City Council

City Hall City of Olympia 601 4th Avenue E Olympia, WA 98501 Information: 360.753.8447 Meeting Minutes City Council Wednesday, November 12, 2014 12:00 PM Room 207 Special Council Meeting to Conduct Business of the Finance Committee 1. ROLL CALL Present: 5 - Mayor Stephen H. Buxbaum, Mayor Pro Tem Nathaniel Jones, Councilmember Jim Cooper, Councilmember Jeannine Roe and Councilmember Cheryl Selby Excused: 2 - Councilmember Julie Hankins and Councilmember Steve Langer 2. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 12:00 p.m. 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 3.A 14-1095 Approval of October 8, 2014 Finance Committee Meeting Minutes The minutes were approved. 4. BUSINESS ITEMS 4.A 14-0977 Oral Report: 2015 Operating Budget and Capital Facilities Plan Committee Chair Cooper encouraged everyone to identify proposed changes to the preliminary 2015 operating budget and forward them to the Finance Committee. He announced there would be a budget Study Session on November 25 at 5:30 p.m. to work through any final changes. Staff began the discussion with an overview of 2015 revenues and general fund revenue projections through 2019. Mayor Buxbaum reviewed his proposal for changes to the preliminary 2015 operating budget. He suggested the Finance Committee review additions to the Long Term Financial Strategy (LTFS) in reference to tax proposals which were discussed at the Finance Committee meeting last year. Mayor Buxbaum then answered questions on his proposed budget changes. Committee Chair Cooper mentioned the Capital Facilities Plan (CFP) included the proposed capital facilities element of the Comprehensive Plan. Staff is working on a schedule for public comment in early 2015. Chair Cooper said the Committee would not be able to finish their budget recommendations at this meeting and scheduled City of Olympia Page 1 City Council Meeting Minutes November 12, 2014 another meeting for Wednesday, November 19, at noon to complete the recommendation for changes to the preliminary operating budget. Mayor Buxbaum and Councilmember Roe left the meeting after this discussion. The topic was discussed and continued to the Finance Committee on 11/19/2014. 4.B 14-1059 Pavement Management Rating by Street Classification Each year staff visually inspects City streets and determines a pavement condition rating for each street. These ratings inform how funds are spent to pave and chip seal streets. Last year the Finance Committee asked staff to review the strategy by removing neighborhood streets to see how that would impact the overall condition rating. The City spends approximately $3 million annually for pavement management. Approximately $1 million is from grants and $2 million from CFP funding (including approximately $700,000 from the Transportation Benefit District). Our target rating is a 75 with 70 to 100 being in the “good” category. Staff told the Committee that by separating the neighborhood collectors from arterials, major collectors, and downtown streets, the overall rating did not change substantially. In evaluating street conditions, it was obvious the downtown streets were in the worst condition. Staff recommended a change to better align with the Council’s goal of "Champion Downtown ” and proposed a new approach with two ratings: major streets and neighborhood streets. Funding would be divided with $1 million of grant money for capacity projects, $750,000 to $1 million to pave downtown streets, and $1 million on the remaining major streets. This would defer funding for neighborhood streets. The report was completed. 4.C 14-1084 Briefing on City Parking Lot Management, Parking Revenue and Future Needs CP&D Business Manager Karen Kenneson gave a briefing on management of the City’s parking lots, parking revenues, and future parking needs. She stated the lots only account for 8% of the total revenue and that number is decreasing. Fewer employees are parking at the Artesian lot, and the lot behind Olympia Federal is now closed with the construction of the 123 4th Avenue building. Future needs include expanding the IPS meters, upgrading the locking mechanisms, replacing the parking software, and implementing the pay-by-phone option. The upgrades will cost approximately $370,000 and staff recommends maintaining a $100,000 annual balance for maintenance (signage, striping, pavement, etc.). Ms. Kenneson estimated the fund will have approximately $625,000 by the end of 2014. The report was completed. 5. ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m. City of Olympia Page 2