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Based upon the published agenda, Tuesday’s Woodinville City Council meeting appeared vanilla: three seemingly benign "study sessions" regarding a review of the city’s 6-year financial planning model, a review of Parks and Recreation cost-recovery recommendations and a sneak peek at the future capital improvement plan (CIP) — with the ongoing, burgeoning issue of Ordinance No. 489 (the downtown plan) to be addressed in finality the following week.
Nary a "business item" was advertised. On paper, it looked like a quickie with no frills.
Yet, five hours and 26 minutes later, after enough numbers to choke a horse were bandied back and forth and a multitude of amendments to a multitude of motions were passed and failed, the Carol Edwards Center would be looking at being "mothballed," if not extinction.
Go figure.
When it got to study session No. 2, City Manager Richard Leahy, on task and data driven, began the proceedings with an overview: The city’s parks and recreation program generates approximately $343,000 in revenue versus $1.6 million in costs, operating at an approximate $1.25 million annual deficit.
Parks and Recreation spokesmen Paul Cowles and Greg Fazzio, after careful study, they said, recommended recreation programs and community center rentals be eliminated to meet council’s budget objectives.
Cowles, defending the recommendation, cited two concerns: that city recreation services were provided to 70 percent of people residing outside city limits and that "70 to 80 percent" of services were in direct competition to existing businesses within the city.
Under the recommendation, among the line items suggested to be scrapped would be Woodinville’s city pre-school program.
"Where is it in our mission statement that we are to babysit?" Cowles asked the council.
In short order, Councilmember Bernie Talmas made a quick three-pronged motion to (1) close the Carol Edward Center "effective September 30, 2010"; (2) direct the city manager to find alternative locations for city-run programs and (3) direct the city manager to assist operators of non-city run programs to find alternative locations within the city.
Councilmember Paulette Bauman seconded the motion, citing the CEC as an "under-utilized facility" and her concern of the city’s operating expenses versus a consistent revenue stream.
The motion died on the vine, however, as Councilmember Jeff Glickman spoke against it for a variety of reasons, and the rookie council members — once again — deferred to the computer scientist.
About an hour later, after the council excused themselves from their self-imposed rules of only speaking twice for 10 minutes total, Glickman took the floor again.
He spoke of the city’s looming $540,000 budget deficit next year — and projected $1.1 million in 2012, and mentioned the "large number" of the city’s accumulating liabilities.
"This will hit every aspect of the city’s operations and parks is just a small part of it," he said. And then Glickman made a motion to raise the field rental rates by a factor of 3.48 to break even (meaning a $20 rental fee will soon be approximately $70), terminate the recreation programs and community center rentals and put the Carol Edwards Center into a "mothball" condition, where it would be locked down but could possibly be restarted in better economic times, he said.
Talmas was quick to second the motion and then it went to a vote, which passed 4-3.
Voting "yes" were Glickman, Talmas, Mayor Chuck Price and Susan Boundy-Sanders.
Voting "no" were Paulette Bauman, Scott Hageman and Liz Aspen.
"Going into the meeting, I had no idea this thing would come to a vote," Aspen said. "It was a shocker and I’m still trying to figure it out," she said."My biggest frustration is those on council did not take the time to work with staff to have a clear dialogue about any other cost-saving measures or ways to increase revenue," she said.
Moments after the vote to eliminate the CEC, the council retreated into an executive session to consider some of its "accumulating liabilities," which included potential litigation with Bargmann Construction (general contractor for Woodinville Fields), current litigation with the roundabout project involving DTTS Enterprises, current litigation involving Phoenix Development and potential litigation with Northwest Parks Foundation.
The next day, some Woodinville citizens expressed concern that the council had violated the public disclosure process.
Woodinville City Attorney Greg Rubstello was asked about the legality of the vote on the CEC, given it was billed as a "study session" and not a "business item." Said the lawyer: "Since the meeting was a regularly scheduled and not a special meeting, the Open Public Meetings Act allows council to take final action on items not on the posted agenda."
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