CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
SUMMARY MINUTES OF WORKSHOP MEETING
Monday, September 20, 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 6:30 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. CITY MANAGER’S REPORT AND FUTURE AGENDAS
City Manager Robert Deis proposed that Council cancel its workshop meeting of October 4, 1999 for lack of agenda items. There was Council consensus to cancel the meeting.
Next, Mr. Deis presented the draft of a letter to members of the Washington State congressional delegation opposing cuts in appropriations for the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Mayor Jepsen explained that he and officials of other cities in Washington and Oregon have been asked to sign the letter. He asked the other Councilmembers to review the letter and to contact him or Mr. Deis with any objections.
Mr. Deis went on to discuss agenda items for upcoming Council meetings.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Councilmember Ransom noted the upcoming meeting of the King County Jail Advisory Committee on October 4.
Councilmember Hansen reported on the meeting of the board of the Suburban Cities Association that he attended on September 15.
Councilmember King mentioned anticipated legislative activity regarding the Regional Wastewater Treatment Services Plan. In response to Councilmember Hansen, she went on to discuss the proposed amendment to the County charter.
Councilmember Gustafson noted his attendance at recent neighborhood association meetings. Also, he proposed a change in the City Manager’s Monthly Report to the City Council to make it a bimonthly update. Mayor Jepsen and the other Councilmembers supported this proposal.
Deputy Mayor Montgomery reported on the meeting of the Regional Transit Committee on September 16.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
(a) Maurice Burum, 2139 N 171st Street, said the City intends to grant an easement to K and C Construction to enable the company to build on recently-approved short plats. Mr. Burum advocated that the City postpone the construction until the Ronald Bog Improvement Plan is available for consideration.
Councilmember Ransom said he has talked with residents in Mr. Burum’s neighborhood. He noted their concerns about the impacts of shortplatting on surface water drainage in the area.
(b) Patty Hale, 16528 8th Avenue NE, spoke on behalf of the neighborhood associations for Area A-2, Briarcrest, North City and Ridgecrest. She said leaders of these neighborhoods have been meeting to identify common issues and needs for residents of the eastside of Shoreline. She requested feedback from Council on the feasibility of the proposal that the City purchase the Cedar Brook site from the Shoreline School District.
Mayor Jepsen said Council has previously discussed the potential of the Cedar Brook site, but the City does not have sufficient funds to purchase it. Asserting that Shoreline residents already purchased the site, he suggested the City could discuss potential public uses of the site with the School District.
(a) Preferred Alternative and Recommended Phasing for the Paramount School Park Master Plan
Wendy Barry, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Director, reviewed the staff report.
Mayor Jepsen acknowledged the amount of public participation in developing the preferred alternative. He supported City staff presentation of the proposal to the Shoreline School District Board. He expressed concern about the phasing and the cost of the proposal given limited Capital Improvement Program (CIP) funding. He agreed with concerns already raised about the potential noise problems of the basketball court and other hard surfaces. He questioned the cost-to-benefits value of the proposed spray pool.
In response to Councilmember Lee, Mr. Deis confirmed that completion of Phase II could take ten to 15 years given current funding.
In response to Councilmember Lee, Ms. Barry explained that the site preparation and demolition included in Phase I refers to regrading the area of the path.
Councilmember Lee expressed support for a full-size basketball court at Paramount School Park. Ms. Barry explained that members of the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Advisory Committee were concerned about the negative impact to neighbors of after-hours use of a full-size basketball court. Councilmember Lee supported additional research and consideration of a full-size court. She also supported the concept of an open park so that neighbors can see into it and users can see out.
Councilmember Hansen concurred with Councilmember Lee’s support for a full-size basketball court. He went on to advocate the inclusion of trees or shrubbery to shelter the picnic area proposed for the northwest corner of the park. He noted that neighbors will want more trees screening the park as the development, and use, of the park increases.
Councilmember Ransom said King County spent $7,000 per acre on the approximately 100 acres of ball fields in Shoreline and only $200 per acre on passive parks. He acknowledged that the City has increased parks maintenance spending, but he expressed concern about the impact to the parks maintenance budget of the proposed development of Paramount School Park. He asserted that it will be eight acres of mostly ball fields. Also, he questioned the practicality of delaying the construction of a permanent restroom until Phase II of the park development. He advocated the inclusion of a permanent restroom in Phase I.
In response to Councilmember Ransom, Ms. Barry said Phase I would include the development of an under-drained, fully-irrigated, league-level sports field.
Councilmember Ransom asserted that Paramount School Park is the most likely site to be reclaimed by the School District for a school. He advocated that the City prepare master plans of Shoreview Park, Boeing Creek Nature Park and Hamlin Park before investing funds in the ball field improvements proposed for Phase II of the development of Paramount School Park.
Councilmember Gustafson supported a full-size basketball court, and he questioned Ms. Barry about the proposal to research and consider the basketball court further. She asserted the need to thoroughly investigate the potential impacts of noise from the basketball court.
In response to another question from Councilmember Gustafson, Ms. Barry said the ball field improvements can be staged to make the two-phased development effective.
Councilmember Gustafson questioned the practicality of a spray pool in this climate. Ms. Barry mentioned that other parks and recreation officials consider spray pools a climate-appropriate alternative to wading pools.
Councilmember Gustafson said the City should approach local soccer, softball and baseball leagues to request financial and other forms of assistance to develop ball fields at Paramount School Park. He concurred with Councilmember Ransom’s recommendation that the City develop master plans of other parks—to provide a more comprehensive analysis of City needs—before investing funds to develop ball fields at Paramount School Park. He suggested the formation of a citizens advisory committee to investigate whether Shoreline citizens would support a bond issue to fund park improvements.
Mayor Jepsen said the master planning currently underway will provide information the Council needs to consider funding needs and potential resources.
In response to Deputy Mayor Montgomery, Ms. Barry said if a school were constructed at Paramount School Park it would be built at the northernmost side of the site. She said a school could use the improvements the City is proposing for the west side of the park. Deputy Mayor Montgomery supported a full-size basketball court for the Paramount School Park.
Councilmember King supported a full-size basketball court. She commented that Paramount School Park is the site of public astronomy events. She said School District officials have said the District will construct a school at Paramount School Park if the City allows housing construction at Fircrest. She supported Councilmember Gustafson’s suggestion to investigate citizen support for a bond issue to fund park improvements.
Mayor Jepsen confirmed Council consensus in support of presentation of the preferred alternative to the Shoreline School District Board.
In response to Councilmember Ransom, Ms. Barry said the master planning process for Paramount School Park did not address a skateboard park.
Mayor Jepsen and Mr. Deis said the City has drafted an agreement regarding a skateboard park at the YMCA.
(b) Update of CRT Program
Gail Perkins, Public Works Operations Manager, reviewed the staff report. She noted the results of the annual Washington Cities Insurance Authority (WCIA) review earlier this year: WCIA determined the City to be in compliance with the mandatory terms of membership; furthermore, Shoreline was the only one of the 15 cities audited at that time to receive no mandatory recommendations for change of operational procedures.
Councilmembers complimented the Customer Response Team (CRT) on its progress and accomplishments.
Councilmember Ransom asked about the cost-effectiveness of CRT serving as a "City switchboard," in addition to its other responsibilities.
In response to Councilmember Lee, Ms. Perkins said CRT can take advantage of resources among City staff and through the School District to address language barriers when assisting citizens who do not speak English as a first language.
Mayor Jepsen advocated analysis of the data that CRT collects to determine trends and potential City responses.
Councilmember Hansen asserted that switchboard service is one of the most important jobs at the City. He said staff who receive incoming calls probably have more contact with Shoreline citizens than any other representative of the City.
(c) Summary of the 1998-1999 Boeing Creek Education Initiative
Bill Conner, Public Works Director, acknowledged the contributions of volunteers Matt Loper and A.B. Adams for their work on the Boeing Creek Education Initiative.
Kristen Stouffer-Overleese, Project Engineer, presented a summary of the initiative. She went on to review next steps resulting from the initiative. She noted that an additional 21 agencies donated professional services and other resources to the project. This meant that the volunteer time donated to this project resulted in a $26,000 match for the original $21,000 grant.
(1) Matt Loper, Professor of Environmental Science and Chemistry, Shoreline Community College, expressed his enthusiasm about working with City staff on this and future projects.
Councilmembers praised staff and volunteers for the success of the Boeing Creek Education Initiative. Councilmember Hansen and Ransom mentioned their objectives for further management of Boeing Creek Nature Park (e.g., salmon hatchery, fish ladder).
7. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMENT: None
8. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:51 p.m., Mayor Jepsen declared the meeting adjourned.
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Sharon Mattioli , CMC
City Clerk