2008, 01-22 Regular Meeting MinutesMayor Munson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., and welcomed everyone to the 131st meeting.
Attendance:
Rich Munson, Mayor
Dick Denenny, Deputy Mayor
Rose Dempsey, Councilmember
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember
Gary Schimmels, Councilmember
Diana Wilhite, Councilmember
MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
City Staff:
Dave Mercier, City Manager
Mike Jackson, Deputy City Manager
Mike Connelly, City Attorney
Cary Driskell, Deputy City Attorney
Neil Kersten, Public Works Director
Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir.
Ken Thompson, Finance Director
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Jerry Sponseller of Opportunity Baptist Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: At Mayor Munson's request, Councilmember Gothmann led the Pledge.
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all Councilmembers were present except
Councilmember Taylor. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed to
excuse Councilmember Taylor from tonight's meeting.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously
agreed to approve the Amended Agenda as submitted.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a
COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Schimmels: reminded everyone to call City Hall for pothole problems; said he made such a call and the
problem was taken care of and he thanked staff for their diligence.
Deputy Mayor Denenny: said he attended a Regional Health District Executive Meeting and they are
planning for upcoming meetings.
Councilmember Dempsey: no report.
Councilmember Gothmann: reported that he attended a Housing and Community Development Advisory
Committee meeting and mentioned the various entities which were funded, such as Rockwell Sewer
Project for $195,000; that he met with the Tourism Promotion group where they elected a new chair; that
the Weed and Seed Committee has been dissolved but that group is re- constituting another committee
which will be an advisory committee to the Spokane Valley Partners regarding activities in the Pratt
Neighborhood.
Councilmember Wilhite: explained that during her trip to Olympia, she and others met with delegations
from the various districts, and heads of various committees; that there were approximately 80 people in
attendance, they met with Democratic and Republication caucus leaders and with the Governor and
discussed the North/South Freeway; that she also attended a farewell for the Executive Director of the
MAC; and attended an SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Commission) Meeting where Glenn
Miles reported he is interested in having the legislation revised concerning street maintenance and
Council Regular Meeting: 01 -22 -08 Page 1 of 4
Approved by Council: 02 -12 -08
VOUCHER LIST DATE
VOUCHER #s
TOTAL VOUCHER AMOUNT
12 -31 -2007
13475 -13573
$686,885.81
01 -10 -2008
13583 -13655
$1,946,890.09
TOTAL CLAIMS
$2,633,775.90
property taxes, and that he'd like to see fees based on trip generations, and that will likely be discussed
more in upcoming SRTC meetings; and she mentioned this City's Finance Committee will be discussing
the pros and cons of that type of legislation. Councilmember Wilhite also distributed to Councilmembers
and Deputy City Manager Jackson a copy of a drawing of an entryway she received from the Mayor of
Liberty Lake, and explained that Liberty Lake will be putting an entry sign on the Country -Vista
Boulevard and they are inquiring if we would be interested in putting our City's information /welcome on
the other side of that sign.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Munson reported that he also received a copy of that Liberty Lake
entryway drawing, and such was discussed at the pre- agenda meeting where they asked Mr. Jackson to
gather information on costs so that this issue could be placed on an upcoming agenda; he extended his
thanks to Councilmember Wilhite for attending the Chamber's meeting in Olympia; mentioned he
attended the Spokane Transit Authority (STA) meeting where they approved a Memorandum of
Understanding between STA and the SRTC; and Councilmember Denenny added that regarding the STA,
they have allocated funds for purchases of more hybrid buses. Mayor Munson also reported that rapid
transit would be discussed this year as well.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Munson invited public comments; no comments were offered.
1. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. A
Councilmember may remove an item from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately.
a. Claim Vouchers:
b. Payroll for Pay Period Ending January 15, 2008: $202,275.20
c. Approval of "AAA Sweeping" Contract
d. Approval of Senske Contract Renewal
e. Approval of Demolition of Valley Mission Senior Center Building
f. Approval of January 12, 2008 Minutes of Special Meeting Council Retreat
g. Approval of January 8, 2008 Minutes of Regular Council Meeting
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent
Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. First Reading Proposed Ordinance No. 08 -001, Amending Dangerous Dog — Cary Driskell
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Wilhite and
seconded, to suspend the rules and approve the ordinance. Deputy City Attorney Driskell explained that
this ordinance clarifies our regulations that Animal Control has the burden of proof to establish that the
administrative determination was correct; and allows for sufficient due process of an appellant to review
the evidence prior to the hearing. Mayor Munson invited public comment; no comments were offered.
Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried.
3. Motion Consideration: Approval of Lamar Lease — Cary Driskell
It was moved by Councilmember Schimmels and seconde, to authorize the City Manager or designee to
sign the lease agreement as drafted. Deputy City Attorney Driskell explained that at the last briefing
session, Council authorized placing this issue on the Consent agenda, but that the agreement contained an
error in stating the yearly lease rental amount increase of 10% rather than by the correct 2 %; and as such
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this item is before Council tonight to note that difference. Mayor Munson invited public comment; no
comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions:
None. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS Mayor Munson invited general public comments.
Dick Behm, 3626 S Ridgeview Drive: said that regarding the snowstorm this weekend, he never saw a
County plow truck in the early morning hours; that on Sunday he only saw one County plow truck; on
Sunday afternoon on University as he traveled to Rosauers, he slid through an intersection and through a
red light, and fortunately there were no accidents; that he spoke with Public Works Director Kersten who
explained that the County operates on a volunteer basis on Sundays and holidays and that there were only
there or four people working this weekend; and most of them were on the south end of the County. Mr.
Behm said that he feels this is not what Council had in mind regarding plowing streets, and that this is not
acceptable for this City; that the area was dangerous and many accidents occurred because of the
situation.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
4. Public Record Training — Mike Connelly /Chris Bainbridge
City Attorney Connelly explained some of the specifics regarding control of documents as it relates to
Council, and that it is important to understand that all "writings" are public documents, and that Council
understands the definition of writing includes notes and e- mails, and that e -mails must be retained and
archived when necessary, as we receive many public record requests for "any and all" documents, which
could include e -mails located on Councilmember's computers. He also asked Council to take a few
minutes to identify what records they have so we know what records exist when such requests arise; that a
list of paper files is easy to make, but he suggests also having a list of electronic files, and he suggested
Councilmembers meet with IT Specialist Bingaman to get archiving set up if that has not yet been
accomplished. After going through the remainder of the PowerPoint slides, Mr. Connelly said he
recommends Council keep those e -mails sent and received, as requests are generally for e -mails within a
specific time frame. City Clerk Bainbridge added that last year saw an increase of over 100 requests from
the previous year, and that all total, the requests amount to an average of seven every week; and that
having lists makes it easier to retrieve documents.
4a. Funding Options — Ken Thompson
Finance Director Thompson explained there are four pressing financial needs: City Hall construction
estimated at $18 million; City Center improvements estimated at $10 million; street maintenance
estimated at $2 million annually; and pavement management program to protect the city's capital
investments estimated at $4 million annually. Mr. Thompson said options include setting aside $800,000
annually to cover the cost of building a new city hall; a voter approved bond sale for city center
improvements with an increase in property taxes to retire the bonds, a vehicle license fee of $20.00
annually to be used for street maintenance, and preparation of a funding plan to pay for the pavement
management program, or any combination of these or other options. The question of grants was brought
up and Mr. Thompson said those are difficult to obtain and many require matching funds; the idea of
developer participation or leasing with an option to buy; and mention by Mr. Thompson that the biggest
financial problem is the street fund and that there will be no funds left for street maintenance at the end of
2009; and said that the gas tax doesn't handle that, as we would need another $2 to $2.5 million annually;
and that he feels a car tab might be the best approach to this problem as it would generate between $1.2
and $1.4 million annually. Mayor Munson asked about the City's ability to impose a gas tax and City
Attorney Connelly said he was not aware of that ability, but would research that question.
Further discussion included the $4 million shortfall in preserving our streets, and of the option to impose
a utility tax or property tax or sell short term bonds; the mention by Mr. Thompson that a plan must be in
place by July to offset most of these pressing needs; and that Deputy Mayor Denenny stated that the City
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• •
Center stands on its own, but the task at hand is to place the argument for the streets to the public so they
understand the situation and that we cannot allow our streets to deteriorate. Mayor Munson said these
issues will be addressed at the Finance Committee meeting as well.
City Manager Mercier explained that in preparation for travel next week to Olympia for the Association
of Washington Cities session, our lobbyist has been working to assemble appointments on Tuesday with a
variety of legislators in our local delegation and those in a position to assist in our half - million dollar
request for funds to develop the park acquired in the Greenacres neighborhood. Mr. Mercier said he
intends to meet with Laurie Dolan of the Governor's office to gain coverage with elected officials on both
side of aisles and cover the two branches of government. Mayor Munson added that it is anticipated
Councilmembers will have an opportunity to meet with our lobbyist in Olympia, and Mr. Mercier added
that we are still waiting for a time allotment for representative Ormsby, but that individual meetings will
run consecutively beginning Tuesday morning. Deputy Mayor Denenny asked how the STA bill might
impact us and whether we should inquire about changes in the Transportation Benefit District, that he
received information forwarded from STA about proposed changes dealing with tax issues and raising
revenues for regional transportation agency; and Mayor Munson said he would send Mr. Mercier and
Council a copy of that information for their review.
INFORMATION ONLY: The crack sealing and department reports were for information only and were
not discussed or reported.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: There was no executive session.
There being no further business, it was moved by Councilmember Gothmann, seconded and unanimously
agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
(A :h istine Bainbridge, City Clerk
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