Denise Frey was appointed to the District 2 vacancy after Special session from 4-5:10pm. Some parts of MFTE proposal are approved for incorporation by Council. Other parts require more data, say a majority of Council. Humanity continues to read each Power Point slide out loud, even though they were provided in advance and are up on a screen for all to read. I have never understood this. I still don’t. Kitsap Lake continues to be a success story, all hail Chance Berthiaume of Public Works. The YMCA is making moves towards closing its connection to its current site.

A. BRIEFINGS ON AGENDA ITEMS

1. Modification No. 4 to Goods and Services Agreement with AquaTechnex LLC for Phoslock Treatment and Aquatic Vegetation Harvesting of Kitsap Lake

Chance Berthiaume presents. More fixing up of Kitsap Lake. Continuation of a successful treatment plan that’s been working for a few years. Younger asks about getting our own harvester, as it’ll run $40K just this year for aquatic weed harvester. Chance says no storage, private property owners couldn’t safely operate. Very problematic. But he’ll look into it. Chamberlin asks what data they collect. Chance says pH, algae speciation, turbidity, etc. This year they’ll collect data on how Phoslock interacts with sediments. Moved to Consent Agenda.

2. Utility Cost of Services Analysis & General Facility Charge Review – FCS Group (Information only)

Tom Knuckey introduces FCS’s Tarasov, who presents. Tarasov puts up the power point slides in the Packet. He reads them out loud. Line by line. Chamberlin asks about financial points, wishes this had been presented to Finance Committee. I ask about their intent to normalize water use – predicting future weather/climate by looking to the past. Since the IPCC and consensus of scientific community is that we can’t do that any more. Because of the climate crisis. Tarasov says this is just their way of determining rates. He says we can be pessimistic or optimistic. They, apparently, view the climate crisis as a pessimistic outlook. I stop asking questions. I ask if there will be opportunities for more questions later. Pres Goodnow says yes, there will be chances when it’s presented to us. Information only.

3. Proposed Waste Management 2022 Citizen Outreach Plan

Same old same old. Tagging carts with “what you can & can’t recycle” stickers, about 2,000 per year, library presentations, etc. I ask about more useful outreach, like providing cost-saving info to users, e.g., yard waste containers can be returned over winter, you can choose sizes of recycling and of garbage, discounts are available for low-income seniors who get the water rate discount from City. Mosar says that’s all available on their website. Dennehy asks a really pertinent question: many people think there’s no point to recycling as it all gets tossed into the garbage anyhow. Mosar says 90% of it does go to post-consumer content. Dennehy reiterates that informing users of this would be likely to persuade them to recycle more. Moved to General Business, to educate the public, per Dennehy.

4. Interlocal Agreement for Public Safety Records Management System Software

We’re all using the same software now, counties and cities in our region. Moved to Consent Agenda.

5. Contract for Price Road and Brentwood Drive Culvert Replacement Project; and related Budget Amendment

Gunnar Fridriksson presents. Asking $500K for loan addendum to cover increased costs of this project. Finance okayed this. These are the last two culverts City will replace for Ostrich Cr. It’ll be a son of a gun, especially Brentwood Dr, only road that serves all its houses. Moved to Consent Agenda.

6. Professional Services Agreement with Murraysmith, Inc. for the Well 9 Site Redevelopment Project

Ned Lever presents. Another truly difficult project, as the site has really steep slopes, but it’s where we have the water rights, so we gotta drill there. Younger fills Council in on these facts. Moved to Consent Agenda.

7. Confirm Appointment of Kirstie Haertel to the Bremerton Citizen’s Commission on Council Salaries

Mayor Wheeler presents. Younger explains that this Commission ensures that Council can’t increase its own salaries. I ask if he can tell us something about her. Mayor says she comes highly recommended, is a City resident, and has a desire to serve. Moved to General Business, per Chamberlin. Moved back to Consent Agenda after Younger’s speech in Item 8, below.

8. Confirm Reappointment of Deborah McDaniel to the Bremerton Citizen’s Commission on Council Salaries

Mayor presents her as having the above qualities, plus experience. Chamberlin asks if these two could be at General Meeting. Mayor asks Charlotte Nelson, how would this be set up? Goodnow defers to Younger, who says these are always put on Consent Agenda. These are Mayor’s appointments – we approve ‘em sight unseen. Finnell says her office is putting together an overview of all the committees. Chamberlin is swayed. Moved to Consent Agenda. Mayor will refer to the BMC in his Mayor’s Report.

9. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Bremerton and the International Association of Firefighters Local 437; and related Budget Amendment

Charlotte Nelson presents. She and Swedlow struck a deal after Executive Session with Council, and IAFF #437 accepted it. The CBA is in the packet. Moved to Consent Agenda.

10. Approval of Collective Bargaining Agreement between the City of Bremerton and Teamsters Local 589; Approval of the Management and Professional Employees Salary Schedule; and related Budget Amendment

Charlotte Nelson presents. She and Swedlow have struck a deal with Teamsters after Executive Session with Council. Teamsters #589 accepted it. Great deal on comp time, which will be very helpful to the City. Chamberlin asks to have it described. Swedlow says you can now only use comp time up to 60 hrs., and you have to use it within a year. This CBA is also in the packet. Moved to Consent Agenda.

11. Proposed (Final) Public Hearing on the 2nd Amendment to the Concession Agreement with Olympic Soccer & Sports Center, LLC

Jeff Elevado presents. Same as Public Hearing on 3/16. Attachment #1 in the packet replaces Attachments #1 and #2 in the previous agreement. Just a housekeeping detail, per Brett Jette. Elevado points out that Council will vote immediately after the Public Hearing on 6 April.

12. Purchase Agreement with Trebron Security, LLC for SOPHOS Firewall Appliance Upgrade and License Agreement Renewal

Dan Sorenson presents. This makes sure that our firewalls can’t erode or degrade, as they have been doing. It provides Unified Threat Management at $35K over three years. Provides protection to all users and all systems. Moved to Consent Agenda.

13. Change Order No. 2 to Public Works Agreement with Hokkaido Drilling, Inc. to purchase Pump Replacement for the Well 13 Rehabilitation Project

Ned Lever presents. An emergency issue. When Hokkaido went in to work on this well, they noted that electrical connection was funky, so they determined to replace the whole pump with a new one. Moved to Consent Agenda.

14. Continued discussion to shape the “Multifamily Property Tax Exemption” (MFTE) ordinance amending Chapter 3.78 of the Bremerton Municipal Code

Andrea Spencer presents. She and Garrett are here to facilitate discussion about the MFTE. The Public Hearing has not been scheduled. Spencer has broken the previous presentation down into small, digestible bits, really effective. It was about 8:30 at this time, and I used all my remaining energy to be a good Councilor. Briefly, a majority of Council believe SoundWest, development group, that development in Bremerton will simply not “pencil out” if 8-year MFTE w/ no provisions for affordable housing is eliminated. This one development group appeared to outweigh all the other public comment. There were several demands for more data before Council could agree on several points. DCD will come back to Council with subsequent presentation outlining everything that Council agreed to incorporate. Chamberlin wishes this, too, had been brought to the Finance committee.

15. Amendment No. 6 to the Concession and Management Agreement between the City of Bremerton and YMCA of Pierce & Kitsap Counties

The buildings are over 35 years old and too expensive for YMCA to maintain much longer. Roof leaks, etc. Instead of renewing 10-year lease, as before, Y will seek new location over the next three years while City and Y explore options.

B. GENERAL COUNCIL BUSINESS

This isn’t usually Committee Reports but Pres Goodnow allowed it. Committees reported. I asked for a special meeting on Council Rules & Procedures as we will soon have 4 Councilors who’ve served for three months max, plus Quinn who’s served for less than a year. Again, this’ll be taken under consideration.

C. EXECUTIVE SESSION Added 1. 15-Minutes to evaluation the qualifications of an applicant for public employment or to review the performance of a public employee as allowed under RCW 42.30.110 (1)(g) Action is anticipated…

D. ADJOURNMENT OF STUDY SESSION