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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPublic Works June 17 20031 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL Public Works and Capital Projects Committee June 17, 2003 The meeting was called to order at 1:32 p.m. by Committee Chair Barbara Brenner in the Council Chambers, 311 Grand Avenue, Bellingham, Washington. Present: Sam Crawford Also Present: None OTHER BUSINESS Absent: L. Ward Nelson Jeff Monsen, Public Works Director, stated he wanted to discuss the six -year road program. It is scheduled for a work session in the Public Works Committee in three weeks. Residents on Kline Road have contacted Councilmembers. It is not a Kline Road project. It is a Slater connector project that the department is working on to decide if that road will ever go in and where it will go. The Public Works Department doesn't control the route or decisions. Half the route will be in the City of Bellingham. He is suggesting it is time to go through the process to select a route. Brenner asked where the residents got the impression it was for Kline Road. Monsen stated they've done some work to look at existing right -of -way and wetlands that make Kline Road the most logical terminus, in terms of engineering. There is no shortage of other public policy issues. That's as far as they've taken it. Brenner stated Kelly Road seems more suitable from an engineering standpoint. She's not taking a position on either road, but it seems bigger and easier to drive on. Kline Road seems so puny. Monsen stated they could discuss those issues at the next meeting. He intends only to look for support to facilitate the process to come to a conclusion. Brenner asked for staff to talk about Alderwood Road at the July 8 Public Works Committee meeting. A big portion of the road is in the County. The Public Works Division pushed to do West Smith Road, which is not in an urban growth area. This is in the urban growth area, right by a school, and is without sidewalks. Citizens have been screaming for sidewalks for years. It is not on the six -year road plan anywhere. COMMITTEE DISCUSSION AND RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, 6/17/2003, Page 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. 1. ANNUAL REVIEW OF FERRY RATES, AS SET FORTH IN WHATCOM COUNTY CODE 10.34, WITH A RECOMMENDATION OF NO RATE INCREASE UNTIL LATER IN THE YEAR TO CONSIDER POTENTIAL RATE STRUCTURE CHANGES WHEN BETTER 2003 INFORMATION WILL BE AVAILABLE (AB2003 -235) Jeff Monsen, Public Works Department Director, stated that they didn't have consistent accounting and stable rates for accounting because of the rate adjustment in February 2002. The pluses and minuses that normally occur from year -to -year, depending on how they deal with financing, didn't balance out. They had to make adjustments to make a fair calculation of the 55 percent cost recovery. The information in the Council packet says 51.33 percent. If they take into account the unique adjustments they made to compare apples to apples, the calculation is 54.4 percent. That is also shown in the Council packet. On the ferry traffic chart, they expected a shift from passenger vehicles to walk -on passengers. They experienced a larger shift than they expected. Financial information is located in the report in the Council packet. There is a reference to table six at the top of Council packet page 101 that should be a reference to table seven. The biggest area they did not predict well was the settlement of the labor contract. He didn't build into that projection a scheduled one -hour overtime for everyone each day. That made a big difference in labor costs. They experienced an increase in revenue projections also. Revenue would have been up about $10,000 more if the rate adjustment went into effect in January instead of February. In the end, 2002 was close to being in balance in terms of the 55 percent recovery rate. Regarding 2003 projections, at this point, he doesn't see this year as having the continued growth they've seen in past few years. They don't have a new labor contract in place today. That is a huge unknown expenditure. Cost increases over the last couple of years are influenced by operation adjustments to squeeze in one or two more runs. There are changes in cost for limited increases in services. He will continue to see that in the future. If the boat is going to run continuously, there will be some operating costs to the boat, but a substantial cost increase in staffing. That's an example of a relatively small change in capacity, but a big change in cost. Regarding labor and ferry usage projections, it's hard to provide a clear recommendation. They know, based on the boat's current use, that increases in parking spaces will produce an additional shift of users becoming walk -on passengers. Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, 6/17/2003, Page 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. As they put together the draft 20 -year plan, they will consider the question of financing capital improvements, which are not included in the 55 percent operating cost recovery. The County has said that any land leased for parking is part of the operating cost, but any capital improvement to create a parking lot is not part of operating cost or the rate structure. That's not a small dollar amount. It is probably about $200,000, not counting engineering that will go into that project. He recommends holding any specific action on rates until the fall, when he has better information to guide their decisions. Crawford asked if the union situation would be resolved by fall. Monsen stated he didn't want to predict, but past experience makes him guess it will not. The projected 53 percent recovery rate is not far from 55 percent. He may come back and suggest consideration in the fall if they begin to see usage trends that have a direct negative impact to revenue, such as a much bigger shift from walk -on to drive -on passengers. They want to encourage walk -on passengers, even at the risk of having to make another revenue adjustment. However, they have the greatest opportunity to increase capacity from walk -on passengers. Brenner stated the County should be willing to pay for that difference. She doesn't want to discourage walk -on passengers. Monsen stated he is having discussions with the Lummi Island Transportation Committee regarding service levels and vehicle capacity versus walk -on capacity. Ultimately, much of the focus of the 20 -year plan is the capacity of walk on or drive -on service that will be provided by the next capital investment. Crawford asked when the County last raised ferry rates. Monsen stated February 2002 was the most recent rate increase. Crawford asked if they've seen much impact other than the ratio of walk -on passengers to drive -on passengers. He asked if people are accepting it. Monsen stated he has not received any complaints about anything other than the rates going up, but some of the residents expected that the increase was needed. Crawford asked if the service was improved when the County raised the rates. Monsen stated they did not deliver anything they were not already delivering. The rates were to recover 55 percent of the operating cost. The biggest shift was the non - passenger car incentives. They also retained the quarterly pass. Crawford asked if they can assume that people are waiting less since the ratio of walk -on passengers to drive -on passengers is bigger. Monsen stated the majority of complaints about the ferry system are still about the waiting line, especially to come off the island in the morning in a passenger car. Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, 6/17/2003, Page 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 DISCLAIMER: This document contains the Whatcom County Council or Committee minutes, as approved. However, unless an attested signature page is attached, they are not the final approved minutes. Bill Lee, 2171 Tuttle Lane, stated the rate adjustment was an improvement. Personally, he believes that it allows users to pay their committed portion of the costs of the service. Speaking for the community, people responded to it like any increase in cost in something that is a basic part of their lives. Most regretted it. Some believe that the users have a certain level of responsibility to pay for the services, and costs go up. Some people were very much impacted by it. He tried to do away with the quarterly pass, but it was retained. It was not a critical issue, but was a philosophical matter. In the negotiations with the labor unions, it is important that no agreement be made that will impact the mandated level of service. There is a concern that things will happen on the island to which the islanders are a party. There is a concern that all parties must be aware that there is a mandated level of service, and agreements must not be made that are below that level. Brenner stated she gave Mr. Lee a letter from Michelle Luke. Lee stated he has not been able to contact Ms. Luke yet. He intends to contact her. He's not sure that the transportation committee feels at this time that the issue of signage is a matter they want to be involved in. The other issue with Ms. Luke was the 25 miles per hour issue. The transportation committee is interested in that issue. Crawford asked if the Public Works Committee is obligated to take action. Monsen stated he is obligated to talk to the committee at this time of year to talk about rates so that, if there is an intention to raise rates to deal with revenue, it can be built into the budget process. In the absence of action, the rates stay the same. No action now does not extinguish their options in the future. ADJOURN The meeting adjourned at 1:56 p.m. Jill Nixon, Minutes Transcription ATTEST: Dana Brown - Davis, Council Clerk WHATCOM COUNTY COUNCIL WHATCOM COUNTY, WASHINGTON Barbara Brenner, Committee Chair Public Works and Capital Projects Committee, 6/17/2003, Page 4