HomeMy Public PortalAbout09 Sptember 21, 2011 Special MeetingTOWN OF YARROW POINT
COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
September 21, 2011, Special Meeting
7:00 PM
The following is a summary of the proceedings and is not a verbatim transcript. The meeting is
recorded, and the audio files are public record.
CALL TO ORDER:
Mayor David Cooper called the special meeting to order at 7:08 p.m.
PRESENT:
Mayor: David Cooper
Councilmembers: Carl Scandella
Tim Dillon
Bruce Jones
Roger Myklebust
Lisa Mushel
Staff: Wayne Stewart — Town Attorney
Sara McMillon — Clerk -Treasurer
Guests: Yarrow Point Residents:
John Molnar
Nancy Valaas
Mary Elmore
Christian Kole
Chuck Hirsch
Tana Greenberg
Kathy Smith
REGULAR BUSINESS:
AB 11-044 — Discussion of WSDOT Response to Resolution Concerning 92"`t Avenue
Interchange Design
Mayor David Cooper explained what materials were included in the Council packets and
distributed at the meeting. He opened the floor to Council discussion.
September 21, 2011
MOTION: Councilmember Roger Myklebust motioned to open the discussion about proposed
Resolution No. 301. Councilmember Carl Scandella seconded the motion.
Vote: 5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstain. Motion carried.
Councilmember Tim Dillon said he called the special meeting to discuss the Washington State
Department of Transportation's (WSDOT) written response to Council Resolution No. 300. The
letter from David Dye, WSDOT's deputy secretary of transportation, is detailed but doesn't
address safety concerns, he said. No data concerning pedestrians and bikes or traffic is included.
Mr. Dillon said in his opinion the letter doesn't address any of the Council's concerns. He said
he would like work on the new interchange to cease immediately until the Yarrow Point Council
receives the answers it requested. The design -build process is a failure because nobody
understood the dimensions of the roundabout until this spring.
Councilmember Dillon suggested that the Council send both Resolutions 300 and 301 to
WSDOT with a letter explaining that the Council's concerns have not been adequately
addressed. WSDOT responded with data from commercial roundabouts, not from residential
roundabouts. Councilmember Scandella asked what a commercial roundabout is and why one
will be built in a residential area. Mr. Dillon said the roundabout was not fully vetted. The Town
has not received the information it requested.
Councilmember Jones asked if the Town could just send Resolution 300 back to WSDOT. This
first resolution addresses safety concerns, Mr. Dillon said, and the new resolution would oppose
the roundabout from a character and context viewpoint. Yarrow Point needs to take a strong
stand against WSDOT's design -build process. Modifying the design at this point shouldn't cost
the $5 million Eastside Corridor Contructors (ECC) said it would. Mr. Jones said in all fairness,
the Town is asking WSDOT to be very definitive in its responses. He asked what sources of
information were used to support sections 4 and 5 in proposed Resolution 301. Mr. Dillon cited a
Florida Department of Transportation study and the Federal Highway Administration Web site.
Mr. Jones suggested that the sections containing unconfirmed data be struck. Additionally, he
suggested that section 6 should read "500 concerned parties have signed an unofficial petition"
rather than "500 residents of the Town of Yarrow Point." The Council does not know with
certainty that the people who signed the petition were all Yarrow Point citizens. The Council
doesn't support the proposed roundabout, and that policy statement was made in Resolution No.
300. The first resolution is based on safety concerns and the new resolution concerns the
character of the Town, Mr. Dillon said.
The roundabout is not needed because it is too big, Councilmember Dillon continued.
Councilmember Jones said it does not appear that the proposed resolution goes far enough to
make a clear statement about the character of the Town. Mr. Scandella agreed that the Council
needs to sharpen its focus and make it very clear why Mr. Dye's response was not satisfactory.
He asked for the Town Attorney's advice. Town Attorney Wayne Stewart responded that this is a
policy issue only. Resolutions do not have the force of law. The Town cannot go back and
change Resolution 300, Councilmember Myklebust said.
Councilmember Myklebust said after the last Council meeting, Mr. Dillon worked hard to get
voters to express their opinion about what they wanted. In this proposed resolution, the Council
should support the voters' position. The factual material is not relevant. Councilmember Dillon
September 21, 2011 2
asked Mayor Cooper if he supports the opinion of a majority of Yarrow Point's residents. He
responded that he is looking for the truth, and he is here to listen and learn. The Mayor needs to
be in line with the opposition so that the position is unified and strengthened, Mr. Dillon said.
Mayor Cooper said he is supporting this democratic process.
Mr. Dillon said the current proposed resolution states additional objection to the roundabout.
Construction should cease until the Council's concerns about pedestrians and bicyclists are
satisfied. He stated that children on bicycles and skateboards will not be safe in a commercially
sized roundabout. He said WSDOT has not provided him with anything that gives him
confidence that a roundabout is the right thing to do.
Mayor Cooper opened the floor to public comment. Tana Greenberg, a Yarrow Point resident,
said the Town will be severely impacted by the roundabout. With all the motorists coming off
the highway at the 92"d Avenue exit, the egress for Yarrow Point residents will be congested and
they will have to wait. She said if the current intersection isn't broke, it shouldn't be fixed.
Councilmember Jones said he agrees with proposed Resolution No. 301 in concept. He said he
agrees with the points Mr. Dillon raised about the roundabout not matching the character of the
town and other aspects. A couple of sections in the resolution could be supported more
completely, but other than that, Mr. Jones said he is generally in favor. Mr. Dillon said he is
agreeable to removing any section that doesn't relate to town character. At the end of the day if
nobody wants the roundabout, it shouldn't be constructed. Parties on either side can present data
supporting their positions.
Mr. Dillon said the town needs to contact Governor Christine Gregoire and tell her that the State
needs to stop digging. Councilmember Myklebust said the State will not stop digging. So much
money is invested in the project and the cost of stopping work on a daily basis would be great. A
bond of millions of dollars would need to be posted. Mr. Dillon expressed his determination to
have the roundabout removed from plans.
Yarrow Point resident Nancy Valaas addressed the Council. She said she has lived in Yarrow
Point for 37 years. She was co-author of a Yarrow Point history book called A Point in Tinie, and
her husband Andy Valaas served on the Town Council for 16 years. Mrs. Valaas said she has
enjoyed the community's charm. In the past, neighbors have helped her when she was sick.
People get together for community events like the Fourth of July celebration. Yarrow Point is
considered a safe place for children. Neighbors know each other and engage in civil discourse.
Mrs. Valaas said she is attending the meeting to express her support for the roundabout. Stop
signs may be in order. She said she respects the planning process that has occurred since 2006
and over 70 meetings that were held concerning the intersection design. It is not the State's
responsibility to make sure Yarrow Point citizens attend meetings, she said. Mrs. Valaas said she
does not think the State has been trying to put something over on Yarrow Point.
She said she has traveled in Europe where roundabouts are common. Roundabouts force
motorists to slow down and pay attention. People may long for the time when a simple country
road was adequate, but the reality is that the population on the eastside is growing and traffic
along the SR520 corridor has increased. A single road on and off isn't going to work anymore.
Mrs. Valaas said it is unreasonable for the Town to request a redesign at this point. It would be
better to spend taxpayer money on schools, mental health care and other beneficial public
September 21, 2011 3
services. Right now people in the region are hurting and Yarrow Point is arguing about an
intersection, Mrs. Valaas said. Councilmember Dillon said WSDOT told him that stop signs will
not be necessary if a roundabout is built.
Yarrow Point resident John Molnar spoke. He said the roundabout will be a safety hazard. A
high volume of traffic goes through the intersection including cars, trucks and moving vans. Mr.
Molnar said he agrees with Mr. Dillon that the Mayor should back the opinion expressed by a
majority of people. Mayor Cooper said he is listening and learning. He said he would back
citizenry. Councilmember Dillon further reinforced Mr. Molnar's opinion that the Mayor should
represent the Council's policy position.
Nobody understood how large the roundabout would be, Mr. Dillon said. Councilmember
Mushel related information provided by Park Board member Carolyn Whittlesey. Mrs.
Whittlesey has worked with WSDOT on the lid's landscaping plan. At no time during the
meetings did Mrs. Whittlesey realize that the roundabout would be four times larger and would
not be landscaped due to line of sight considerations. Mrs. Mushel said conceptually the lid looks
good, but if it is not the size of a Hunts Point circle, it doesn't seem like it will work. The Town
did not receive the final details until recently.
Councilmember Myklebust said he is skeptical that it will cost millions to redesign the lid by
taking out the roundabout. WSDOT has said that all the plans have been completed and released
for construction. The agency's main point is that the change will cost money, but in relation to
the rest of the project the amount seems negligible, Mr. Myklebust said. He said he agrees that
the Town should adopt the resolution that supports the vote of the town's citizens. The Town
should submit public records requests for the data that the Council requested but has not yet
received. WSDOT has provided money to the Town for professional staff review. This money
should be used for the Council's efforts to remove the roundabout, Mr. Myklebust said. The
Town should request a copy of the original contract awarded so the Town can see what the
design costs were. Then an alternate estimate could be prepared.
Councilmember Jones said he is favor of Resolution No. 301 as long as sections 4, 5 and 7 are
deleted. The facts presented in these sections have not been fully validated.
MOTION: Councilmember Bruce Jones motioned to accept Resolution 301 with the deletion of
sections 4, 5 and 7 and with an amendment to state approximately 500 citizens have signed an
unofficial petition in opposition to the roundabout. Councilmember Roger Myklebust seconded
the motion.
Yarrow Point resident Mary Elmore spoke. She said she has lived in the town for 38 years. She
said she hopes this will not turn into a witch hunt. It is important to respect all of the town's
elected officials. The Mayor is an administrator and his job is to administrate. She said the
character of a town is not made from a roundabout. It's made from the people and their
connectedness to each other. Mrs. Elmore said plans for the roundabout have been in the process
for six years and everyone has had a chance to provide an opinion. She said she would like the
Town to work with the State on developing the roundabout in a safe way. The Town should
cooperate with the process, not attempt to shut it down. Mrs. Elmore said she recently attended a
party where a Medina resident said she had signed the petition. She questioned the validity of the
claim that approximately 500 Yarrow Point residents have signed the petition.
September 21, 2011 4
Chuck Hirsch, a Yarrow Point resident, said people in the community who are younger and have
children have a different perspective about the danger the roundabout creates. People living in
other communities signed the petition, Mr. Hirsch said. The roundabout affects them as well. Mr.
Hirsch estimated that about 420 of the signatures are from Yarrow Point residents. Volunteers
went from door to door in Yarrow Point to obtain signatures, but some people passing through
the area at the Town entrance also signed.
The State has designed something industrial that is not appropriate for a residential community,
Mr. Hirsch said. He asked how the Town can stop construction at Yarrow Point from proceeding.
The community does not want the roundabout and needs to speak with one voice. Mayor Cooper
should support the rest of the community, he said.
Yarrow Point resident Gordon Raine addressed the Council. He said he moved to Yarrow Point
about 14 years ago. His children are grown, but he is also concerned about the roundabout. He
and his wife do a lot of walking, and he will be afraid to walk through this intersection. The only
way to stop the State from building the roundabout may be to stand in front of the bulldozers,
Mr. Raine said. He advocated for civil disobedience.
Kathy Smith of Yarrow Point said she did not sign the petition because she did not have enough
information to understand what she would be signing. The person who approached her was not
able to answer her questions. Mrs. Smith said she is unsure how many people really knew what
they were signing. She said she has seen these drawings for at least a couple of years. She
attended a Park Board meeting where the committee was talking about landscaping for the lid
two years ago. The Council is questioning many things and the objections seem valid, but she
hasn't received substantiated facts.
As the intersection is today, there are no pedestrian crossings on the east side where motorists are
exiting the highway. With the new design, bikes or pedestrians would be crossing where they
currently do. Mrs. Smith asked if the new interchange design is really that much more unsafe?
Councilmember Dillon said the Council does not know if the roundabout will be safe, because
the Town hasn't received the data. Mrs. Smith said if Mr. Dillon can succinctly describe how the
roundabout would be unsafe, it would be convincing. The roundabout needs to be commercially
sized because commercial vehicles will be exiting at Yarrow Point. The roundabout does not suit
the character of the town, Mr. Dillon said. However, it will still need to be big enough to handle
the volume of traffic coming off the highway, Mrs. Smith said. She requested a detailed side by
side comparison. There has to be substantiation from both sides for people who are interested in
being informed prior to signing a petition.
Councilmember Jones said Mrs. Smith has brought up an important consideration. He said he has
been assuming the sidewalk on the west side is still going to remain the pathway.
Councilmember Roger Myklebust called the question.
Vote: 5 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstain. Motion carried.
Councilmember Myklebust requested that the Town submit a public records request to WSDOT.
Mr. Dillon agreed this should take place.
September 21, 2011 5
ADJOURNMENT:
MOTION. Councilmember Roger Myklebust motioned to adjourn at 8:05 p.m. Councilmember
Bruce Jones seconded the motion.
Vote: 3 For, 0 Against, 0 Abstain. Motion carried.
APPROVED:
Ma avi Co er
ATTEST:
Sa McMillon, Town Clerk
September 21, 2011 6