CITY OF UNIVERSITY PLACE
MINUTES
Regular Meeting of the City Council
Monday, May 18, 2020
(Remote Participation)
1. CALL REGULAR MEETING TO ORDER
Mayor Belleci called the Regular Meeting to order at 6:30 p.m.
2. ROLL CALL
Roll call was taken by the City Clerk as follows:
|
Councilmember Figueroa |
|
Excused |
|
Councilmember Keel |
|
Present |
|
Councilmember Pro Tem Lee |
|
Present |
|
Councilmember McCluskey |
|
Present |
|
Councilmember Flemming |
|
Present |
|
Mayor Pro Tem Worthington |
|
Present |
|
Mayor Belleci |
|
Present |
Staff Present: City Manager Sugg, City Attorney Kaser, Engineering and Capital Projects Director Ecklund, Public Works, Parks & Facilities Director Cooper, Planning and Development Services Director Swindale, Public Safety Administrator Hales, Finance Director Blaisdell and City Clerk Genetia.
3. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Pro Tem Worthington led Council in the Pledge of Allegiance.
4. APPROVAL OF AGENDA
MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Worthington, seconded by Councilmember Keel to approve the agenda.
The motion carried unanimously.
5. PRESENTATION
Mr. Darin Stavish, Principal Planner of Pierce Transit presented an update to the Pierce Transit Destination 2040 Long Range Planning, covering its purpose, goals, and objectives.
6. PUBLIC COMMENTS – None.
7. CONSENT AGENDA
MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Worthington, seconded by Councilmember Keel, to approve the Consent Agenda as follows:
A. Approve the minutes of the May 4, 2020 Council meeting as submitted.
B. Adopt a resolution authorizing the application for grants from the Washington State Recreation and Conservation Office (RCO) for (1) Cirque/Bridgeport Park Project #20-1519 and (2) Tot-Lot/Playground at Currant Apple Orchard Park Project #20-1539. (RESOLUTION NO. 918)
C. Confirm Emergency Order #4 issued by the City Manager in response to COVID-19 Emergency.
The motion carried unanimously.
PUBLIC HEARING
8. SIX-YEAR TRANSPORTATION IMPROVEMENT PLAN
Staff Report - Engineering and Capital Projects Director Ecklund presented the proposed amendments to the City’s Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan. The primary changes for the 2021-2026 period update include the addition of Project #7 - Chambers Creek Road Roundabout at the intersection of Chambers Creek Road and 64th Street; the splitting of Project #24 - Lemons Beach Road/31st Street/Parkway/Lemons Beach Road into two phases; and an update to various project schedules and costs.
The City of University Place is required by State law to adopt and annually update a Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). Its approval creates eligibility for the City to apply for various grant opportunities and provides an indication of the City’s planning direction for transportation needs.
Public Comment – The following individual provided comment on the matter: Anthony Paulson, 9201 65th Street Court West.
Council Consideration – MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Worthington, seconded by Councilmember Keel, to adopt a resolution approving the Six-Year Transportation Improvement Plan for years 2021 – 2026.
The motion carried. (RESOLUTION NO. 919)
9. CITY MANAGER & COUNCIL COMMENTS/REPORTS
City Manager Sugg informed Council that the Planning Commission will resume its meetings on Form Based Code this Wednesday by remote participation via Microsoft Team. He also provided information on Governor Inslee’s “Safe Start” plan – a four-phased approach to reopening the State of Washington.
Councilmember Keel thanked staff for the work that is being done around the pandemic and for keeping the citizens informed and safe during the crisis. He also informed his colleagues about his intention of submitting a legislative proposal to begin discussion on public safety.
Councilmember Pro Tem Lee informed the public that the University Place Refuse is now open and that residents can drop off their garbage for a fee from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Councilmember McCluskey reported that the Northwest Trek is now open doing a “Wild Drives” where vehicles use the tram tracks to drive see the animals; she suggested for the public to make reservations ahead of time.
Councilmember Flemming extended his kudos to the City Manager and Lisa Petorak, who within hours, stepped up and were able to respond to an emergency need for PPE by one of University Place’s frontline providers.
Mayor Pro Tem Worthington reminded the community about the importance of participating in the 2020 Census and urged them to fill out and turn in their survey. He also informed the Council that the Vision Subcommittee has continued its work in organizing and categorizing survey comments gathered via FlashVote and that the full list of legislative ideas received/commented on will be provided to Council. He indicated that the subcommittee at its coming meeting will be deciding which items will be referred to Council for review/consideration and discussion in the near future.
Mayor Belleci informed the Council and the public that the “Forever Friends” statue has been installed at the Curran Apple Orchard last week; however, due to COVID-19, UP for Arts has not been able to organize an unveiling/ceremony to commemorate its installation. She encouraged the public to continue to practice social distancing as they start venturing outside.
STUDY SESSION
10. AFFORDABLE HOUSING LOCAL REVENUE SHARING ORDINANCE
City Attorney Kaser provided an overview on Council’s January 2020 discussion regarding the Affordable Housing Local Revenue Sharing program passed by the State legislature during its 2019 legislative session. The program allows local governments to divert a portion of the State’s share of the sales tax collected on local communities for affordable housing purposes. He indicated that legislation deadlines must be met – the first of which was already satisfied by Council in January 2020 with the adoption of a resolution of intent.
The second step is for Council to pass an ordinance to levy the tax credit by July 28, 2020. Attorney Kaser indicated that there are certain local qualifying taxes that if Council had wanted to pass them would effectively double the tax rate in addition to the underlying tax. Those include affordable housing levy, sales and use tax for housing related services, sales tax for chemical dependency and a levy for affordable housing – Council has not expressed any interest on these taxes. Attorney Kaser stated that the proposed legislation, included in the packet, is written based on Council’s intent to adhere to that.
The tax credit must be spent on projects that serve persons whose income is at or below sixty percent of the median income. Eligible uses include acquiring, rehabilitating, or constructing affordable housing; operations and maintenance of new affordable or supportive housing facilities; and, for smaller cities, rental assistance.
The proposed ordinance would impose the tax credit against the sales tax that would otherwise be going to the state. Because of time constraints, the legislation needs to be passed by Council by the end of June.
11. LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL: AWC’S INVOLVEMENT IN THE I-976 LITIGATION (TABLED)
Because Councilmember Figueroa, the proponent of both legislative proposals, was not able to attend this meeting, Mayor Belleci suggested that item nos. 11 and 12 be tabled to a future Council meeting.
MOTION: By Mayor Pro Tem Worthington, seconded by Councilmember McCluskey, to table Item Nos. 11 and 12 to a future Council meeting.
The motion carried.
12. LEGISLATIVE PROPOSAL: PURCHASING POLICY (TABLED)
13. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m. No other action was taken.
Submitted by,
Emy Genetia
City Clerk