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Brier City Council Minutes May 24, 2005 Mayor Starks called the regular Brier City Council Meeting to order at 7:35 PM and the flag salute was given. Roll Call: Present: Councilmembers Colinas, Corpron-Smith, and Kaemingk. Councilman Morgan arrived at 7:39PM; Councilmember Doolittle arrived at 7:45 PM. Absent: Councilmembers McClenny and Gipson. The meeting was delayed a few minutes in order to wait for a quorum. Public Requests & Oral Communications: *Ed Walker – 21206 Poplar Way – commented on the small size of the Council Chambers and expressed his disappointment in the lack of room for citizens. He stated that he was disappointed in hearing that Paula Swisher is no longer with the City. *Ken Overstreet - 24019 34th Place W – Park Board Chairman – gave an overview of the Park Board activities, the City Parks, and the Park Board’s current requests and concerns. *Mayor Starks spoke on the concerns of the Park Board as to whether there will be a seasonal worker hired for the parks this year. Mayor Starks stated that it was not budgeted but that does not preclude the City from hiring one if the City Council chooses. *Craig Harris - 22901 34th Ave W asked how many years has the City hired a seasonal worker. *Ken Overstreet – 24019 34th Place W listed projects that have been approved by the Park Board. *Councilmember Doolittle arrived at 7:45 PM. *Ken Overstreet – 24019 34th Place W – Mr. Overstreet stated that he would like to see the City find and utilize the resources to move forward on the Park Board recommendations, or adjust their focus away from the Parks and towards City events. *Councilmember Colinas discussed Mr. Overstreet’s request. *Mayor Starks explained that the City has had a number of projects stalled due to the last ten months with regards to the construction of the new City Hall. He explained that the City has a four man Public Works staff and they have had a lot on their plate. He stated that Council and Administration has been supportive of the Park Board and that this is the first year they ever received an increase in their budget. There was discussion regarding the time that the projects have been on the books and paying to hire a part time person to accomplish the tasks. *Councilmember Colinas – stated that he somewhat disagrees with what the Mayor has said. He stated that the turnover of the employees has to have an impact on the things that are not getting done. Councilmember Colinas stated he has concerns as to why the lawns are not getting mowed today. *Councilmember Corpron-Smith – stated that she would like to have the Park Board welcomed into the new City Hall with a file cabinet in the City Council Chambers and a place for them to store things. Councilmember Smith went on to list several items that need to be done with the fields, ADA path, matting the master plans for the parks, and issues with the Locust Creek Park, she also spoke regarding items needed by the Park Board for the parks. She commended the Park Board for all of their hard work. Councilmember Smith suggested that the Council set aside funds for seasonal staff. *Councilmember Colinas – asked where are our services being directed. He stated his concerns for the financial condition of the City. *Kim Smith – 21700 Vine Rd., stated that the City is running in excess of a 40% turnover rate and was concerned with the cost for training temporary personnel, disruption in services and asked what the problem was and what was going to be done about it. *Mayor Starks – stated Administration was continually trying to find good people to work for the City of Brier. He stated that he will not be able to speak about those who did not leave on their own fruition. He explained that we have a new Community Development Director. *Paula Swisher – stated that she gives permission to the Mayor to talk about why she was let go. *Councilmember Colinas stated that the Mayor has not informed the Council of Ms. Swishers termination or the reason why. *Dennis Nick - 23807 31st Place W stated he would like to make a motion for the Mayor to resign. *Ed Walker – 21206 Poplar Way spoke regarding Norma Wilds, former City Clerk of 20 years being in the audience and is gone because of Mayor Starks. He stated that when November gets here, Mayor Starks will be fired. *Mrs. Nick - 23807 31st Place W stated that she is guilty of not showing up at any of the Council meetings and commented on the Council and how they appear to the citizens tonight. She handed the Mayor a resignation form for him to sign. *Wayne Kaske - 24024 Brier Way asked for Mayor Stark’s resignation. He also asked that the City Council adopt a motion specifying a no confidence vote in Mayor Starks and seek his resignation. Mr. Kaske stated his disappointment in Mayor Starks and asked the City Council to review the issue of Personal Contracts to give the City of Brier’s employees some means of appeal rather than to go directly to the Courts. *Dee Williamson – 3625 227th St SW read a statement regarding the Mayor and asked the Mayor to resign. *Peggy Dare - 22320 Hickory Way – stated she has lived in Brier since 1987 and has been involved with the City as well as a Councilmember and comes to the meetings. Ms. Dare stated that the City is crippled, and she complained about the Horse Arena and the condition it was left in after the new City Hall was built. Ms. Dare stated that she does favor a vote of no confidence for the Mayor and strongly favors the Council doing whatever they can on an emergency basis to restrict the powers of this man from damaging any more of our City people. *Kim Smith – 21700 Vine Road stated the citizens are mad and that Mayor Starks needs to hire Ms. Swisher back and step down; he stated this would be the honorable thing to do. *Anne Cavazos - 2180 Vine Road stated that Mayor Starks does not have the support of the City Employees and Community. She told Mayor Starks that he cannot be affective as Mayor and the City will be stuck for the next 6 months, the City will be at a stalemate and the City cannot afford that. *Tim McDonald – owns property in Brier and spoke on how difficult it has been for him to get permits to build his house. *Adam Gregorich - 22201 Poplar Way stated he has gone through seven Building Inspectors and stated how difficult it has been to build his home. *Peggy Dare – made suggestions as to who could step in as Mayor if Mayor Starks resigned. *Mayor Starks – stated he has listened to the citizens who have spoken and it is a difficult job but stated that he has no intention to resign his position. Mayor Starks said he will continue to do the best job he can. There was discussion with Oneta Griffin regarding why there is no longer a Janitor for the City. *Councilmember Morgan explained that the Council expected several bids with Ms. Griffins and they reviewed the Janitorial contracts and decided to hire the least expensive bidder. *Councilmember Kaemingk – explained that the Council received several bids and the Council decided to go with a different vendor. He stated that what transpired between Ms. Griffin and the Mayor was not part of anything the Council knew about. He stated they tried to make a decision that was in the best interest of the City. *Mayor Starks – explained that three or four vendors were brought before the Council. The Council chose a separate vendor and at the time the bids were presented it was decided that the bids were low and did not have prevailing wage, so the City Attorney looked into the vendors to determine whether they had to meet prevailing wage. Mayor Starks said that the Janitor bids will be coming before the Council in the near future.. *Michelle Magnuson - 2509 217th Pl SW asked the Mayor to clarify why he will not resign when a room full of people are asking for it. *Mayor Starks stated that he took a commitment and an oath and he plans to finish that commitment and oath. *Norma Wilds – previous City Clerk Treasurer of Brier for 20 years, stated the only reason she left the City of Brier was because of Mayor Starks. She stated that the only reason she did not sue the City of Brier was because she cares about the citizens of Brier and the City itself. She stated that Mayor Starks signed a contract with her that he did not honor and shorted her last paycheck. Ms. Wilds said that she will vouch for Paula Swisher. *Mayor Starks – explained that Norma left the City and made a lot of demands when she left. He stated that claims were investigated and the Council found that they were not valid. Mayor Starks stated that people leave when they don’t get their way and get upset. *Norma Wilds – stated that she left the City so that she would not be subjected to what he puts out. *Kim Smith – asked the Mayor to speak to the issue about the bad behavior that the three ex-employees referred to. *Mayor Starks – stated that people make all kinds of claims that does not necessarily make it so; and what they are saying is not true. *Councilmember Colinas – stated that it has been a difficult 12 months with these allegations being brought to their attention during that time. He stated he is concerned and it is costing additional money which needs to stop. *Dee Williamson – stated that the current employees are not standing up in his defense and she does not think he is an evil person but that he is just not good in this position. *Cameron Swisher – stated everything that was said in the Herald article was quoted by him. *Craig Harrison – stated that since it is the will of the people, the Mayor should resign and it is obvious that he will not resign. Mr. Harrison asked what the next step would be to render the Mayors powers useless and put him out of office. *Sasha Doolittle – asked Attorney Johnson what are the Councils options. *Darryl Johnson – stated that he understands there must be a recall election even though it is an appointed spot. He stated that a vote of no confidence is just a vote of no confidence. He said that he did not know of any other alternatives. *Ed Walker – 21206 Poplar Way explained that to get a recall would be to go to court and bear witness but by the time that would happen the election that is coming up this year would already be here. There was discussion among the citizens. *Sue Wahlgren – 23321 35th Ave W – asked how is the Council going to solve this problem. Councilmember Corpron-Smith moved and Councilmember Doolittle seconded, that the Council put in a vote of no confidence for Gary Starks and demand, not ask, but demand the Mayor’s resignation. *Councilman Kaemingk stated that he appreciates the citizen coming to the meeting and expressing their concerns with respect to the Mayor and City. He spoke about the separation of powers and the rights the Mayor has for supervising staff, and the City Council as a Legislative body has a different job. Councilman Kaemingk stated he did not have enough information to make a decision whether or not he felt the Mayor was qualified or not. *Councilman Colinas addressed Councilman Kaemingk and asked him to consider the times in December when these problems were brought to his attention and he expressed his concern to the Council at that time. Call for the question. Roll Call Vote:Councilmembers Colinas - Yes; Corpron-Smith – Yes; Morgan – Yes; Kaemingk – Yes; Doolittle – Yes. Motion Carried. *Ken Overstreet, Park Board Chairman, resigned from his position on the Park Board. *Dee Williamson, Park Board member resigned from her position on the Park Board. *Ken Overstreet stated he will be terminating his contract as Web Host for the City. *Sue Shultz - 21800 Poplar Way stated her thoughts and suggested the Mayor resign. *Julie O’Donnell – 3204 Russet Road asked if it is necessary to keep paying the Mayor. *Councilmember Colinas answered that by State Statute that a Mayor of a 3rd Class City does command a pay, and asked Wayne Kaske if he could add anything to this question. *Wayne Kaske – stated he does not believe it can be taken away. There was discussion with the Attorney, Darryl Johnson. *Peggy Dare – 22320 Hickory Way announced that there is a Public Hearing, Thursday 7:00 PM at the Planning Commission meeting on the Draft Comprehensive Plan. *Sue Wahlgren – 23331 35th Ave. W, asked the Council to look into changing the Mayor’s job duties so that this situation will never happen again. Councilmember Colinas answered that one solution would be to move to manager form of Government. *Brian Rodriquez, Park Board member resigned his position on the Park Board. *Craig Harris, Park Board member resigned his position on the Park Board. *Guy Fleischer, Park Board member resigned his position on the Park Board. *Scott Warner – 3605 219th St SW asked the Mayor how can he justify staying on as Mayor. Is it in the best interest for the City? *Mayor Starks – stated that he does not intend to resign his position as Mayor. *Chuck Orr – 2116 227th Place SW gave his comments on the Mayors reactions. *Paul Schroeder – 3226 238th St SW stated his concerns and asked if the Council had received the accounting on the New City Hall building. *Scott Warner – 3605 219th St. SW asked about expenses and what would happen if a City has no employees at all. *Attorney Johnson explained about budgets and what could happen. *Councilmember Corpron-Smith asked Attorney Johnson to look into investigating the inquiry of the re-allocation of the Mayors duty, including hiring, firing, and disciplining and report back to the Council. There was discussion regarding an unsigned flyer that was distributed throughout the City. *Mayor Starks explained that the Comprehensive Plan process is mandated by the State and that there will be a Public Hearing on it. *Ed Walker – 21206 Poplar Way stated that the SEPA notice has not been posted on any of the Bulletin Boards. *Peggy Dare explained that the State Law is very clear with compliance with the Growth Management Act and Public participation is extremely important in the development of the plan. *Mayor Starks stated that a copy of the Draft Comprehensive Plan is available at City Hall. There was discussion on Public Hearing notices, public input and meetings regarding the Comprehensive Plan. *Dee Williamson – stated she was very concerned about the current employees and asked the Council to take steps to protect them. *Sue Schultz – 21800 Poplar Way spoke to the Mayor regarding anger management. *Mayor Starks – stated the issues Ms. Schultz stated were not part of his make-up and did not feel the need for anger management. *Sue Schultz – 21800 Poplar Way discussed further the Mayor taking anger management. *Mayor Starks – stated that Ms. Schultz perception is not the case and is her opinion. *Dan Elliot - 3600 219th St SW – asked if it is possible for the Mayor to go through the City Council for any further terminations through the remainder of his term. *Mayor Starks stated that termination of employees has gone through legal representation with regards to the process. Mayor Starks stated he cannot run the City through consensus. *Paul Schroeder – stated that the staff is looking for jobs elsewhere because the environment is so hostile. He said that the staff does not want to be intimidated. *Mayor Starks stated that no one is being intimidated. *Councilmember Colinas stated that if the Mayor is willing to work with the City Council on this issue, the Personal Services Contract employees, the Council would work together to make the decision for termination. *Mayor Starks stated the process works that the Mayor administers and any termination that is deemed to be necessary is confirmed with legal counsel. *Bob Jordan - 22816 34th Ave W – stated he has been a manager for 9 years and has made hiring and firing decisions in private industry. He stated that Washington is an at will state and he cannot imagine an executive having to go through a committee to terminate an employee who is not performing. He stated that it is a bad idea to have the Council have to sign off on the hiring or firing decision. He stated that he felt the Mayor is doing a good job. There was continued discussion on the above issue with the Council, Mayor and citizens. *Wayne Kaske – stated that a Personal Services Contract is coming up later on in the Agenda. Mr. Kaske explained that if any appointment is rejected by the City Council that person is gone. He stated that the City cannot keep that person employed on a temporary or otherwise position. Mr. Kaske asked the Council to table the Personal Services Contract until the Council can decide how they want to protect the employees. There was further discussion as to what options the Council may pursue. Reports of Committees & City Officials: Councilmember Doolittle stated she will wait until they get to Item #8 on the agenda. Approval of Minutes: Mayor Starks opened for consideration approval of the Brier City Council Workshop Minutes of May 17, 2005. Councilmember Corpron Smith moved and Councilmember Colinas seconded to approve the Brier City Council Workshop Minutes of May 17, 2005. Motion Carried. Consent Agenda: Mayor Starks opened for consideration approval of the Consent Agenda. Councilmember Corpron Smith stated she did not receive the corrected minutes in her packet. Approval of the May 10, 2005 City Council minutes will be postponed until the next Council meeting. Hearings: Mayor Starks opened the Public Hearing on Variance #V05-002 and Conditional Use #CU05-003 by Dominic Pantel located at 23301 38th Place W, Brier. Mr. Pantel spoke on his behalf and explained that the business is for an Adult Family Home and he needed a ramp. There was council discussion. Councilmember Colinas moved and Councilmember Doolittle seconded to approve Variance #V05-002 and Conditional Use Application #CU05-003 by Dominic Pantel located at 23301 38th Place W, Brier with the following conditions; 1) Provide a copy of the annual State inspections, 2) Provide copies of caregiver training as required pursuant to RCW 703128.230, Long-term caregiver training, 3) Install smoke detectors in each room where a resident is located, 4) Have a fire extinguisher on each floor of the house, 5) A six-foot (6’) fence shall be placed around the single family residence from the front of the dwelling unit. The fence can be no higher than three feet high within the front yard setback, 6) provide one (1) parking space for the caregiver. Motion Carried. Old Business Mayor Starks opened the review of Construction Management Costs by Hammond Collier Wade Livingston. Mr. Ken Gunther, Project Manager addressed the City Council regarding the Costs of the Construction Management. There was council discussion. Councilmember Corpron Smith moved and Councilmember Doolittle seconded to approve the additional $21,317.00 Construction Management Costs by Hammond Collier Wade Livingston. Councilmember Colinas stated he could not support the approval without knowing the current financial status of the City. He stated that he supports the work by Ken Gunther but cannot support the action in spending additional funds without knowing what the current balances are related to the construction of the City Hall building. Motion Carried, with Councilman Colinas voting no. New Business, Petitions, Communications, Applications & Appeals: Mayor Starks opened for consideration approval of the 2005 County Overlay Program. There was discussion. Councilmember Morgan moved and Councilmember Kaemingk seconded to approve the 2005 County Overlay Program for $259,186.64 from fund 101-544-00-65 to incorporate the list of 9 streets as recommended in the memo. Motion carried. Mayor Starks opened for consideration approval of the contract for Chief of Police, Don Lane regarding the moving of Chief Lane from step 5 to step 8 on the pay scale. Councilmember Morgan moved and Councilmember Kaemingk seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Personal Services Contract agreement between the City of Brier and Donald Lane, Chief of Police. Councilmember Colinas moved and Councilmember Corpron-Smith seconded to amend the motion to insert on page 10, section 10, Termination of the Contract: to insert “Termination of this contract by the City shall only occur after an affirmative vote of the Brier City Council”. There was discussion. Councilmember Kaemingk moved and Councilmember Colinas seconded to table the Motion. There was discussion. Darryl Johnson, Attorney stated that an addendum could be made to Personal Service Contracts. Councilmember Kaemingk moved to withdraw his motion to table the Motion to approve the Personal Services Contract agreement for Don Lane, Chief of Police. Councilmember Colinas withdrew his motion to amend the Personal Services Contract. Councilmember Colinas stated that they will consider an amendment to the contract after legal advice is given as to whether or not they can insert termination to this contract by the City shall only occur after an affirmative vote by the City Council. Councilmember Morgan moved and Councilmember Kaemingk seconded to authorize the Mayor to sign the Personal Services Contract agreement between the City of Brier and Donald Lane, Chief of Police. Motion Carried. Councilmember Colinas moved and Councilmember Doolittle seconded to extend its regular meeting by an hour and forty-five minutes to 11:45 PM, Motion Carried. Mayor Starks opened for consideration approval of the Personal Services Contract with Paul Sweum for Director of Community Development and Planning. Mr Sweum introduced himself to the City Council and gave a brief review of his skills and abilities. Councilmember Corpron Smith moved and Councilmember Colinas seconded to approve the personnel services contract with Paul Sweum for Director of Community Development and Planning and pursue adding an addendum to his contract. Motion Carried. Miscellaneous Business by Call of Councilmembers & City Officials Chuck Orr – stated he sent an e-mail to the Council in the past week and commented that there is a strong sewer smell where he lives; he said that he lives in Skyline Hills. There was discussion and suggestions made. Adjournment Councilmember Colinas moved and Councilmember Doolittle seconded to adjourn. Mayor Starks declared the meeting adjourned at 11:36 PM. ________________________ Date Mayor Gary Lee Starks _________________________ Submitted by City Clerk Date Submitted: June 28, 2005
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