OPENING Mayor Hellar called the regular meeting of the city council to order at 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 21, 2009, in the council chambers at City Hall, 1123 Lake.
ROLL CALL Council members Boge, Newton, Snedden, Logan, Reuter and O’Hara were present.
INVOCATION Jason Duchow, Sandpoint Christian Fellowship, gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Hellar led the council and the public in the pledge of allegiance to the flag.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Councilman Reuter congratulated Recreation Director Jason Wiley for recently receiving the award of 2009 Young Professional of the Year from the Idaho Recreation and Park Association.
PUBLIC FORUM
Sandra Deutchman, 421 South Second Ave., stated that she and her husband, Philip Deutchman were eagerly waiting for their new street trees, which will be planted next week. She commended both Stephen Drinkard and Bob Wilson for their informative presentation on how to care for the trees. She felt the city’s tree planting program will leave a lasting legacy of beauty for the City of Sandpoint for many generations to come.
Wayne Wollenweber, 1618 Culvers Drive, requested a deferral on building his sidewalk until sidewalks are constructed on both sides of Culvers Drive. He stressed that he can’t afford to install his sidewalks at this time.
Eric Paull, 1515 Pine St., Suite D, Chairman of the Urban Renewal Board, stated the board was in support of the city’s council effort in trying to move the former Louisiana Pacific mill site forward in a different process of master plan development.
CONSENT CALENDAR
Councilman Reuter requested to remove Item B, Bills for the month of September 2009.
Councilwoman Logan encouraged the mayor in the future to appoint a council member to serve on the Economic Development Corporation of Sandpoint Board as council members have always served on the board. Councilman Snedden commented that Item A-9 Urban Renewal minutes of September 16, 2009, was incorrect as it was not what he expressed during the meeting. Councilman Reuter added that the minutes did not state what he had expressed as well. Councilman O’Hara stated that Lydia Stitsel would be a great addition to the Arts Commission and a good representative of young Sandpoint.
Councilman Snedden moved that items A-1through A-9 and Items D through G-5 be approved. Councilman Reuter seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by a roll call vote of council.
A. MINUTES
A-1 City Council regular minutes of September 16, 2009, and workshop minutes of September 30, 2009;
A-2 Planning Commission minutes of August 18, 2009, and September 15, 2009
A-3 Arts Commission minutes of August 11, 2009;
A-4 Bicycle Advisory Committee minutes of July 13, 2009, and July 27, 2009;
A-5 Historic Preservation Commission minutes of August 25, 2009, September 1, 2009, September 8, 2009, and September 15, 2009;
A-6 Parks and Recreation Commission minutes of July 27, 2009;
A-7 Pedestrian Advisory Committee minutes of August 18, 2009;
A-8 Tree Committee minutes of June 16, 2009, July 21, 2009, and August 18, 2009;
A-9 Urban Renewal Board minutes of September 1, 2009, September 10, 2009, and September 16, 2009.
B Bills for the month of September 2009 in the amount of $2,254,115.64, $1,838,788.87 of which is for accounts payable and $415,326.77 for payroll and benefits – removed from consent
C-1 Arts Commission – Lydia Stitsel to a one-year term expiring October 20, 2010.
C-2 – EDCS Board – Chuck Spickelmire to a three-year term expiring May 16, 2012.
D Moonridge Estates Final Plat Approval
E PUBLIC WORKS COMMITTEE OCTOBER 7, 2009, MINUTES
F ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE OCTOBER 14, 2009, MINUTES
F-1 Light Industrial Zone to Prohibit Residential Use – city council directs Planning Director to review changes to industrial zones once the commercial zoning changes are complete
F-2 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Agreement – that city council approve the proposed letter and authorize the mayor to sign
G RESOLUTIONS
G-1 Resolution No. 09-60 Snow Removal Contract 2009-10
G-2 Resolution No. 09-61 Lakeview Park Lease of Property to Sandpoint Lions Club
G-3 Resolution No. 09-62 Community Garden Memorandum of Understanding
G-4 Resolution No. 09-63 EDCS Property Management, Services and Lease Agreement Addendum
G-5 Resolution No. 09-64 Bald Mountain Coeur d’Alene Answering Service, Inc. dba Pass Word Transmitter Site Lease Renewal
OLD BUSINESS
H. RESOLUTION NO. 09-65 MASTER DEVELOPMENT PLAN FOR FORMER LP MILL SITE
Mayor Hellar announced that on July 15, 2009, the city council approved the creation of a work group to develop a master plan for the former Louisiana Pacific mill site. Public Works Committee directed Planning Director and City Attorney to draft the resolution. Planning Director Jeremy Grimm explained to Councilman Reuter the reason for the delay in providing the proposed resolution to city council was because he was not aware of the Public Works Committee’s decision until recently.
Councilwoman Logan moved to approve the proposed resolution, “Master Development Plan for Former LP Mill Site” as amended. Councilman O’Hara seconded the motion.
Councilwoman Logan proposed that in the third Whereas to remove “ing” from the words “developing” and “demonstrating”, on the fourth Whereas, first sentence, revise the word “know” to “known” and to remove the words “these areas as developing as the primary commercial centers of the city, and replace with “this area as multi-use.”
Councilwoman Newton moved to amend the second Whereas by changing the word “know” to “known”, No. 3 to read “The Sandpoint City Council recognizes that in the absence of such a plan and financial incentives said property is unlikely to be developed as a coordinated project resulting in the possibility of untimely piecemeal or incremental development of the site” and No. 4 to delete the words “Chairman of the.” Councilman O’Hara seconded the motion to amend. The motion to amend passed unanimously by council.
The motion to approve the proposed resolution as amended passed unanimously by council.
I. ORDINANCE AND SUMMARY NO. 1221 – FLOOD PLAIN ORDINANCE REVISION
Mayor Hellar noted that after the city council had adopted the proposed ordinance at their September 16, 2009, meeting, the city clerk forwarded the ordinance to FEMA for review and confirmation. FEMA responded with a recommendation of a corrected date as noted on Section 3.2.
The city clerk read the proposed ordinance by title only. Councilwoman Logan
moved that the proposed ordinance titled “An ordinance of the City of Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho, establishing a flood damage prevention ordinance and findings
of fact to establish purposes and objectives and methods of reducing flood losses; providing penalties, providing that a violation of this ordinance shall be a misdemeanor punishable by thirty days in jail, a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000.00), or both such fine and jail time, providing that these provisions shall be deemed severable; providing for publication and an effective date” pass its first reading as amended by the Idaho Department of Water Resources and, if applicable, the summary be approved. Councilman Reuter seconded the motion.
A roll call vote of the council resulted as follows:
Councilman Boge Yes
Councilman O’Hara Yes
Councilwoman Logan Yes
Councilman Reuter Yes
Councilwoman Newton Yes
Councilman Snedden Yes
The motion passed unanimously by council and the proposed ordinance passed its first reading by title only and, if applicable, summary was approved.
Councilwoman Logan moved that the rules requiring three separate readings, once in
the ordinance’s entirety, be suspended and that the ordinance pass its second and third reading under the suspension of the rules. Councilman Snedden seconded the motion. A roll call vote of the council resulted as follows:
Councilman Snedden Yes
Councilwoman Logan Yes
Councilman O’Hara Yes
Councilman Reuter Yes
Councilwoman Newton Yes
Councilman Boge Yes
The motion passed unanimously by council and the rules requiring three separate readings, once in the ordinance’s entirety, be suspended and the proposed ordinance passed its second and third reading under suspension of the rules. The ordinance was considered read, passed and adopted, and the summary was approved. The ordinance is Number 1221.
NEW BUSINESS
J-1. PROPOSED FEE SCHEDULE – PUBLIC HEARING – STREETSCAPE ORDINANCE ONE-TIME DEFFERAL FEE AND FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONSE FEES
Mayor Hellar announced that the purpose of this public hearing was to hear public testimony regarding establishing a new fee for streetscape ordinance on-time deferral fee and fire department response fees. In accordance with Idaho Code, notice of this public hearing has been published in the Bonner County Daily Bee on October 7 and 14, 2009. The one-time deferral fee in the amount of $100.00 is a non-refundable application fee for deferral of construction of sidewalk based on improvements between $25,000 to $75,000. The fire department service response fees are for all structure fire responses outside city limits and for all hazardous material/hazardous conditions, pipeline, marine and aircraft responses.
The mayor advised that the hearing would be conducted in compliance with the following rules of procedure: Before persons testify at public hearings, they are to fill out the signup sheet available at the front of council chambers and hand deliver to staff. If you desire, you may note your objection or approval on the form provided; if you wish to comment during the public hearing, please come to the microphone and state your name and residence address for the record; if you do not wish to comment but have written comment that reflects your opposition or support, please provide to the city clerk and she can read your letter into the record; please limit your comments to no more
than three minutes; testimony shall directly address the subject at hand and shall not be personally derogatory nor shall it be personally directed at any individual, organization or business; members of the council may ask questions of persons who testify. If they do so, it will be only for the purpose of clarifying information; once the public hearing portion of this meeting is closed, there will be no further opportunity for public input on the proposal; the council will then discuss among themselves the testimony they have heard and what, if anything, they may propose as a result of this hearing; those testifying should clearly indicate their name and address for the clerk.
The mayor opened the public hearing to accept testimony.
Mel Alkire recognized that cities and surrounding entities enter into mutual aid agreements with the spirit of not charging each other for responses with each assuming their own risks. He had an understanding that there would be a charge for those outside the city who don’t have the capability of mutual aid. He wondered who would be the decision maker for whether to bill for the second response, for the fire inspector, hazmat, or investigator. He felt the proposed fire department response fees were an escalation of charges.
Bill Hutchinson, 174 Lakeview Dr., Cocolalla, Idaho, opposed the proposed fire response fees and felt the fees would be an additional hidden tax. He noted that those who reside outside city limits are already paying taxes for fire and EMS services. He noted his insurance company will pay up to $500 and, beyond that, he would be paying out of pocket. He stressed those entities outside the city who aid the City of Sandpoint could charge the city. He requested that the city council think about his concerns and to review their mutual aid agreements in order to save the Bonner County and city residents’ money.
Tom Williams, 323 Buckrun Rd., Sagle, asked if there would be a determination for “pay as you go” for fire protection. He stated homeowners pay taxes for fire protection. He asked who would make the judgment, who makes the calls and whether the idea was for budgetary purposes. He requested more discussion and information before city council made a decision.
Eric Skinner, 94 Canoe Cove, Sandpoint, stated that he is a former deputy of the Bonner County Sheriff’s office. He felt the city and outside fire districts should have a good neighbor policy and stressed the need of mutual aid with no questions on the calls. He stated that everyone pays taxes for fire protection as one big community. He raised concern that if the fees were adopted then other agencies would follow. He stressed that the proposed fire response fees were bad policy.
Mayor Hellar closed the public hearing.
Councilman Snedden moved to divide the two categories of fees. Councilman Boge seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by council.
Councilwoman Logan moved to approve the one-time deferral fee of $100 for non-refundable application fee for deferral of construction of sidewalk based on improvements between $25,000 to $75,000. Councilman Snedden seconded the motion. Councilman Reuter raised concern that perhaps the fee should be smaller or whether it should exist. He stated the reason for the deferral is because the owner can’t afford to install a sidewalk. The motion passed unanimously by council.
Councilwoman Logan moved to approve the fire department service response fees for all structure fire responses outside city limits and for all hazardous material/hazardous conditions, pipeline, marine and aircraft responses for purposes of discussion. Councilwoman Newton seconded the motion.
Councilman Reuter felt the fees were unnecessary as the estimated revenue from the fees wouldn’t bring in enough revenue to accommodate what the fire department needed and would be a huge burden to people based on the testimony this evening. He felt it would be an escalation of fees and would have disadvantages to city residents because outside fire districts respond more often to the city than the city fire department responds outside the city limits. He wished this matter was not brought to a public hearing because it was bad public policy and was irresponsible. He didn’t feel the fees were in the public interest. Councilwoman Newton pointed out that Chief Tyler explained to the Administrative Committee that the city has mutual aid agreements with over fifteen other fire districts. The homeowner’s insurance will be billed, not the homeowner, and some insurance companies will pay up to $500 and others will not. The billing would be going through an outside agency as Chief Tyler brought this program forward to city council. The funds would be used for the purchase of new capital equipment for the fire department and not for day to day operations.
Councilman Boge worried the fees could increase and would be a burden on homeowners. He noted mutual aid is an automatic response and didn’t feel the fees were necessary. He asked how fees would be paid for those who were uninsured. Councilman Reuter felt insurance companies would pass the costs back onto the homeowners. Councilman O’Hara felt if the fees were not adopted, then each city council member needed to think long and hard when the fire chief asks for funds to purchase equipment. He said it would be difficult to find the funding for equipment when it was necessary. He stated based on service levels, he would look at giving the fire department what they needed if this proposal was not approved. Councilwoman Newton reminded the council that during the budget process, they charged department heads with a goal to be creative in finding revenues to fund extraordinary purchases in their departments. She said the fire chief has provided his proposal and agreed that the city would be hard pressed to replace the needed equipment for the fire department if new sources of revenue were not found.
The motion failed by a roll call vote of council with Council members Logan, O’Hara and Newton voting yes and Council members Boge, Snedden and Reuter voting no. Mayor Hellar voted no. She believed in mutual aid but encouraged the fire chief to come up with a better way to explain and clarify his proposal. Councilwoman Newton pointed out that this would have been outlined in the proposed ordinance.
J-2. RESOLUTION NO. 09-66 ADOPTION OF NEW FEE FOR STREETSCAPE ONE-TIME DEFERRAL FEE
Councilman Boge moved that the proposed resolution, “Adoption of New Fee For Streetscape One-Time Deferral” be approved. Councilman Snedden seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by council.
K. STREETSCAPE DEFERRAL FOR 1618 CULVERS DRIVE
Councilman Reuter commented that the Public Works Committee felt the best compromise was to grant a one year deferral. He noted the proposed deferral follows past deferrals that have been granted. He stated the reason why the Public Works Committee recommends a one-year deferral is because it was the end of the construction season and extending the requirement for the owners to install a sidewalk for one year would allow them to pay at a fair market price.
Councilman Reuter moved that the city grant a sidewalk deferral for the property owners at 1618 Culvers Drive until October 21, 2010. Councilwoman Logan seconded the motion.
Councilwoman Newton stated she visited the subject property. She distributed photographs of the location. She noted the street is three feet above ground level with the possibility of serious drainage problems. She said it would be very costly for the owners to build up the land to make it level. She pointed out that there were currently 32 deferrals granted where sidewalks would not be required until 51% within a block installs their sidewalks. She felt this would be an appropriate action to take for the property owners at 1618 Culvers Drive. She stressed the property owners would not have the funds to install the sidewalks one year from now. Councilwoman Logan explained to Councilman Snedden that a requirement for the owners to install a sidewalk was triggered when they removed a singlewide mobile home and replaced with a larger modular home. She said one deferral was granted in 2007. Councilman O’Hara felt the property owners could have included the cost to install their sidewalks when they did their improvements. He suggested to grant deferrals until the beginning of the building season and was more willing to adopt an eight month deferral. Councilwoman Logan raised concern because of the cost that would be attributed to the three foot difference of ground level.
Councilman Boge moved to amend to grant a deferral until 51% of sidewalks on the same street are installed, and the homeowners would sign an agreement that once they are required to install a sidewalk, they would be participants to join in on the sidewalk construction. Councilwoman Newton seconded the motion.
City Attorney Will Herrington advised the motion would allow the city council to violate their own ordinance at the time the city was responding to the ADA complaint involving sidewalk problems. Part of the consideration is that the motion is inconsistent with the streetscape ordinance that requires new sidewalks be installed when new construction takes place. He preferred city council approve a one year extension and make a motion to reconsider the streetscape ordinance. Councilman O’Hara raised concern with an open ended deferral unless the streetscape ordinance was omitted. He didn’t want to review a deferral every month. The motion to amend failed with Council members Boge, Newton, and Logan voting yes and Council members Snedden, Reuter and O’Hara voting no. Mayor Hellar voted no.
Councilman Boge moved to amend to grant the deferral for two years. Councilman Reuter noted that the owners specifically requested a two year deferral.
Councilwoman Logan seconded the motion. The motion failed with Council members Boge, Newton and Logan voting yes and Council members Snedden, Reuter and O’Hara voting no. Mayor Hellar voted no.
Councilman Reuter moved to reconsider. Councilwoman Logan seconded the motion. The motion to reconsider passed unanimously by roll call vote of council.
The motion to grant a deferral of two years passed by a roll call vote of the majority of council, with Council members Snedden and O’Hara dissenting.
L. PROPOSED ORDINANCE AND SUMMARY – AMENDMENT TO CITY CODE 6-5-3 – REPEAL TRANSPORTATION RESTRICTIONS ON STATE HIGHWAY STREETS WITHIN DOWNTOWN CORE
Police Chief Mark Lockwood explained the current code has limited human power vehicle use, with only bicycles allowed on First Avenue, Cedar Street, Fifth Avenue and Pine Street, but all human powered vehicles are allowed on all interior streets in town. City Attorney Will Herrington noted that city council would have to decide whether to repeal the current ordinance but to retain the restrictions on State Highway 2. He said Idaho Code Title 50 provides that municipalities have control over streets within their jurisdiction and can pass regulations that are consistent with State Code. Chief Lockwood added State Code provides that the city can’t change the direction of the streets nor lower the speed limits on State highways. He noted that before skateboarders cross a State highway, they are required to dismount from the skateboard and cross the street as a pedestrian. He stated that he has warned people for those restricted to travel on streets and sidewalks but has not given citations. He said he recently experienced an incident where skateboarders were “grinding the rails” with their skateboards at the stairway of a downtown business. The skateboarders told the chief they had read in the paper that they were now allowed to travel anywhere downtown on their skateboards, with the chief educating them on the restrictions. He stressed the importance of developing an outreach and education program. He recommended including the Pedestrian Advisory Committee and Bicycle Advisory Committee in such a program between now and next summer. He also recommended installing signage on curbs and streets as allowed by State Code. He stressed the need to get input from downtown merchants. He noted enforcement will be unsuccessful if an education program is not implemented and if the merchants are not involved. He had reservations about allowing all human powered vehicles on congested streets.
Councilman Reuter felt the need for education, whether or not the ordinance was Adopted, and that there is a separate issue of respect. Councilwoman Logan stated the issue at hand was the State highways that involve multi-lanes and big trucks. She felt it was totally unacceptable to allow all human powered vehicles with the exception of bicycles to travel on State highways within the downtown core. She felt it was dangerous to mix all human powered vehicles and motor vehicles on the perimeter streets and opposed the idea. Councilman Reuter stated it should at least be legal for pedicabs to travel on State highways. Councilwoman Newton reiterated the statement from concerned citizens: “Has the city council lost its mind?”
Councilman Reuter apologized for the misunderstanding regarding human power vehicle travel, as several thought the restrictions included not only First Avenue, Cedar Street, Fifth Avenue and Pine Street but all interior city streets as well.
The city clerk read the proposed ordinance by title only. Councilman Snedden moved that the proposed ordinance titled “An ordinance of the City of Sandpoint, Bonner County, Idaho repealing Sandpoint City Code Section 6-5-3 (Riding on streets prohibited); providing for severability; and providing for publication and an effective date” pass its first reading and, if applicable, the summary be approved. Councilman Reuter seconded the motion.
A roll call vote of the council resulted as follows:
Councilman Boge No
Councilman O’Hara No
Councilwoman Logan No
Councilman Reuter Yes
Councilwoman Newton No
Councilman Snedden Yes
The motion failed by a majority vote of the council, and the proposed ordinance failed.
M. BID RESULTS FOR REMOVING HOUSE AT LARCH STREET AND BOYER AVENUE
City Attorney Will Herrington stated the city obtained bids for purchasing and removing the house at Larch Street and Boyer Avenue with the highest bid at $850. He noted the Administrative Committee was provided several alternatives, such as whether to award the bid to the highest bidder, to reject the bids, to allow Habitat for Humanity to salvage materials from the structures and for the fire department to burn the remaining structures, to move the house to the newly acquired land on Baldy Road to be used for affordable housing and possibly serve as an office building during construction of the new sewage treatment plant or to contract with the roundabout contractor for removal of the structure.
Councilwoman Newton moved that city council reject the bids, allow Habitat for Humanity to salvage materials from the structures, allow the fire department to conduct training services without burning the home, and have the contractor for Super 1 Foods remove the remains when the roundabout is constructed. Councilman O’Hara seconded the motion.
Councilwoman Newton stated the fire chief told her there would be many uses for fire training without burning the house. Will Herrington noted that when Super 1 Foods applies for the building permit, the removal of the ruins would be included in the contract. Planning Director Jeremy Grimm stated Super 1 Foods applied for the building permit but that it had not yet been issued. Councilwoman Newton explained the home would not be burned because of the damage that may occur to the nearby trees. Will Herrington noted that it would not be administratively allowed to salvage the home until the development agreement was signed to construct the roundabout. He stated the city received nominal bids that would involve a lot of work by the city in order to be completed in a timely fashion.
The motion passed unanimously by council.
N. RESOLUTION NO. 09-67 SANDPOINT CENTER BUSINESS SUITES LEASE AGREEMENT
Councilman O’Hara moved that the proposed resolution, “Sandpoint Center Business Suites Lease Agreement” be approved. Councilwoman Newton seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by a roll call vote of council.
B. BILLS FOR THE MONTH OF SEPTEMBER 2009
Councilman Reuter raised concern about some expenditures under the urban forestry budget for this month. City Attorney Will Herrington noted the concerns Councilman Reuter had were for the bills for the purchase of the heritage tree booklets that were prepared by the Tree Committee. He felt it was poor judgment for contracts to be entered into without the mayor, department head and city council providing approval for those expenditures. He stated that no one in administration felt the expenditures were inappropriate but that action was taken to make sure that future expenditures go through the proper process.
Councilman Reuter also raised concern that payments were made to committee members and felt there was a potential conflict of interest. He stressed it important to remind those members of all committees/commission the restrictions involving expenditures made. Councilwoman Newton, liaison for the tree committee, pointed out the tree committee has a zero budget with nothing to keep track of.
Councilwoman Logan suggested this would be an opportunity to revise the advisory committee guidelines. Council members Newton, Reuter, and O’Hara all agreed the mayor could provide new language in the advisory committee guidelines. Councilman Snedden commented this was an embarrassing mistake but was impressed how city staff took care of the situation.
Councilman Reuter moved that city council approve the bills for the month of September 2009. Councilman Snedden seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously by council.
ADJOURNMENT The meeting adjourned at 7:19 p.m.
Gretchen A. Hellar, Mayor
ATTEST:
Maree Peck, City Clerk
