Council Committee Not Ready to Act on Library Issue

The Enumclaw City Council Community Services Committee is not ready to act on the recommendation from the city's Library Board to consider a 40 cents per $1,000 levy in order to keep the city library sustainable and under local control. (Click here to read the Board's recommendation as a PDF.)

Councilman Jeff Beckwith, as committee chair, further indicated during Monday's City Council meeting that the committee supports with King County Library Services (KCLS), in the event that the Council moves toward the direction of annexation.

But unlike earlier this year, he specified a desired deadline of Dec. 1, 2011 for said agreement. Council would like to avoid when the process became rushed and there wasn't enough time for public input, Beckwith said.

City Administrator Mike Thomas, who had been working with KCLS on a transfer agreement earlier this year before the process was halted due to community feedback, gave a tentative OK for meeting that deadline -- pending KCLS staff availability.

The two sides had already ironed out details including the and was close to agreeing on how staffing would change, so an agreement should not be too far off, Thomas said.

If the Council decides to pursue annexation, the issue would be put to a special election in either February or April of 2012, Beckwith said.

Either way, the committee would like to be able to compare levels of service both from the Library Board's recommendation and from KCLS, he said.

Library Director Bob Baer indicated the Board's recommendation did include information such as desired hours and days of operation as well as some kind of materials budget in order to keep the library's collection up-to-date.

Beckwith asked for more details to be able to make a better comparison with what would be outlined in the KCLS transfer agreement.

The Community Services Committee, like all Council committees, is tasked with reviewing and recommending policy to the general Council. The public is welcome to attend meetings. For more information, contact the City Clerk at 360-615-5608 or click here.

Housekeeping Ordinances Underway

Parking: Enumclaw police, in an effort to enforce parking regulations, have hit hurdles in recent years due to a lack of consistency in how parking in the city's four lots is enforced, Police Chief Jim Zoll told Council.

Consequently, he recommends assigning official addresses for the lots and consolidating regulations and signage for consistency and to ease confusion for citizens and visitors alike.

The four lots are:

• Behind the Chamber of Commerce
• Rotary Lot (off Railroad Street parallel with the Park Center Hotel)
• Logger Legacy Lot (off Railroad Street between Griffin and Myrtle Avenues)
• Library Lot (on Railroad Street west of Library)

The Chamber lot currently has signage indicating both 3-hour and 6-hour parking but it's unclear which is which, Zoll said. Similarly, there have been vehicles parked in these lots for months and without consistent regulations, it is difficult to have them impounded, he said.

Zoll recommends all four lots are designated for all-day parking but no overnight parking.

Councilman Mike Ennis asked if all-day parking might have an impact on local businesses, particularly if full-day employees take up the parking spaces.

Zoll responded at present it did not pose an issue and that police had been in touch with the Chamber and local businesses for their input.

Gambling Tax: The city currently has two active codes addressing gambling taxes, according to Finance Director Stephanie McKenzie.

One states: "There shall be a city tax levied on all other gambling activities, except social gard games, of five percent of gross receipts, less prizes paid."

The other states: "There shall be a city tax levied upon all other gambling activities, except social card games, of five percent of gross receipts."

According to City Attorney Mike Reynolds, the near duplication stems from various ordinances being passed in 1977, 1993 and then 1997, and this current ordinance would consolidate existing codes and remove the "less prizes" language as it is "an accounting nightmare."

Ennis asked for clarification that this ordinance was merely a housekeeping issue and did not affect businesses presently, and Reynolds replied in the affirmative.

No action was taken on either ordinance as they were first reading only.

In other news:

1) The city currently has a budget survey accessible from its website and desires for Enumclaw citizens to answer the survey and have your voices heard regarding the prospective 2012 city budget.

2) The city continues to work with the Enumclaw School District on funding and leasing the new stadium. Thomas said there would be more information soon as the city is currently looking for direction from King County regarding the RCO grant.

Beckwith, after inviting Community Development Director Erika Shook to present a list of property usage data across both sides that includes the aquatic center, golf course, school gymnasiums and the J.J. Smith building, said, "the city and school district do work together on numerous events and activities." 

The football field is just the latest property the two sides are currently discusses, he said. Read on this issue.

3) Mayor Liz Reynolds recognized Recreation Manager Michelle Larson for her work in seeing to it that the city of Enumclaw was recognized with a this year. The National League of Cities has also honored Enumclaw for the distinction. 

Larson reminded Council that the award meant the city saves more than $32,000 this year in healthcare costs.

4) day is this Thursday, Sept. 29.

5) is this Saturday and Sunday at the Expo Center.

6) The Enumclaw Homecoming Parade begins at 4 p.m. on Friday, October 7 downtown on Cole Street.

7) The 13th Annual 'Residential Neighborhood Clean-up' takes place from October 3 through October 7.

8) The Mud Mountain Dam "Best Dam Run Around" is Saturday, October 8. Go to www.databarevents.com to find the event and register.

Overheard at the meeting: "If you're not at the table, you're on the menu." -- Margaret Harto, Mayor of Covington speaking about the Suburban Cities Association