Town of Concrete
Town Council Meeting
September 8, 2014
7:00 p.m. Mayor Miller called the meeting to order. Mayor Miller led the gallery in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Roll Call: Council Members: Jack Mears, Dave Pfeiffer, Marla Reed, Ginger Kyritsis and Mike Bartel.
Staff Present: Andrea Fichter, Clerk Treasurer; Marianne Manville-Ailles, Town Planner; Alan Wilkins, Public Works Director; and Town Attorney David Day.
Audience Members Signed In: Kathy Pfeiffer, John Boggs, Bowen Beals, Don Payne, Gary Dunlap and Bill Pfeifer.
Public Participation: None.
Special Presentations: Public Safety: Sergeant Kading reported the August incident report is standard for the amount of calls. He stated the call volume was similar to that of July. He reported there have not been any major crimes and out of the 75 calls, only about 4 of these individuals were actually booked into jail.
Dave Pfeiffer asked for the average number of DUIs per month. Sergeant Kading stated that for the whole county it’s only about 30. Dave Pfeiffer asked if it is odd for the town not to have any of those. Sergeant Kading stated that they usually let the State Patrol handle these calls. He stated the WSP is the experts for those incidents.
Sergeant Kading also reported that the Eagles Nest Motel and the areas around the motel at the east side of town are becoming better.
Mayor Miller asked for the whereabouts of the people that were living in their camper in town. Sergeant Kading stated they are now located outside of town limits.
Reichhardt & Ebe Engineering – Janice Marlega reported on the contract for the Secondary Access Project. She stated that the county has reviewed it and this is the final step in the process for items that have been approved previously by the council.
Andrea reported that this is a boilerplate contract and has been reviewed by both the county and David Day. She stated the contract includes the scope and budget that has already been approved by the council.
Jack Mears asked if property owners have been contacted yet regarding this project.
Janice reported on the next steps for this project. She stated that during the survey and design process, those property owners will be contacted so that conversations can begin. She stated the design will assist them when speaking with property owners so they can be specific about the proposed location of the road.
Mayor Miller also stated the design plan needs to be in place to begin these conversations with the property owners and will assist them in being able to answer specific questions from each property owner.
David Day also stated this work includes survey work, which is necessary in determining the placement of the road and exactly which property owners may be affected.
Jack Mears asked what would happen if the property owners refuse to part with any of their property.
David Day stated that usually any of right-of-way purchases that need to be made are discussed and agreements reached between the purchaser and the property owners, but in the event that an agreement cannot be reached between the town and the property owners, then the town has the option of claiming eminent domain. He stated that agreements are usually reached before that happens.
Mike Bartel made a motion to approve the contract between the town and Reichhardt & Ebe for the design phase of the Secondary Access Project. Ginger Kyritsis seconded the motion. The motion carried with Marla Reed abstained, Jack Mears and Dave Pfeiffer opposed, and Mayor Miller breaking the tie with a yes vote.
CRH Engineering: Cody Hart reported that the town is moving forward with the Fire and Life Safety Building project. He stated he is working with Interwest to get the needed contract documents completed. He also reported the pre-construction meeting will take place on Wednesday, September 10 at 10 a.m. at Town Hall.
Cody also reported on the final presentation for the Water Spray Park Grant that took place in August. He stated that he and Andrea believe that it went really well and they also received good feedback from the RCO project manager. He stated the town should receive notice sometime in October on those that have been recommended for this funding.
He also reported on the possibility of the Transportation Improvement Fund Boards funding being cut and absorbed by the WSDOT. He stated that if this happens, TIB funding will no longer exist. He encouraged the town to write to their legislators requesting support for the TIB programs to be continued.
Cody also reported that he and Andrea are continuing to work on the grant application for the Park and Ride project through the WSDOT Regional Mobility program.
He also reported the survey work for Cupples Alley has been completed and he should have a draft design to Alan for review sometime next week. He stated that after the design has been reviewed, the town can proceed with advertisement for bid or the town could also choose to perform this work itself.
Consent Agenda
v Town Council Minutes: August 25, 2014
v Town Council Workshop Minutes: August 27, 2014
v Approval of Claims Checks: #1473-#1501
v Approval of Payroll Checks
Jack Mears made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Ginger Kyritsis seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
Public Hearings: None.
Old Business: Airport Leases/Lots: Mayor Miller directed the council to page 12 of the council packets. He stated he would like to begin by talking through the late penalty options that were brought up by Jack Mears and Larry Mitchell.
Ginger Kyritsis asked Jack Mears how an individual can buy a lease for $25,000 on a lot the town owns. Jack stated that this has been done for years. He reported on when Chris Thun acquired his lease. He stated that now Chris has purchased a home near the airport and has gotten a through-the-fence agreement with the town, so he no longer needs the lot he currently holds a lease on.
David Day reported that these leases are for the right to occupy the land and that some lots are worth the investment being made by some of these leaseholders.
Ginger Kyritsis requested further explanation and history regarding how the current lease language was determined, including the 5-year build rule. Discussion ensued regarding the leases and the process the town went through to update the old leases. Andrea Fichter reported that new leases were developed and each leaseholder signed a completely new lease, giving them a new 5 years to build. She stated this was done in January 2010.
Dave Pfeiffer stated that he believes what the town was trying to do when they redeveloped the leases and issued everyone new leases was to make leaseholders adhere to that 5-year build rule.
Jack Mears stated that in twenty years the town has never pulled a lease because a hangar was not built within the stated time frame. Ginger Kyritsis stated that she believed this is what the town is trying get away from with the new leases.
Ginger Kyritsis also reported on comments she has received from citizens regarding the leases and the airport. She stated one comment she received is that airplanes are a luxury item and not something that is needed and if you can afford an airplane, you can afford to build a hangar. She reported another comment that she received is that they signed a lease and should have to adhere to the language in the lease. She stated the comment went on to give an example of if someone signs a lease for a home and they do not meet the rules and items in the lease, then they lose their home.
David Day updated on the option of a Local Improvement District (LID) for the utilities. He referred the council to the information provided in their packets.
Marianne Manville-Ailles reported that according to town standards, what is being asked of the leaseholders who want to build is no different than what would be asked of any other developer in town. She stated that if utilities are not available to a property, it is common practice for the developer to put these services in at their cost. She stated that what is being asked of the people at the airport is not uncommon.
Jack Mears stated that he believes that Gary Dunlap is the only that has showed any interest in building a hangar right now. Marianne stated that she has also spoken with Jay Welch, who has also shown interest. She stated that something needs to be determined regarding septic and where these can placed for people who want to install them.
Audience member Gary Dunlap stated that he is now pursuing another option instead of septic. He stated that a holding tank may be a better option for him.
Audience member John Boggs stated that he believed when he began attending council meetings about 18 years ago that septic at the airport was an issue then and that the council did not want septic up there because they did not want people actually living at the airport. He also questioned why it is okay for people at the airport to have septic when other people in town cannot. He also stated that if people at the airport want these utilities, then why can’t the ones who want the utilities all get together and share in those costs.
Mayor Miller once again directed the council back to page 12 of their packets and back to the late penalty discussion.
Marla Reed stated that she believes the late penalty should be increased at 100% for each year after the first five years that a hangar is not constructed. She stated that she also believes that leases should be limited to only 2 lot leases per leaseholder for those who do not have hangars on their lots. Dave Pfeiffer stated that he agrees with Marla on both of those items.
Jack Mears stated that he completely disagrees. Jack discussed different lots, the landscaping of different lots, and other items.
Alan Wilkins stated the airport is town property and a lot of those lots have sprinklers going constantly.
Jack Mears stated that he does not believe that one person on this council actually cares about the airport and would not care if all the grass at the airport was brown. Mayor Miller stated that grass wants to go dormant for a certain period of time during each year.
Mayor Miller stated that they needed to get back on topic and once again directed the council back to page 12 of the council packets.
Dave Pfeiffer stated the council has a responsibility to the leaseholders, but they also have a responsibility to those on the waiting list.
Ginger Kyritsis asked if language regarding building permits being pulled could be added to the current leases.
David Day stated the town could send out addendums to the leases giving notice that late penalties will be added to those leases that have passed the five-year build rule and also add language regarding a building progress definition. He stated if the leaseholder chose to sign the addendum, they would adhere to that or they could choose to stay with the current lease and forfeit their lease if they have not met the requirements of the lease.
Marianne stated that most building permits expire within a year and could be given a 6-month extension on top of that, giving them 18 months to build. She stated that once permits expire, any new rules or regulations would need to be adhered to when a new permit is issued.
Cody stated that the International Building and Fire codes are updated every three years and these new codes would need to be adhered to at the time of permit issuance.
Ginger Kyritsis stated it was her understanding that they need to pull a permit now to meet the 5-year build rule, then they would have 18 months to construct a hangar. If they do not get it completed, they would have to pull a new permit that would adhere to any rule changes that occurred after they pulled their original permit.
Dave Pfeiffer stated that engineered drawings are required when applying for a permit as well.
Jack Mears again stated that in 20 years the town has never pulled a lease because the build rule was not met.
Audience member John Boggs stated that usually the minute you purchase something, it begins to depreciate in value, not increase. He stated the leases are being purchased by aviation enthusiast and the town is not seeing any of this revenue. He also stated that if these issues are not dealt with now, they will eventually have to be dealt with again by future council members.
Andrea Fichter stated that the leases can be left as is. She stated that each leaseholder must request an extension every 5 years and these requests are brought back before council for approval. She stated the council can determine then which leases to extend and which ones not to extend.
Mayor Miller stated the items on pages 14-16 of the council packets regarding the lease rates and utility connections can be discussed during the budget process.
With no action being taken regarding any changes to the airport leases, discussions on this item were ended.
Concrete Plaza – Hardscape Funding: Mayor Miller updated on the work and personal money that has been put into the Concrete Plaza project by resident Don Payne. He stated that Don has done a great job so far and this project is a major improvement for the Town Center district. He reviewed the current pictures of the project and reported on the items that are still needed to complete the project. He stated cedar and other items are still needed and will cost an estimated $1,000.00. He stated that he would like permission from the council for Don Payne to list items needed with their costs and submit that to the town for the town to order and pay for.