LYNDEN CITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF THE REGULAR SESSION I CALL TO ORDER Mayor Scott Korthuis called to order the regular session of the Lynden City Council at 7:00 P.M. at the Lynden City Hall Annex. ROLL CALL Members present: Mayor Scott Korthuis; Councilors Gary Bode, Dave Burns, Ron DeValois, Tobey Gelder, Jerry Kuiken, Nick Laninga and Brent Lenssen. Members absent: None. Staff present: Fire Chief Gary Baar, Public Works Director Steve Banham, Police Chief Jack Foster, Parks Director Vern Meenderinck, City Administrator Bill Verwolf and Administrative Assistant Lori Jilk. Also present was City Attorney Bob Carmichael. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Councilor Kuiken moved and Councilor DeValois seconded that the minutes of the December 17, 2012 Council Meeting (Regular Session) and the minutes of the December 20, 2012 Council Meeting (Special Session) be approved. The motion carried. ITEMS FROM THE AUDIENCE Scheduled: None Unscheduled: None II CONSENT AGENDA Approval of Payroll Direct Deposits, Draws and Warrants No. 15749 through 15776 $ 557,671.58 Award Legal Publications Contract for 2013 The City of Lynden advertised for bids for the legal publications of the City. Ads were placed in the Lynden Tribune on December 5, 2012. The City received only one bid, from the Lynden Tribune. Below is a comparison of the current 2012 bid and the proposed 2013 bid. ITEM 2012 2013 Number of Paid Subscriptions within City Limits 2,683 weekly 2,605 weekly Width of column 1.833 in 1.694 in Lines per column 9 9 Average number of characters per line 43 39 First publication per item (per column inch) $12.85 $13.00 Subsequent publications of same item $12.40 $12.55 Five percent (5%) discount if documents are e-mailed or supplied on disk Built into pricing above Built into pricing above The bid summary information was provided to the Finance Committee and it is their recommendation that the bid from the Lynden Tribune for legal publications for the City of Lynden for the year 2013 be accepted. Page 1 of 5
Reappointment of Berthusen Advisory Members Karen Steensma, Larry McPhail, and Terry DeValois have all completed their terms on the Berthusen Park Advisory Committee. They have each agreed to serve an additional term on the Committee. Mayor Korthuis has reviewed the nominations and is presenting Karen, Larry and Terry for reappointment to the Berthusen Advisory Committee. Terms of Office will be as follows: Karen Steensma January 1, 2010 December 31, 2015 Larry McPhail January 1, 2010 December 31, 2015 Terry DeValois January 1, 2010 December 31, 2015 Other Committee members and their terms are: Harlan Kredit January 1, 2012 December 31, 2014 Marlin Hendricks January 1, 2012 December 31, 2014 Mike Lewis January 1, 2012 December 31, 2014 Ted Linde January 1, 2012 December 31, 2013 Recommended action is to approve the Mayor s reappointment of Karen Steensma, Larry McPhail and Terry DeValois to 3-year terms on the Berthusen Advisory Committee (terms to expire December 31, 2015). Reappointment of Park and Trail Advisory Member Two members of the 7 member Park and Trail Advisory Committee have completed their terms with the Committee at the end of 2012. Jenn Apps has expressed a desire to serve on the committee. Kim Veltkamp has decided to resign her position. Both the Advisory Committee and the Parks Committee have reviewed the nominations and expressed a desire to have Jenn reappointed to the Committee. They will continue to look for a replacement for Kim s position. Terms of Office will be as follows: Jen Apps January 1, 2010- December 31, 2015 Other Committee Members and their terms are: Jeff Davis January 1, 2011- December 31, 2013 Tad VanderGriend January 1, 2012- December 31, 2013 Mark Ewing January 1, 2012- December 31, 2014 Colleen Unema January 1, 2012- December 31, 2014 Shelly Comstock January 1, 2012 December 31, 2014 Recommended action is to approve the Mayor s reappointment of Jenn Apps to a 3-year term on the City of Lynden Park and Trail Advisory Committee (term to expire December 31, 2015). Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor Bode seconded that the Consent Agenda be approved. Prior to approving the Consent Agenda, Gelder asked that items C and D be removed so he could thank the above-mentioned Committee members for all their hard work. Councilor Gelder then motioned and DeValois seconded to accept items C and D back into the Consent Agenda to be approved. Page 2 of 5
The Consent Agenda, items A-D, was then approved. III UNFINISHED BUSINESS Request to Use Parks Capital Reserve Funds for New Backstops and Covered Dugouts The Parks Committee has reviewed the plans to replace the existing backstops on Fields 1-4 at the Bender Complex with the addition of covered dugouts and agree that it is a necessary improvement. The Mt. Baker Rotary Club has informed the Parks Department that they would like to use this project as their major funded project for 2013, and have agreed to fund $50,000.00 of the estimated $77,000.00 project. The Parks Department will request bids from local contractors in order to get a firm price for the completion of the project. The Parks Department is requesting authorization to expend up to $30,000.00 of Parks Capital Reserve Funds in order to have all fields done at one time. The Parks Committee has reviewed the request, agreed that it makes sense to complete the whole project at one time, and recommended the request be sent to full Council for final approval. Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor Laninga seconded that Council approve the use of Parks Capital Reserve Funds in an amount not to exceed $30,000.00 for the new backstop project at Bender Fields. The motion carried. Ordinance No. 1434- Setting the Final 2013 Property Tax Levy The City of Lynden is required by State regulations to adopt a 2013 property tax levy. On November 19, 2012 the Council approved Ordinance No. 1429 which was passed relying on the preliminary figures for the assessed valuation of the city s tax base as provided by the County Assessor at that time. The original executive summary presented to Council on November 19, 2012, indicated that an Ordinance setting the final, exact levy would be forwarded to the Finance Committee and Council for consideration when the County Assessor s office provided the final 2013 assessed valuation figures. The County Assessor s office has provided the final numbers at this time. For Council information, the final calculations result in a total dollar levy amount of $2,606,047.41. Per Council s direction, this includes the 1% capped increase as allowed by RCW. This total dollar levy reflects a mil rate per $1,000 of assessed valuation of $2.12001, an increase of approximately 0.04432 cents from the 2012 rate of $2.07569. The Finance Committee will review this Ordinance at their Committee meeting prior to the Council meeting on. Councilor Gelder moved and Councilor Lenssen seconded that Council approve Ordinance No. 1434 as presented and authorized the Mayor s signature. The motion carried. IV NEW BUSINESS Interlocal Agreement with National Joint Powers Alliance for Purchase of Street Sweeper City staff desires to enter into an Interlocal Agreement with a national purchasing cooperative, National Join Powers Alliance (NJPA), to purchase a new street sweeper. Contracting with the NJPA will streamline the purchase and bid process and reduce costs for the City; as NJPA facilitates these processes on behalf on their members. Staff received a quote through NJPA for a 2013 Model A7000 Schwarze sweeper in the amount of $178,779.00 plus sales tax. A trade-in value of the City s Elgin sweeper in the amount of $11,000.00 is included in the quote for the new sweeper. Funding for the sweeper is a 2013 budgeted item, and this purchase will come under budget. Page 3 of 5
The Public Works Committee discussed entering into this interlocal agreement at their December 19, 2012 meeting, and concurred to recommend approval to the full City Council. Councilor Bode moved and Councilor DeValois seconded that City Council approve the Interlocal Agreement between the City of Lynden and National Joint Power Alliance, and authorized the Mayor s signature. The motion carried. New Water Treatment Plant Information Update At the December 19, 2012 Public Works Committee meeting, staff proposed updating the full City Council on the progress of the new Water Treatment Plant project. The Public Works Committee suggested presenting information that will be posted to the City s website, then conducting a question and answer session. Public Works Director Banham briefly updated Council and Staff on the progress of the new Water Treatment Plant. This agenda item was for information only. Resolution No. 868 Set Park Fees for 2013 In an effort to remain current on prices and competitive with other Parks Departments in the county, a couple of increases were requested for facility rentals. The Park Committee has reviewed and agreed to the additions and recommends bringing the changes to Council for approval. Notable changes for 2013 include the following: Park Fees: Increase kitchen rentals at all facilities by $10.00 per use on weekends and holidays. Increase Berthusen Playfield reservation fees to $18.00 (to match other field reservation fees). Increase shelter rentals at all facilities by $5.00 per use on weekends and holidays. All other fees for Parks remain the same as 2012. The Parks Committee has reviewed and agreed to the proposed additions to the fee schedule and recommends bringing the additions to Council for approval. Councilor Lenssen moved and Councilor Bode seconded that City Council approve Resolution No. 868 (amending Resolution No. 810) -Fees to Be Charged in Relation to Berthusen Park, City Park and Bender Fields- and authorized the Mayor s signature. The motion carried. Request Authorization to Accept Staffing for Adequate Fire and Emergency Response (SAFER) Grant Money At the August 6, 2012 City Council meeting, approval was given to the Lynden Fire Department to pursue SAFER grant money. The Fire Department has been awarded the grant by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The Fire Department requests Council s authorization to accept SAFER grant money to fund three new firefighter positions. The Grant covers the cost of salary and benefits of newly hired firefighters for a two year period, with no match of City funds required, nor obligation to continue employment after two years. Hiring three firefighters to work with current staff and volunteers will provide the citizens of Lynden with a more sustainable Fire and EMS department staffed to meet the volume of emergency calls. Page 4 of 5
At tonight s meeting, Chief Baar presented an overview and answered questions in regard to the 2012 SAFER Grant. Director of Lynden Christian HealthCare Center, Anita Tallman (500 Fieldstone Loop #51, Lynden, WA), spoke before Council and Staff in favor of the SAFER Grant. T.J. Faulk, Lynden Volunteer Firefighter (1840 Main Street #1, Lynden, WA), spoke before Council and Staff in favor of the SAFER Grant. Councilor Burns moved and Councilor Kuiken seconded that City Council authorize acceptance of SAFER grant money and the hiring of 3 additional firefighters. The motion carried. V VI EXECUTIVE SESSION - Cancelled OTHER Mayor Pro Tem Appointment for 2013 Councilor DeValois motioned and Councilor Kuiken seconded to approve Councilor Bode as Mayor Pro Tem for the year 2013. The motion carried. VII ADJOURNMENT The regular session of the Lynden City Council adjourned at 8:27 P.M. Bill Verwolf, City Administrator Scott Korthuis, Mayor Page 5 of 5