Lundeen Annexation, Stadium Grant, Budget Amendments All Get OK

It was a busy night Monday for the Enumclaw City Council as the body of six -- Councilman Jim Hogan was absent -- efficiently approved two ordinances and three resolutions related to the Lundeen Annexation, an amendment to the 2011 budget, an amendment to the city's donation of services policy, and the acceptance of both the King County Youth Facilities Grant for a new multi-sport stadium and work the county wants to do to realign a section of the Foothills Trail.

Funding Stadium

Citizens including Carl Sanders and Jeff Coats came to support the council's decision to formally accept a $75,000 King County Youth Sports Facilities Grant that the city had applied for and received. The grant requires a 50 percent match of $37,500, half of which must come from the grant recipient, said Community Development Director Erika Shook. The Your Enumclaw Area Stadium (YEAS) Committee has already raised more than the required 50 percent, she said, and the city's portion as the grant recipient required for the match is $18,750, which will be coming from the city's park impact fees fund.

The $75,000 grant is intended to be used for the purchase of synthetic turf for the overall stadium project -- the turf is estimated to cost about $450,000. The YEAS Committee has raised more than $260,000 in cash and in-kind donations for the project, including a grant from the National Football League. Council formally with the project in late March.

Lundeen Annexation

The second of two public hearings regarding the also took place Monday night though no one spoke during the hearing. Council subsequently moved forward with approving the annexation of about 92 acres of land in the area roughly bounded on the west by State Route 169, on the south by McHugh Avenue, and in the north by .

According to Councilman Jeff Beckwith, Police Chief had indicated that due to enrollment decreases at Thunder Mountain, the police department would be able to provide acceptable service levels to the area; however, with future annexations, police service levels would be one of the first issues to examine, Beckwith said.

2011 Budget Amendment

Council then passed an amendment to the 2011 budget since now, city staff have actual revenue and expenditure data for 2010 that determines what the beginning fund balances are for this year (they were estimated when the budget was first adopted in December 2010), according to Finance Director Stephanie McKenzie. The amendment also serves to move forward into several 2011 budgeted projects that had not yet started or were completed.

Prior to the amendment's passage, Council clarified two particular projects and reduced funding for one of them.

Council removed $8,507.72 in funding a city key card system intended to be used at and other city buildings for improved access for employees as well as security; however, it approved spending $2,929 for a panic alarm system, also intended to improve safety and response times at City Hall. 

The other project, funding for renovation of the Field House restrooms at the , had previously been underestimated at about $40,000, according to Public Works Director Chris Searcy. Bids the city received for the work surpassed that total, and staff then went back to rescope the project, now estimated to cost about $75,000. The city received a base bid of $68,021.61 from Lake Tapps Construction; Council approved this bid as well as the budgeted $75,000 for the project.

Councilman Sean Krebs, however, warned that the city had missed in its budget estimate by nearly 100 percent, and it should serve as a lesson as the city proceeds with funding the construction of the Welcome Center.

Other Approvals

Council approved the addition of the Enumclaw Golf Course as a city resource that could donate services to community groups, in accordance with a 2004 resolution the city passed allowing the Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department to  do just that. At the time, only the Aquatic Center was listed. The amendment also allows for an annual limit increase from $1,000 to $1,200.

It also passed a resolution authorizing a reconstruction of a section of the Foothills Trail in Enumclaw, beginning at the crossing at Semanski Street and north of there for about 40 feet. Shook explained the work that King County is doing was needed in order to allow for a 90 degree crossing at Semanski.

Other Business

While a resolution was on the table to amend Resolution 1396 regarding the library annexation, setting an infinite timeline for when annexation might occur, Council opted not to act on it based on an appeal by Krebs to spend some time exploring a levy lift option which would keep management of the library within the city.

Krebs indicated he had spoken with City Administrator Mike Thomas regarding the work city staff would need to do to provide scenarios and numbers for a better analysis of the levy option. Resources at the city were already extremely tight but the work required here was two-fold, said Thomas.

Library Director along with members of the Library Board would need to help scope out a long-term vision for the kinds of service they're looking for the city library to be able to provide; at the same time, city staff would take those recommendations and provide scenarios for how a levy might work, Thomas said.

Regardless of annexation or levy changes, "the goal is to find a stable fnding source for the library," Thomas said. When asked about the pressure on staff, "the issues aren't going away until we solve it," he said.

Mayor Liz Reynolds added that the city does appreciate the passion of the community with regards to the local library and supports the body of work required to paint a clearly picture of all funding options. 

Tight city resources was a recurring theme as the discussion then turned to management of operations at the city golf course. Spurred by concerns that the ending fund balance for the facility was nearly zero, Beckwith proposed and got support from the rest of Council to direct staff to begin working on a request for proposal (RFP) regarding improvements needed at the golf course. 

The timing of actual action may not occur until 2013, he said, giving staff some time to work on the RFP, but he wanted to begin looking at options as soon as possible.

Wrapping up

1) City Council heard the first reading of an ordinance regarding the Liberty Meadows Preliminary Plat where 48 lots on 9.85 acres are proposed in an area at 445 Semanski Street. The Hearing Examiner recommended the request for approval should be granted subject to certain conditions. Traffic, access and congestion were a concern for Council as Shook outlined details of the plat. Councilmen Glen Jensen and Mike Ennis discussed the impact of traffic at the intersection of Semanski and Warner which is currently rated at a D but would downgrade to F (failing) with the new development.

Shook said there would be mitigation fees issued that would be proportional to the impact on traffic at that intersection. Jensen mentioned that previous discussions of that intersection included a possible light or roundabout to ameliorate congestion.

As this was the first reading of the ordinance, no action was taken.

2) Thomas announced that all City Hall service hours have now been standardized 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. This change includes Finance (Utility Billing), Court, Parks, and Administration.  

3) Beckwith reminded the public that three seats on the City Council were up for election this fall including his own and those of Councilmen Rich Elfers and Jim Hogan. All residents with concerns about city government are encouraged to file, he said. 

According to King County Elections, in-person filing can be done between June 6 and June 10. Filings by mail must be received by the filing officer between May 20 and June 10. And online filing can be done beginning the first Monday in June and continue through 4 p.m. the following Friday. Click here for more information.