2013, 12-10 Regular formal MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday,December 10,2013
Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance: City Staff:
Tom Towey,Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Gary Schimmels,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Dean Grafos, Councilmember John Hohman, Community Dev Director
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Eric Guth,Public Works Director
Rod Higgins, Councilmember Mark Calhoun,Finance Director
Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney
Chris Bainbridge,City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Al Bitten,Valley Assembly Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Towey led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously
agreed to approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS:
December Community Recognition, Presentation of Key and Certificate--Mayor Towey
Mayor Towey announced that December's recipient of the Community Recognition is Pastor Darrell
Cole. Mayor Towey explained that tonight is an opportunity to honor our pastors who since the City's
incorporation, have been coming to our formal council meetings to give invocations; and to honor Pastor
Darrell Cole for his service in scheduling the pastors for our meetings, which Mayor Towey explained is
quite a job dealing with everyone's busy schedules. After Mayor Towey presented Pastor Cole with the
Key and certificate, he gave certificates of appreciation to several other pastors who have given an
invocation over the last few years. Pastor Cole expressed his thanks for the recognition.
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Councilmember Woodard: said he attended the Union Gospel Mission dinner; went to the Visit Spokane
open house; attended the legislative forum at the Davenport where they talked about transportation and
budgets, and said he thinks we will see a gas tax increase; attended our City's auditor's exit conference
and said the City "passed" with flying colors; and said that the Rotary Club wasn't able to do the
Christmas tree lighting due to damage to the tree last year, so the church across from Balfour Park
organized a tree lighting this year, said it was very nice and they expect to do it again next year.
Councilmember Wick: said he and City Manager Jackson attended the Valley Kiwanis meeting and gave
a talk about pavement preservation and the direction we're moving; today attended a meeting about solid
waste options; and participated in several subcommittees with which he's involved, such as SNAP.
Councilmember Grafos: said he also attended the Union Gospel Mission Thanksgiving dinner; as a
member of the Steering Committee of elected officials heard public testimony on the removal of 400
acres rezoned to industrial at the request of Fairchild Air Force Base, to have it removed and returned to
rural zoning, which he said received a unanimous vote to proceed; yesterday went to the Painted Hills
Golf Course for a meeting with NA Black and Mr. Walker and about 50 people where he heard about
preliminary plans for the property, such as keeping the par three golf course, the idea of turning the
Council Regular Meeting 12-10-2013 Page 1 of 4
Approved by Council:01-14-2014
clubhouse into a restaurant or gathering place, and perhaps creating a pond or lake with a path around it,
and again said the plans are very preliminary.
Deputy Mayor Schimmels: said he attended the STA(Spokane Transit Authority) Committee meeting as
well as the SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council)Technical committee meeting.
Councilmember Higgins: said he also attended the Union Gospel Dinner; went to the Steering Committee
meeting of elected officials, and spoke of the BNSF Christmas train giving rides to military families,
which train starts in Montana, travels through our area, and ends up in Oregon.
Councilmember Hafner: said he went to the Union Gospel Dinner, which he said was well attended and
well organized; said there were cub scouts here last week; attended the Board of Health meeting, and he
mentioned the "Spokane Counts" magazine and some of the statistics on demographics; said he also
attended the City's Audit Exit meeting and said the auditors noted no financial problems; said he attended
last Saturday's Breakfast with Santa; and also mentioned the STA Board meeting and of the possibility of
an increase in next year's sales tax.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Towey reported that he attended the Union Gospel Dinner; helped to
entertain scouts from Troop 430 last Monday who had some great questions about what we do in the City;
attended the Clean Air Meeting last Thursday and said the quality of the air this time of year is pretty
good; mentioned the "Spokane Counts" magazine; had his monthly meeting with other elected officials
and School Superintendent Small; attended the dedication of the Washington State Pharmaceutical Bio-
medical Science Building, which is a 125,000 square foot building for students involved in medicine,
pharmacy, nursing, dentistry, and allied health science; attended the Breakfast with Santa last Saturday;
last Sunday he was part of the Holidays and Heroes Events,which is where members of law enforcement
help kids buy and wrap Christmas presents for their families; announced that our City was part of a
survey of eight cities in the United States, and that Spokane Valley came in as number one for women
cyclists and he extended thanks to Mike Basinger and all staff who worked on the Bike and Pedestrian
Master Plan; and extended congratulations and thanks to City Manager Jackson and to Finance Director
Calhoun and staff for a great financial audit this year.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited public comment.
Lynn Plaggemeier, 11708 E 19th: said Councihnember Grafos probably mentioned the need for some kind
of weed control on some of the buildings along Sprague so they don't appear to be totally abandoned; said
channeling curbs are poorly defined; said he went to Post Falls and Coeur d'Alene and was surprised
about their plans to enhance the appearance of their cities and their vision of their cities for 2030; thinks
the first appearance of Spokane Valley isn't very good and suggests putting our community planners to
work.
Peter Higgins (did not give address): talked about bridging the valley and of the Union Pacific trains and
said he feels the topic needs to be brought up repeatedly with our state and federal legislators; said if the
fuel and coal trains go through it will stop traffic as they propose to have fewer trains, but they will be
longer, which will force trucks on Sullivan; said our only salvation is the federal government and that
bridging the valley is not something to postpone.
1. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group, Any
member of Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered
separately.
a.Approval of the following claim vouchers;
VOUCHER LIST VOUCHER NUMBERS TOTAL AMOUNT
11/21/2013 30825-30845 $59,680.25
11/21/2013 30846-30875; 1120130236 $422,226,01
11/21/2013 5692-5697 $642.00
11/26/2013 30876-30922 $485,406.20
12/03/2013 30923-30927 $65,550.22
GRAND TOTAL $1,033,504.68
Council Regular Meeting 12-10-2013 Page 2 of 4
Approved by Council:01-14-2014
b.Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending November 30,2013: $391,896.88
c. Approval of November 19, 2013 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format
d. Approval of November 26, 2013 Council Meeting Minutes Formal Format Meeting
e.Approval of December 3,2013 Council Meeting Minutes, Special Meeting
f.Approval of December 3,2013 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the consent
agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 13-019 Amending Towing Regulations —Erik Lamb
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and
seconded to approve Ordinance 13-019 adopting SVMC 9.10.125 and amending SVMC 9.10.1 50 relating
to tow operators performing private impounds. Deputy City Attorney Lamb briefly explained the
proposed changes, which he said will benefit citizens who have their vehicles stolen so they wouldn't be
victimized twice; said the response time from the police checking to see if the vehicle is stolen is only a
matter of minutes. Mayor Towey invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by
Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
3. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 13-020 Argonne Rd Project, Public Use,Necessity—Caty Driskell
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and
seconded to advance Ordinance 13-020 declaring public use and necessity regarding 2314 North
Argonne Road regarding the Argonne Road Corridor Upgraded Project, to a second reading. City
Attorney Driskell went over the background of the proposed ordinance as noted in his December 10,2013
Request for Council Action Form, and said if adopted, this would represent an official statement of the
City for public necessity for this project in the interest of public health, safety, and welfare. Mayor
Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous.
Opposed:None. Motion carried.
4.Proposed Resolution 13-012 Amending Fee Resolution for 2014—Mark Calhoun
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve Resolution 13-012 amending the
Master Fee Schedule for 2014. Finance Director Calhoun went over the proposed changes to the fee
schedule,which included three changes from Community Development, and four changes from Parks and
Recreation, all as noted on his December 10, 2013 Request for Council Action form. Mayor Towey
invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous.
Opposed:None. Motion carried.
5.Motion Consideration: Lodging Tax Allocations for 2014—Mark Calhoun
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to make the following allocation of Lodging Tax
Funds for calendar year 2014: Visit Spokane - $247,000; Evergreen Regional Volleyball Court
Expansion - $7,300; Spokane County Fair & Expo for marketing - $28,000; Spokane County Fair &
Expo for conference facility - $4,000; Spokane County Fair & Expo for interim marketing - $7,800;
Valleyfest - $20,000; Spokane Sports Commission - $183,800; Spokane Valley Heritage Museum -
$13,100; and HUB Sports Center - $36,000. After Finance Director Calhoun went over the history
leading up to this motion, as noted in his December 10, 2013 Request for Council Action Form, Mayor
Towey invited public comment. Eric Sawyer, President of Spokane Sports Commission said this will be
ten years of Spokane Valley supporting them with a total over that time period of over $1.2 million; and
he extended thanks to Councilmember Wick as the Committee Chair, and the Committee members who
worked hard on this, which he said was not an easy task. There were no further comments. Vote by
Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
6. Motion Consideration: Approval of Legislative Agenda—Mike Jackson
Prior to the motion, City Manager Jackson brought Council's attention to the revised draft agenda and the
changes as noted. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to adopt the revised
Council Regular Meeting 12-10-2013 Page 3 of 4
Approved by Council:01-14-2014
2013-2014 Legislative Agenda. City Manager Jackson said that he arrived at the first three items on the
legislative agenda based on previous Council consensus; and after visiting with our legislative analyst
Briahna Taylor, included the fourth item as a long-range legislative item, which as written,takes off some
of the gas tax pressure while starting to make people aware of the issue. Mr. Jackson said he also has a
little bad news in that we were receiving 20% of the projected cost of the project which changed from$10
million to $5 million and with an estimated total need of $26, that means we will be seeking $21 million
in funding rather than the previously stated $16 million. Mayor Towey invited public comments; no
comments were offered. Councilmember Wick said he feels this is a good compromise. Vote by
Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited public comments.
Peggy Doering, 11522 E Sunview Circle: said she has a problem with a neighbor parking very large RV
on the city street; that the RV is plugged in all the time, the stairs are down, and the City's Code
Enforcement said she could call the Police to come look at it; she'd like to have the vehicle moved as
street isn't large enough as they have the tip-outs extended as well.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
7.Regional Stormwater Grant—Eric Guth
Public Works Director Guth explained the Stormwater Grant as noted on his December 10, 2013 Request
for Council Action form; and said this grant opportunity is in response to a regulation from the
Department of Ecology (DOE) to examine what stormwater utilities are doing regarding pollutants and
the monitoring of the treatment process that each jurisdiction goes through; and instead of implementing
some monitoring requirements, the DOE is working with the eastern region to study the current permits
and processes and how effective those are relative to these pollutants entering the aquifer. Mr. Guth said
that this project would be reimbursed 100% by the Ecology grant of$300,000. After brief discussion of
some of the aspects of the grant and the project, it was the consensus of Council that staff bring this to the
next Council meeting for a motion consideration.
8.Advance Agenda—Mayor Towey There were no suggested changes for the Advance Agenda.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
City Manager Jackson said the Spokane Regional Traffic Management Center has been operated by
SRTC since about 1988, and that their meeting last week included discussion that SRTC believes that the
current interlocal agreement needs to be revisited; he said we are not a party to that agreement but we
contribute $15,000 annually to help support that operation; and that through 2016 this will continue to be
funded thru CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program), at which time the
funding will be questionable with $362,000 a year to be shared by the four partners unless other grant
funds are discovered; he said SRTC feels oversight doesn't fall under their mission statement so we will
be looking at that closer over the next few months.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:30 p.m.
AT E P: ayor
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hristine C ainbridge, City Clerk
Council Regular Meeting 12-10-2013 Page 4 of 4
Approved by Council:01-14-2014
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