CITY OF SHORELINE

SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL

SUMMARY MINUTES OF WORKSHOP MEETING

Monday, March 1, 1999

6:30 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 6:34 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, with the exception of Councilmember Lee who arrived later in the meeting.

Noting the students from North City Elementary School in attendance, Mayor Jepsen suggested that Council consider agenda item 6 (a) next. There was Council consensus to do so.

6. WORKSHOP ITEMS

(a) Shoreline Community Video Presentation by North City Elementary School

Four students introduced the video presentation that they and their classmates created especially for students and families new to the Shoreline area. The video was a joint project of the combined second/third grade class of teacher Kristi Gustafson and the third grade class of teacher Lori Scovie at North City Elementary School.

After the video presentation played, Mayor Jepsen congratulated and thanked the students for producing it and for presenting it to Council.

In response to Councilmembers Gustafson and Ransom, the students discussed the production of the video and their thoughts about Shoreline.

3. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Robert Deis, City Manager, noted the death of Shoreline Police Officer Mark Brown from injuries he suffered in a traffic accident while on duty. He mentioned that Officer Brown was one of the original officers in the Shoreline Police Department and that he served in the School Resource Officer (SRO) Program at Briarcrest School.

Councilmember Lee arrived at 7:04 p.m.

Mayor Jepsen called for a moment of silence in honor of Officer Brown.

Kirk McKinley, Transportation Manager, provided an overview of the committee structure of the Aurora Corridor Pre-Design Study and of past, current and future work on the project.

In response to Mayor Jepsen, Mr. McKinley said the primary role of the Planning Commission with regard to the Aurora Corridor Pre-Design Study is to insure that the recommended option supports the Comprehensive Plan.

Mr. McKinley explained that staff and consultants will assist the Citizens Advisory Task Force to prepare three options for the Aurora Corridor. In response to Mayor Jepsen, he said the consultants should provide sufficient information to allow the City to understand the cost impacts of "mixing and matching" components of the three options.

Mr. Deis and Tim Stewart, Planning and Development Services Director, discussed the process for appointing participants in the Planning Academy.

Deputy Mayor Montgomery and Councilmember Gustafson expressed support for the proposal for staff and the Mayor to review the applicants remaining after the Council of Neighborhoods and the Planning Commission submit their nominations and to provide a list of nominees for Council review.

Councilmember Ransom expressed his concern that Aurora Corridor business owners are underrepresented, or are not represented, in the list of applicants for the Planning Academy.

Mr. Deis noted that the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce has said it needed more time to encourage its members to apply. He asked Council whether the City should extend the application deadline.

Councilmember Ransom said he had not understood that Council would be limited to appointing Planning Academy participants from the list of people who had applied to participate.

Councilmember Hansen suggested that Council increase participation in the Planning Academy from 34 to 36 people and, thereby, allow all of the applicants to participate.

Councilmember Lee said she, too, had not understood that Council would be limited to appointing participants from the list of people who had applied. She mentioned that the detailed application process discouraged some people from participating.

Mr. Deis explained that staff developed a three-page application to gather enough information to enable Council to nominate applicants without having to conduct interviews.

Councilmember Ransom supported the proposal to appoint a Council subcommittee to review the applicants and provide a list of nominees for Council consideration.

Councilmember King expressed her concern that the list of applicants is insufficiently balanced in representing the interests in Shoreline. She noted her understanding that the Mayor and the City Manager would not be limited to the list of applicants in nominating participants.

Deputy Mayor Montgomery believed that the opinions of those who have applied and of those the Council of Neighborhoods nominated to participate in the Planning Academy are more than sufficiently diverse to insure a lively debate.

Councilmembers Ransom, Lee and King supported the extension of the deadline for submission of applications. Councilmember Hansen asserted that an extension will not change the situation. Councilmember Gustafson, Deputy Mayor Montgomery and Mayor Jepsen supported Councilmember Hansen’s earlier suggestion to allow all of those who have submitted applications to participate in the Planning Academy.

Council determined not to extend the deadline and to allow all of those who submitted applications to participate in the Planning Academy.

4. COUNCIL REPORTS

Mayor Jepsen noted that he had contacted King County Councilmember Maggi Fimia to ask why the County Council had not responded to the Suburban Cities Association (SCA) Regional Finance and Governance (RF&G) proposal. In her response, County Councilmember Fimia referred to the SCA proposal as having been drafted outside the process to which the SCA, King County and Seattle had previously agreed and as reversing positions to which the SCA had previously agreed. She advised that the County RFG Oversight Committee has indicated that there can be no Countywide package at this time.

In response to Councilmember King, Mr. Deis explained that the County misunderstood the SCA representatives on the Growth Management Planning Council (GMPC) to be negotiators for SCA on RF&G. He advised that those representatives reported to the SCA on the discussions, that the SCA opposed the direction of the discussions and that the association formed a committee which developed, drafted and submitted an RF&G proposal.

Mayor Jepsen reported that he and Mr. Deis met earlier in the day with the Shoreline School District Superintendent and the President of the Shoreline School Board. He said they discussed options regarding Paramount Park as well as the priorities the School Board intends to review to follow up its joint dinner meeting with Council on February 8. He mentioned that the School Board is waiting to review City proposals for a skateboard park or other improvements at Paramount Park. He noted that the School Board plans to make school buildings more available for community use after school hours.

Councilmember Lee pointed out the paradox of the School District position on Paramount Park: the District wants to review a City proposal for the park, but the City cannot reasonably develop a proposal until the School District discloses its plans for the site.

Mayor Jepsen asserted his impression that the School District wants to retain Paramount Park as a land bank for a future school and that the District does not know whether it will need the site. He said the City has agreed to work with the District to forecast demo-graphics in Shoreline based on the Comprehensive Plan.

Councilmember Gustafson advocated cooperation between City and District staff in developing a proposal for improvements at Paramount Park.

Mr. Deis said he, Mayor Jepsen, School Board President Paul Grace and Superintendent of Schools Dr. Marlene Holayter discussed how to design improvements at Paramount Park so as to minimize the impact if it became necessary to site a school at the property. He reiterated that the District requested City assistance on the demographic forecasting necessary to assess the future need for a school at Paramount Park. He explained that the need will, in turn, inform the District’s commitment to the City about the property. He noted that under its interlocal agreement with the City the School District will reimburse the City for the unamortized improvements at Paramount Park in the event it needs to site a school at the property.

Councilmember Ransom said he met recently with School Board Vice President Judy Parsons to discuss her opposition to siting a skateboard park at Paramount Park. He explained that programming changes (e.g., the additional classrooms needed to accommodate smaller average class sizes), as well as demographic shifts, could require another elementary school in the District. He noted that the central location of Paramount Park makes it an attractive site.

There was Council consensus to add a new agenda item, 6 (c), to discuss the skateboard park further.

Deputy Mayor Montgomery reported that the Sound Transit Board met Thursday, February 25, to make its preliminary decision on the light-rail portion of the regional transit plan. She said she and representatives of other cities in North King County spoke to their lack of direct representation on the Sound Transit Board and the lack of services (light rail, commuter rail and express bus) for them under the developing plan. She noted that Shoreline residents alone will contribute $30 million to the regional transit plan over the next ten years.

Councilmember Ransom reported on the Puget Sound Regional Council meeting on Sunday, February 28, at which Vice President Al Gore was the special speaker, discussing the special transportation monies that will be available to Puget Sound communities.

Councilmember King mentioned that she and other Councilmembers attended the recent Association of Washington Cities Legislative Conference in Olympia and that Council held a dinner meeting with State Senator Darlene Fairley and State Representative Ruth Kagi.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT: None

6. WORKSHOP ITEMS

(b) Police Services Study regarding Contract and Service Delivery Improvements

Joe Meneghini, Finance Director, reviewed the staff report.

Mr. Deis reiterated the staff recommendation that the City continue to contract with King County for police services. He went on to discuss the issues the contract cities should negotiate with the County to improve police services. For Shoreline, these include:

• the establishment of the Shoreline Police Chief as a City department head;
• the implementation of a system, specific to Shoreline, for handling and monitoring complaints;
• the creation of a role for the City in the review and approval of service delivery;
• the establishment of performance reporting;
• the improvement of officer longevity;
• the implementation of cost containment measures;
• the refinement of the contract transition clause to clarify the separation policy and procedures;
• the collaboration of the King County Sheriff’s Office with the contract cities in strategic planning;
• the amendment of the preamble to the contract to reflect the line of accountability; and
• changes to the way in which contract cities accommodate personnel vacancies related to turnover and long-term disabilities.

Mayor Jepsen noted the opinion of the contract cities, referenced on page 8 of the Council packet, that the County should take responsibility for the full costs of regional services. He recommended the inclusion of this issue in the contract negotiations. He noted that police officers assigned to Shoreline use Shoreline police vehicles when serving overtime in other jurisdictions. He said the County should charge the other contract city for that portion of the overhead for those vehicles.

Councilmember Lee attested to the potential value of a police service contract coordinator.

Councilmember Ransom commented that King County police salary surveys include only the high salaries of police in large West Coast cities. He asserted that the surveys should include police in smaller cities because the County contracts to provide police services in smaller cities. Mr. Deis explained that State law requires binding arbitration in unresolved police salary negotiations and that the arbitrator then considers salaries in like-sized police agencies. Mr. Deis noted the finding in the police services study that a stand-alone City police department, able to survey salaries in comparably small regional cities, could save up to five percent of salaries. He added that the City would run the risk of losing all of its current contract police officers, their experience and expertise. Pointing out that much of the King County police force serves contract cities, Mayor Jepsen asserted that the County must be conscious of not pricing its services beyond what the contract cities can afford.

Councilmember Ransom questioned whether King County can reduce the travel-to-jail time for Shoreline officers. Noting that Shoreline officers also spend a lot of time waiting while prisoners are booked, he questioned whether officers could preprocess prisoners in Shoreline before transporting them to the County facility. Finally, he questioned the number of back-up support officers necessary to respond to small incidents.

Mr. Deis suggested that Police Chief Sue Rahr could make a presentation to Council about police protocols concerning back-up support. He advised that the City purchased a used van to transport multiple inmates simultaneously and that this has reduced costs.

Councilmember King questioned County handling of turnover and vacancies. Mr. Meneghini commented that the City’s original police services contract with the County identified the objective of stabilizing the work force and that this remains a goal. He said the contract cities may request that the County offset some of the costs related to turnover and vacancies.

In response to Councilmember King, Mr. Deis said the laptop computers included in the City’s original contract with the County are now obsolete. He explained that the City leases laptop computers for Shoreline police officers.

In response to Councilmember Gustafson’s question about the consultants’ recommend-ation to shift from four proactive patrol officers to two proactive officers and two community service officers, Mr. Deis indicated that the City intends to change its officer configuration.

Councilmember Lee recalled that the Shoreline police administration previously chose not to fill two positions that were open while officers were on long-term disability. Mr. Deis confirmed that the new contract negotiations will address this issue.

(c) Options for Siting the Skateboard Park

Councilmember Ransom expressed the concern that the City will not complete a skateboard park this year unless it undertakes construction at the YMCA site. He reiterated the information from his recent meeting with School Board Vice President Parsons about Paramount Park being needed as a school site within five to ten years because of the expected growth along the west side of Aurora Avenue N and elsewhere, necessitating an additional elementary school in the middle of the district. He noted that the development of a skateboard park has been a Council objective for four years. He advocated that Council direct staff to begin working with the YMCA to develop a skateboard park there this year.

Councilmember King said School Board member Herb Bryce told her that the District needs to "land bank" Paramount Park in case of apartment development at Fircrest.

Councilmember Gustafson noted that the YMCA supports development of a skateboard park at its property. He said the site is desirable. He acknowledged the issues and concerns the City must resolve. He advocated that the City undertake the analysis of developing a skateboard park at the site. Councilmember Lee agreed, noting that the YMCA met most of the criteria in the City’s previous analysis of skateboard park sites.

Mayor Jepsen advocated that the City continue to study the option of the Paramount Park site as well as the YMCA site. Councilmember Gustafson agreed, asserting that the City should pursue both options as aggressively as possible.

Deputy Mayor Montgomery questioned how the skateboard park fits into the City’s economic development plans.

7. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENT: None

8. ADJOURNMENT

At 9:30 p.m., Mayor Jepsen declared the meeting adjourned.

____________________________
Sharon Mattioli, CMC
City Clerk