City Council

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Information: 360.753.8447 Meeting Minutes City Council Tuesday, August 20, 2013 7:00 PM Council Chambers 1. ROLL CALL Present: 6 - Mayor Stephen H. Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Julie Hankins, Councilmember Jeannine Roe and Councilmember Karen Rogers Excused: 1 - Councilmember Steve Langer 1.A ANNOUNCEMENTS Mayor Buxbaum noted the General Government Committee met earlier in the evening. 1.B APPROVAL OF AGENDA Councilmember Hankins moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Jones, to approve the agenda. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Mayor Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Jones, Councilmember Cooper, Councilmember Hankins, Councilmember Roe and Councilmember Rogers Excused: 1 - Councilmember Langer 2. SPECIAL RECOGNITION 3. PUBLIC COMMUNICATION Mayor Buxbaum noted there was a forum last night regarding the low barrier shelter for homeless individuals proposed by the People's House. He stated tonight's public comment period will be held to 30 minutes to keep the business items on schedule. He said additional time at the end of the meeting will be given to those who wish to speak. City Manager Steve Hall spoke on the People's House and said Thurston County ultimately has the authority to provide homeless services and provides most of the funding. The County will ask the Council to weigh in on this. The City's Hearing Examiner will rule on a conditional use permit. He also noted the Land Use and Environment Committee reviewed this two weeks ago where they supported this but asked for additional information about the proposed facility, a management plan, and to consider neighborhood comments. City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 Mr. Lucas Riedler, 1718 Brawne Ave NW, said he suffers from mental illness and found stability and security in Olympia. Mr. Glen Morgan, Tenino, Freedom Foundation, said he deals with whistle blower subjects and noted he received anonymous information from City staff regarding a hostile work environment. Also, he said there are several problems with how homeless funds are being used, especially high overhead costs, and there are misplaced priorities because of politics. He said the HOME Consortium has a total lack of transparency and there is no auditing at this organization. Mr. Jim Keogh, 419 Central SE, spoke of the homeless forum last night. He said no reference to similar shelters elsewhere was made and he believes the location of schools was never considered in the criteria. He said he thinks this will be a magnet for sexual offenders because it is near the freeway. He said the City's code does not address homeless shelters in residential areas and asked the City to amend the code and look at the budgetary impacts of such a shelter including police patrol and street lights. Ms. Stephanie Lane, 1221 Mottman Road SW, said she was homeless in Seattle and survived by entering a low barrier shelter. Mr. Julian Teodora, 2900 Limited Lane, said he works for Washington State Human Health and Recovery Dept. He shared his story as a homeless person and said he supports shelters. Mr. Victor M. Minjaves, 203 18th Ave SW, attorney, said there is no legal requirement to provide a low barrier shelter. Not requiring I.D. is a dangerous situation. Mr. Tony Sermonti, Olympia, said the downtown is in crisis and he is not in favor of the People's House in its current proposed location. He said the issue is one of behaviors downtown. He asked the Council to look at the municipal code to find ways to empower police officers and to spend as much time supporting small business owners in downtown and citizens as is spent on the homeless problem. Ms. Connie Phegley, 1712 Jefferson St SE, read a statement from numerous business owners who support the People's House shelter. Ms. Jessica Archer, 1316 Central St SE, said most residents from the Eastside Neighborhood Association are opposed to the proposed location of the low barrier shelter. Mr. Brad Archbold, 821 Central St SE, interim president of the Eastside Neighborhood Association, spoke in opposition to the proposed low barrier shelter location. Mr. Tom Crawford, 7430 Tsuga Ct SW, spoke on the TRPC Sustainability plan and suggested the Council support a strong set of targets for reducing greenhouse gases. City of Olympia Page 2 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 Ms. Darlene Brooker, Olympia, a former RN with children who attend St. Mike's, said she is concerned about the many homeless people who do not want help. She said it is inappropriate to put this shelter so close to schools. 4. CONSENT CALENDAR 4.B 13-0623 Approval of Advisory Committee/Commission Appointments Councilmember Roe stated the General Government Committee recommended the following appointments for Council approval: Arts Commission: Diana Fairbanks, Design Review Board: Angela Rush, Heritage Commission: Benjamin Helle, Heritage Commission: Nicholas Vann, Utilities Advisory Committee: Steve Fossum. The decision was adopted. SECOND READINGS 4.C 13-0603 Approval of Appropriation Ordinance in the Amount of $2,263,880 for Transportation Projects The ordinance was adopted on second reading. 4.D 13-0605 Approval of Appropriation Ordinance in the Amount of $425,312 for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Action Plan and CDBG Revolving Loan Program The ordinance was adopted on second reading. 4.E 13-0620 Approval of Ordinance Amending OMC 18.76010 - Design Review Board Membership The ordinance was adopted on second reading. Approval of the Consent Agenda Mayor Pro Tem Jones moved, seconded by Councilmember Hankins, to adopt the Consent Calendar. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Mayor Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Jones, Councilmember Cooper, Councilmember Hankins, Councilmember Roe and Councilmember Rogers Excused: 1 - Councilmember Langer FIRST READINGS - None ITEM PULLED FROM CONSENT CALENDAR City of Olympia Page 3 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 4.A 13-0640 Approval of August 13, 2013 City Council Meeting Minutes Councilmember Rogers pulled the minutes to make the following change, on page 3: Change "showed a map of shelters and social services." to "showed a map of shelters and transitional housing." Mayor Pro Tem Jones said he will abstain from voting because he was not at last week's meeting. Councilmember Rogers moved, seconded by Councilmember Hankins, to approve the minutes as amended. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 5 - Mayor Buxbaum, Councilmember Cooper, Councilmember Hankins, Councilmember Roe and Councilmember Rogers Excused: 1 - Councilmember Langer Abstained 1 - Mayor Pro Tem Jones : 5. PUBLIC HEARING 5.A 13-0629 Adoption of Ordinance Annexing the Division Street Area (County Island) Associate Planner Jennifer Kenny said this annexation is brought forward by the City and consists of a County island surrounded by City property. Councilmember Hankins asked about losing private garbage service. Ms. Kenny said the private carrier has up to seven years before the services are transferred over to the City. Ms. Kenny also reported there is no potential to take property for frontage or right-of-way, unless the property owner pursues subdividing. Ms. Kenny said the next step will be to bring it to the Boundary Review Board and then it will come back to Council for second reading. Mayor Buxbaum opened the public hearing. No one spoke and the public hearing was closed. Councilmember Hankins moved, seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Jones, to approve the ordinance on first reading and forward it to second reading, and authorize the City Manager or designee to take appropriate actions to move the proposed annexation through the Boundary Review Board process. The motion carried by the following vote: Aye: 6 - Mayor Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Jones, Councilmember Cooper, Councilmember Hankins, Councilmember Roe and Councilmember Rogers Excused: 1 - Councilmember Langer City of Olympia Page 4 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 6. OTHER BUSINESS 6.A 13-0632 Briefing on the Sustainable Thurston Task Force Draft Plan Mayor Buxbaum introduced this item and provided a brief background. Thurston Regional Planning Council (TRPC) Executive Director Lon Wyrick stated this is the largest regional conversation he has seen and this is a plan about vision, leadership, and action. He said this is the first step of the plan. TRPC Senior Planner Kathy McCormick reviewed the timeline of the plan which began in 2011. She said Phase One was a broad community discussion on values and goals, Phase Two was a discussion on creating places and preserving spaces , which helped identify problems to address sustainability and what the focus should be. She then reviewed the priority goals, the plan implementation at local and regional levels, and next steps. Councilmembers commented on the plan and agreed it is a great start. They also thanked staff for their long and hard work. Ms. McCormick said the comment period is open until October 2. City Manager Steve Hall said the next steps for the City will be to see where we can tie these in with the City's budget. We will bring the final draft forward as part of the budget. Council agreed to discuss this in Study Session to look at consistency with other planning documents. The report was received. 7. CONTINUED PUBLIC COMMUNICATION Ms. Casey Allan, 1431 11th Ave SE, said the proposed site for the low barrier shelter is not the right location. Mr. Matthew Perrin, 321 2nd Ave SW, said he has been homeless and is mentally ill. He shared his experience and said many homeless individuals are dangerous. Ms. Erica Freas, 1405 8th Ave SE, said she lives near Bread and Roses and has not had any bad experiences with homeless individuals. Mr. Steven Williever, 1316 Central St SE, said he is disappointed in how this issue has been handled. He said many homeless people are from out of town and the Eastside neighborhood cannot handle the low barrier shelter. Ms. Cassie Burke, 1829 Fir St NE, a homeless outreach worker and member of the City of Olympia Page 5 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 People's House project, said she will know who will be staying at the shelter. Mr. Jefferson Doyle, 504 Garrison NE, a homeless advocate and part of the People's House project, asked that people remain civil. Mr. Dan Griffith said he does not believe the low barrier shelter will be the fix -all. Ms. Beth Naccarato voiced her opposition to the location of the proposed low barrier shelter. Ms. Susie Spideri said she sees a need to house homeless but said a shelter should not be placed near a school. Mark, 1812 Franklin Ave, said there has not been enough outreach and agrees safety is an issue. He said research shows that shelters like this reduce crime. Ms. Lydia Groseclose said you can't compare low barrier homeless shelters with Bread and Roses and the Salvation Army. Mr. Seth Hutt spoke against the location for the low-barrier shelter. Mr. Chad Law said this has been an issue since January and this shelter is the best solution. Ms. Jessicarae Nunez, 520 Puget St NE, said she has found no data that shows other low barrier shelters are located in residential areas. She asked for more dialogue on this issue. Mr. Victor Minjares, 203 18th Ave SW, said there is not full disclosure. He said when looking at the Interfaith Works' website, there is no mention of the People's House. COUNCIL RESPONSE TO PUBLIC COMMUNICATION (Optional) Council comments included the following: - Eastside neighborhood has many social service agencies in their neighborhood. - There is fear from the neighbors. - Smart charity vs. toxic charity. This does not belong in neighborhoods. - Need to improve communication, need more information. - Interfaith Works will do their best job to respond to all questions raised at last night 's forum. - This is just the beginning of the conversation. - We have a problem about homelessness. - It is healthy to acknowledge fears and concerns because they are real. - Operational protections need to be put in place to address these fears and concerns. - Need to make steps forward in doing a better job to address homelessness. City of Olympia Page 6 City Council Meeting Minutes August 20, 2013 - The current system is not meeting the needs of all homeless individuals. - There is no perfect space to site a low barrier shelter, so we need to find the best possible place. - A community discussion needs to take place. City Manager Steve Hall said this is not the City's proposal. We don't have expertise and would have to hire a consultant to research it. 8. REPORTS AND REFERRALS 8.A COUNCIL INTERGOVERNMENTAL/COMMITTEE REPORTS AND REFERRALS Councilmember Hankins reported she attended the Visitor and Convention Bureau meeting and said the County will tentatively hold a public hearing on the Tourism Promotion Area the second Tuesday in October. Mayor Pro Tem Jones reported on highlights of the Intercity Transit Authority Board meeting, and the Thurston County Solid Waste Advisory Committee. He said Thurston County is asking local jurisdictions to join in on a regional ordinance banning plastic bags. Councilmember Roe reported she attended a Washington Center Board retreat and also reported on the highlights of the General Government Committee meeting. Mayor Buxbaum reported on the timeline for the Section 108 Loan program. 8.B CITY MANAGER'S REPORT AND REFERRALS City Manager Steve Hall reviewed the proposed agenda for the August 27, 2013 Council meeting which will include a Study Session beginning at 5:30 pm, and Other Business following. The topic of the meeting is the Shoreline Master Program. He also said Public Communications will be at the end of the meeting. Council agreed to this format. 9. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 10:34 p.m. City of Olympia Page 7