1. CALL TO ORDER

Mayor Norm Childress called the regular meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. in the Council Chambers at City Hall.

Present were: Mayor Childress and Councilmembers Helen Darr, Bill Flory, Pam Horner, Jan McDonald, Robert Morales, Javier Rodriguez and Joan Souders.

Staff present were: City Administrator Scott Staples, City Attorney Jack Maxwell, and City Clerk Anita Palacios.

2. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Mya Munoz, Student of the Month at Harriet Thompson Elementary School, lead the pledge of allegiance.

3. PUBLIC COMMENT - None

4. CONSENT AGENDA

On motion by Councilmember Horner, second by Councilmember Souders, Council unanimously approved the Consent Agenda consisting of the following:

A. Minutes of the February 20, 2007 study session

B. Minutes of the February 20, 2007 regular meeting

C. 2007 Claim Warrant Nos. 78137-78220 in the amount of $165,362.88

D. Payroll Warrant approval for February 28, 2007

E. Ordinance No. 2007-2; approved the final plat of Meadowlark View Division No. 3

5. ACTIVE AGENDA

A. Legislative Update

City Administrator Staples updated Council on the following proposed legislation:

Increasing the City-County Assistance Account – HB 2022 would provide an additional $10 million annually for the city-county assistance account and favorably amend the formula was in the House Appropriations Committee and might not move. Council was asked to contact our representatives and encourage their support of this bill.

Local Sales & Use Tax for Criminal Justice Purposes – HB 1851 would give cities councilmanic authority to levy an additional one-tenth of one percent sales and use tax to pay for criminal justice services. This bill was still in the House Finance Committee. Council was asked to contact our legislators asking for passage of this bill. If this bill did not move by March 5^th, it would be considered dead for the year.

Utility Liens – SSB 5854 would prohibit cities and counties from collecting delinquent utility debt from property owners if the owner notifies the City that their property is a rental and if the utility contracts directly with the renter for utility payment. Losing the utility lien authority would shift unpaid debt to the rest of the utility customers, thereby raising rates for everyone. This bill was still in the Senate Rules Committee and Council was asked to contact members of that committee to share the City’s concerns.

Local Franchise Authority – SB 6003 would replace local franchise authority for video services (cable television) with a state franchise authority at the Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission. The bill also prohibits build-out requirements, and calls for a more restrictive definition of gross revenue than many cities use today. The Senate Water, Energy & Telecommunications Committee did not move this bill along. As of the February 28^th cutoff, the bill was considered dead for this year. However, another bill in the same committee (SSB 5592) was stripped of its original purpose and rewritten to call for an interim task force to study the reform of telecommunications regulation, including a review of the local franchise process. The task force must deliver its recommendations to the Legislature by December 15, 2007. The task force would include legislators, the Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission, a consumer, a representative of the Governor’s office, and the telecommunications industry. While local governments were not listed as a member of the task force, AWC staff would speak to the bill sponsor to get local governments included in the group.

Transportation Benefit Districts (TBDs) – HB1858 passed out of the House Transportation Committee on March 2^nd. The substitute bill would allow cities or counties to impose the first $20 of the vehicle fee if a TBD was jurisdiction-wide (the balance remains voter approved and would allow cities or counties to impose limited transportation impact fees, but prohibit “double-dipping” of existing impact fees or any residential property.

Limiting Medical Costs for Inmates – HB 2126 would have capped the amount hospitals could charge cities and counties for inmate medical costs at 160% of the Medicaid reimbursement rate. It was introduced by Rep. Charles Ross (R-Naches) to assist jurisdictions with this increase, burdensome and unmanageable cost. Unfortunately, this bill had been introduced several weeks ago, on the eve of the hearing several counties objected to the proposal, suggesting that the bill would interfere with their current method for sharing costs with the hospital. Due to the confusion, the bill was removed from the agenda. Because it was so close to the cutoff for fiscal bills, this proposal would not be heard this session.

Auto Theft – 2SSB 1001 passed out of the House Human Services Committee with amendments changing the provisions related to juveniles. The amended version of the bill removed mandatory minimum sentences for juvenile offenders and retained an increase in seriousness level for the vehicle-related theft offenses, but at a lower level of increase. The bill also added a requirement at sentencing for theft of a motor vehicle, possession of a stolen vehicle, or first or second degree taking a motor vehicle for an evaluation of the juvenile’s need for services and a requirement that the juvenile complete all treatment. The bill, which also increased penalties for adult offenses related to auto theft and created an auto theft authority to fund law enforcement tools to address this problem in many communities, was referred to the House Appropriations Committee for further review.

Studying Gang Activity – SSB 5987 was introduced by Sen. Jim Clements (R-Selah) at the request of the Attorney General to combat increasing levels of gang violence. It passed the Senate Judiciary Committee as a study bill to evaluate and make recommendations regarding: measures to combat gang-related crime; the creation of a statewide gang information database; possible reforms to the juvenile justice system for gang-related juvenile offenses; best practices for prevention and intervention of youth gang membership; and the adoption of legislation authorizing a civil anti-gang injunction. The Office of the Attorney General was required to report back to the legislature on its findings and the recommendation of the group or groups on or before January 1, 2008.

Eliminating Non-Supplanting Language in Voter-Approved Funding Sources – SB 5498 would eliminate non-supplanting requirements in the voter-approved property tax lid lifts and the three-tenths voter-approved sales tax. To date, this bill had not been scheduled for executive session by the Ways & Means Committee. Council was asked to contact committee members and ask them to pass this bill

Fiscal Flexibility – HB 1369 would remove non-supplanting language on the voter-approved property tax lid lifts. This bill passed out of the Finance Committee on March 1^st.

Property Tax Bills – Several bills relating to property tax limits were in the House Finance Committee. HB 2334 would allow cities to increase property taxes to 100% plus the implicit price deflator (IPD) in lieu of imposing impact fees. Proceeds above 101% would be used for infrastructure needs. HB 2117 would reenact the limitations on regular property tax growth adopted under I-747. AWC testified in support of HB 2334 and opposed HB 2117. Both bills were likely to move as House Democrats continue their discussions on property taxes.

Collective Bargaining Legislation – SB 5251 would allow local governments and their employees to agree to contract terms of up to six years instead of the current three-year limitation. This bill could be acted on by the Senate at any time.

6. COUNCILMEMBER MEETING REPORTS

Animal Shelter Committee – The Animal Shelter Committee met on February 28^th and discussed building options and fundraising. It was the consensus of the committee to locate the facility at the Public Works property. The next step would be to develop specifications for the facility.

YVCOG General Membership Meeting – The City will be hosting the March 21^st YVCOG General Membership meeting at The Vineyard. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m.

New Vision’s Annual Meeting – New Vision will hold their annual meeting on March 22^nd from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the Yakima Convention Center.

Grandview United Meeting – The Grandview United group will be meeting on March 15^th, 7:00 p.m., at the High School Cafeteria.

Chamber Auction – The Chamber of Commerce Auction will take place on March 16^th , 6:00 p.m., at the Grandview Armory.

7. ADJOURNMENT

The regular meeting adjourned at 8:03 p.m.

__________________________ __________________________

Mayor Norm Childress Anita Palacios, City Clerk