline Earthworks--$10,000
Emergency Feeding Program--$877
Multi-Service Center of N/E King Cty.--$1,038
Shoreline Healthy Start--$2,085
(b) Motion to authorize the City Manager to execute a consultant agreement with KPFF Consulting Engineers, including future amendments, for design and construction administration services of street improvements on 15th Avenue NE between 146th Street and NE 165th Street
Mr. Gillespie reviewed the 15th Avenue NE project, a $1.6 million project approved in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP). He noted that King County has done most of the design work and transferred partial funding for the project. He emphasized the number of accidents, including a fatality, on this strip of roadway. He described the planned improvements, and he explained that although the design was completed by King County, staff has identified several revisions, including a four-foot-wide landscape planter strip, wider sidewalks on the east side, modifying the curb ramp details to meet updated Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards, and looking at the undergrounding of utilities through the corridor.
Concluding, Mr. Gillespie described the project schedule, which includes community involvement and environmental review. After the design phase, the right-of-way phase will start in June and continue through April, 2000. The City (Hamlin Park) and Fircrest are the primary owners of right-of-way, and Fircrest seems receptive to working with the City. The construction phase should be completed by the end of 2000. Several grants have been applied for and may help to offset the costs. Furthermore, a company has approached the City to construct underground conduits for various utility services, including telecommunications. As part of this process, the company may be asked to pay for or construct some of these improvements as mitigation.
Councilmember Hansen moved to authorize the City Manager to execute a consultant agreement with KPFF Consulting Engineers. Councilmember Lee seconded the motion.
Responding to Councilmember Hansen, Mr.Gillespie said the design work will cost approximately $50,000. Mr. Deis noted that this amount is very low because much of the design work has already been done. He added that he will not have authority to exceed the budget for any of these contracts. If it appears that the figure will exceed the specific budget category for design, he will return to Council.
A vote was taken on the motion to authorize the City Manager to execute a consultant agreement with KPFF Consulting Engineers, including future amend-ments, for design and construction administration services of street improvements on 15th Avenue NE between NE 146th Street and NE 165th Street, which carried unanimously.
(c) Ordinance No. 190 establishing a moratorium on the filing of applications for business licenses and building permits for the expansion of existing or the addition of new food or drink establishments conducting social card games, punch boards, or pull tabs, and declaring an emergency
Mr. Deis explained that the gambling industry is changing very rapidly and many cities are talking about or adopting moratoriums. This means the area where mini-casinos can locate is shrinking, and Shoreline could become a focus of this activity. Since the Comprehensive Plan does not specifically speak to gambling, there are no policies in place about how to handle gambling. The moratorium is not designed to make a moral statement about gambling. Instead, the staff would like to give Council time to have a policy discussion about the gambling industry and then make a decision on what to do about these businesses. Mr. Deis added that the City is in the process of doing an economic development plan, and no decisions have been made about where gambling fits into that. He concluded that there are many options. The moratorium is for six months, but it can be rescinded if Council chooses. He concluded that Goldie's and the Hide-Away have mini-casino applications at the State, and the Drift-on-Inn has talked to staff about expanding its operations.
Councilmember Ransom clarified that the Drift-on-Inn has another application called "Hollywood Casino" which is on the application list before the Gambling Commission. The Hide-Away is number eight; and the others are 18 and 19 out of 83 on the list.
Mr. Deis said these businesses will be informed that the moratorium does not represent a final "no" to their plans but a time-out to develop policy.
Bruce Disend, City Attorney, reviewed the provisions of the moratorium, noting the Council is required to conduct a public hearing within 60 days.
Mr. Deis added that the Hollywood Casino application just came in and that staff has determined its completeness. He said staff called the State Gambling Commission this morning, and there was no record of the Hollywood Casino application. Councilmember Ransom responded that Hollywood Casino must have applied before September to be on the register because there are no additions after the closing date.
Councilmember Ransom moved to postpone the moratorium for one week. Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion.
Councilmember Ransom argued that the moratorium was not on the agenda and that Council only received the written staff report tonight, leaving Councilmembers without adequate time to digest it and prepare questions.
Councilmember Gustafson said he has heard more from his constituents on this topic than any other issue. He felt the Council should act tonight. Then the issue can be discussed and a public hearing scheduled.
Mayor Jepsen added that moratoriums are usually "walked on." They are used as a mechanism for Council to provide itself time to decide the best way to address an emerging issue. If a moratorium is publicized, there may be a flood of applications prior to its adoption.
Responding to Councilmember Ransom’s comment that Council has not had enough time to digest the staff report before the vote, Councilmember Lee pointed out that this decision does not require information to be analyzed. Furthermore, it is not a final decision. Staff is simply being given the time to gather the data.
Mr. Deis committed to determining what business plans the effected parties may have made. He said staff will be sensitive to the impacts and will communicate these to the Council.
A vote was taken on the motion to postpone action for one week, which failed 1 - 6, with Councilmember Ransom affirming.
Councilmember King moved to approve Ordinance No. 190 establishing a moratorium on the filing of applications for business licenses and building permits for the expansion of existing or the addition of new food or drink establishments conducting social card games, punch boards, or pull tabs, and declaring an emergency. Councilmember Hansen seconded the motion.
Councilmember Ransom said the Gambling Commission was established by State law as the sole regulator of gambling. He pointed out that Ordinance No. 190 mentions business licenses, which the City does not require. This leaves only zoning (land use activity) and building permits as areas to be regulated. Mr. Disend agreed and said that the ordinance does not attempt to regulate gambling per se, which is the responsibility of the State Gambling Commission. However, matters of land use and the building codes are certainly the purview of the City, and the City is entitled by its police powers to enact a moratorium.
Continuing, Councilmember Ransom said the Hide-Away is an existing Class E card room. It wishes to be a Class F, or enhanced house-banked card room, commonly called a mini-casino. This involves an internal upgrade of an existing classification as a card room. He wondered how the City could apply its zoning regulations to an existing establishment. He also questioned how the City could say that a business cannot change what it is doing if it is already a gaming establishment and wants to change its gaming operation in compliance with the State Gambling Commission’s rules and regulations.
Mr. Disend said the moratorium provides that if the facility must be expanded, the City will not grant a permit during the period of the moratorium. He said there is no case law on this set of facts. If the City’s action is contested, staff will return to the City Council to discuss the potential litigation in executive session.
Councilmember Ransom referred to grandfathering provisions, noting the three establish-ments he named have filed applications with the Gambling Commission according to established procedure. Mr. Disend responded by emphasizing the difference between the State granting a license to conduct a certain business and the City’s ability to regulate how the business operates in terms of the land use activities within the City of Shoreline.
Councilmember Ransom said Goldie’s was granted an E-5 gaming operation as of the first of February. It is now a card room, but the application for a mini-casino is not yet approved because not all of the necessary changes to the physical plant have been completed. However, Goldie’s has worked with the permit department and has been moving forward with its plans. He asked whether Goldie’s has any grandfathered rights, given the amount of money already spent complying with the existing rules.
Mr. Disend said in any moratorium there are individuals or organizations "caught in the middle." One of the factors Council must weigh in its decision is the impact on these organizations should the moratorium be enacted. He pointed out that although the moratorium is proposed for the maximum six-month period, there is no obligation to keep it in effect for that length of time. Staff will gather information as quickly as possible, and after the public hearing, the matter could possibly be resolved in a matter of weeks.
Mayor Jepsen said this moratorium recognizes recent events such as King County Executive Ron Sims’ suggestion of a similar moratorium in unincorporated King County and the fact that many cities in South King County have raised their gambling taxes to the full amount. He pointed out that as others say "no" to gambling, Shoreline will become increasingly more friendly to gambling institutions than surrounding cities. Staff needs time to research and provide Council with the data to have an informed discussion on this issue.
Councilmember Hansen reiterated that although the City has no right to regulate a gambling establishment, the State Gambling Commission has no right to say where gambling establishments can go.
A vote was taken on the motion to adopt Ordinance No. 190, which passed 6 – 1, with Councilmember Ransom dissenting, and Ordinance No. 190 was passed establishing a moratorium on the filing of applications for business licenses and building permits for the expansion of existing or the addition of new food or drink establishments conducting social card games, punch boards, or pull tabs, and declaring an emergency.
Councilmember Ransom expressed the concern that this is the time that gambling establishments are picking their locations and making investments. Establishing a six-month moratorium sends a very negative signal to investors, who will go to more favorable sites, such as Everett. He feared this could result in a loss of revenue of as much as $4 million per year, funding that could be used for capital projects or a City Hall.
Noting that Councilmember Ransom raises good questions about impacts on revenues, Councilmember Hansen said the other side of the question is whether this is the kind of revenue Shoreline wants to raise. He asserted that Shoreline probably does not want to become too dependent on this revenue source.
Mr. Deis said staff will make clear to any interested parties that the moratorium is not a "no" to gambling but Council will be discussing various options during this period. He also said staff will inform Council immediately if it discovers investors turning away from Shoreline because of the moratorium. He added that the revenues generated by gambling have caused a great deal of interest in Olympia and that a bill has been introduced to restrict cities’ ability to use these funds.
9. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENT: None
10. EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 9:00 p.m., Mayor Jepsen announced that the Council would recess into executive session for thirty minutes to discuss one item of potential litigation. At 9:30 p.m., Councilmember Hansen announced that the executive session would be extended for thirty minutes. At 9:52 p.m., the executive session concluded and the regular session reconvened.
11. ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Jepsen declared the meeting adjourned at 9:53 p.m.
_________________________________
Sharon Mattioli, CMC
City Clerk