2014, 02-25 Regular MeetingMINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Mayor Grafos called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Dean Grafos, Mayor
Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor
Bill Bates, Councilmember
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember
Rod Higgins, Councilmember
Ed Pace, Councilmember
Ben Wick, Councilmember
City Staff
Mike Jackson, City Manager
Cary Driskell, City Attorney
John Hohman, Community Dev Director
Eric Guth, Public Works Director
Mark Calhoun, Finance Director
Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director
Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Scott Kuhta, Planning Manager
Mike Basinger, Senior Planner
Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Gloria Mantz, Development Engineer
John Whitehead, Human Resources Manager
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Mike Graef of Valley United Methodist Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Grafos 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 Woodard, seconded and unanimously
agreed to approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS:
Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Awards — John Whitehead
Human Resources Manager Whitehead said the CTR program was initiated in the early 1990's with the
goal to reduce the amount of traffic congestion, pollution and use of petroleum fuels by working with
employers to help employees find alternative means to commute to work. He said that through the efforts
of Morgan Koudelka, Chris Thompson, and participating employees, and the City was presented with the
Pinnacle Award for our consistent commitment to support the program; and said that Chris Thompson
received the All Star Coach award. Sr. Administrative Analyst Koudelka, who first implemented the
program with Spokane Valley, said he was responsible for our City's oversight of this program but it
needed someone to "take us to that next level;" he said due to Ms. Thompson's outstanding efforts, drive
alone trips from 2009 to 2013 were reduced 25 %, and we saw a 19% reduction in vehicles miles traveled.
Ms. Thompson was given applause and accolades for her work.
COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Councilmember Hafner: reported that he attended the STA (Spokane Transit Authority) board and
executive committee meeting and said they are examining a tax increase for 2015 in order to continue
with their present service and to move forward with plans for the next twenty years; said he also attended
the Health Board meeting and that this year through the rotation process, he is Chair of that board and
they are in the process of appointing different chairs to various health department committees, and said
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they will have their first "really serious" board meeting this Thursday; said he also attended yesterday's
Council joint meeting with Spokane County to discuss solid waste.
Councilmember Pace: said he is on the same boards as Councilmember Hafner and attended the same
meetings, and participated on the STA Planning and Development Committee meeting.
Councilmember Higgins, Bates, and Wick had no report.
Deputy Mayor Woodard: said he attended the "Way to Go" awards and expressed appreciation to the
Mayor and Council for allowing him to present awards at that luncheon meeting; said he went to the
Chamber of Commerce meeting where a coach from Eastern University talked about leadership and
wining, and said the leadership as a coach model fits into many things we do in this City, said Mr.
Jackson and his staff generally use that style where they take their positions seriously and that is how they
lead the rest of the staff to move forward.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Grafos commented on the day -long February 18 Council workshop and
said there were excellent presentations by staff and department directors of the issues and challenges, and
he thanked Council for their work in preparing for that workshop.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Grafos invited public comments. Mr. Dan Allison, Spokane Valley,
Wa., spoke concerning the inability of large trucks to safely make especially left -hand turns on many of
our roads; and via the City Clerk, distributed copies of a drawing showing some typical problems large
trucks and trailers have in making some turns; and suggested having the set back moved so cars won't
have to back up to give the trucks the space they need to safely navigate a turn; and said it would be easier
if we cut the lane back; he spoke of the pending remodel in front of the Longhorn Restaurant and of the
idea of having the concrete divider at least two feet further from where the turn lane stops. Mayor Grafos
asked if Mr. Jackson would ask Public Works Director Guth to research this issue. There were no other
public comments.
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
02 -06 -2014 31472 -31494 $70,709.15
02 -07 -2014 4668, 4684 -4687, 4700, 31495 -31497 $273,616.53
02 -07 -2014 31498 -31503 $24,663.50
02 -07 -2014 31504- 31525, 131140012, 206140006 $1,884,263.24
02 -07 -2014 5706 -5707 $289.00
02 -13 -2014 31526- 31558, 213140015 $114,937.91
02 -14 -2014 31559 -31577 $37,210.18
02 -18 -2014 4, 4702, 4703, 4705, 4706, 31578 $72,147.25
GRAND TOTAL $2,477,836.76
b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending February 15, 2014: $304,750.16
c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 11, 2014 Regular Meeting
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent
Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Proposed Resolution 14 -003 Adopting Governance Manual — Chris Bainbridge
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to approve Resolution 14 -003 amending the
Governance Manual as proposed. City Clerk Bainbridge said the major changes made in the manual,
which were discussed at least week's Council meeting, included ballot issues, voting for Mayor and
Deputy Mayor, and Internet use; and asked if Council had any questions or areas for further discussion.
Councilmember Wick suggesting changing page 8 verbiage from "Councilmembers will avoid accessing
any electronic message during Council meeting" to "Councilmembers will avoid accessing any new
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Approved by Council: 03 -11 -2014
Page 2 of 4
electronic message during Council meetings." Councilmember Wick said there are times he would like to
access a previous e-mail about a topic and this language would prohibit that, and that in his endeavor to
remain "paperless" would prefer not to have to print out any e- mails. There was brief discussion on this
including mention from Ms. Bainbridge that the key phrase in that sentence is "during Council meetings"
and that she can make any change Council desires, or leave it as is, and said that the Manual can be
amended at any time. Other members of Council voiced their preference to keep the verbiage as it is in
order to remain as transparent as possible, and to not create a situation where only one Councilmember
has access to a single e-mail. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by
Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor Grafos, Deputy Mayor Woodard, and Councilmembers Hafner, Higgins,
Pace, and Bates. Opposed: Councilmember Wick. Motion carried.
ADNIINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
3. Permitted Use Matrix — John Hohman, Mike Basinger
The topic of the permitted use matrix, Community Development Director Hohman explained, was
discussed last week and last December; and he said that Mr. Basinger and Ms. Mantz were instrumental
in development of this revision, and he encouraged Council to ask any questions; he also mentioned that
Council's previous action adopting interim regulations, do not exactly match the Planning Commission
draft, but assured Council that if Council wants this to move to a first reading, that the draft modified
language will include those interim regulations passed last week.
Via his PowerPoint presentation, Senior Planner Basinger explained the rationale for these changes, and
said that the matrix wasn't user friendly, was difficult to navigate, and parts were inconsistent with the
Comprehensive Plan. Mr. Basinger went over some of the new use categories, discussed the modification
and /or addition of definitions, and said if Council agrees, the next step would be an ordinance first
reading. Councilmember Pace said he feels the matrix is easy to understand, but had some questions
concerning agriculture and animals and feels selling one's home -grown produce at a farmer's market or
from their home should be encouraged, and he asked if those activities were allowed. Mr. Basinger said
he would have to research that question; and in response to Councilmember Pace's suggestion of allowing
pigs in residential, Mr. Basinger said pigs are not currently permitted as most cities try to prohibit swine
in cities, mostly due to the odor that comes from raising pigs. Councilmember Pace also asked whether
there would be any difference between a large and a small scale operation and suggested having this topic
included on a future agenda. Director Hohman said that at this stage, staff is predominately looking at the
formatting of the matrix; that they have tried to maintain all uses and add uses where possible; and said
further discussion could be scheduled for later when staff and Council review the overall comprehensive
plan update which must be completed by 2017. There was also brief discussion concerning compact
housing and Mr. Basinger again mentioned that staff was careful not to remove any already allowed uses;
but by changing these to broad use categories, it permits greater flexibility. Deputy Mayor Woodard said
he could give specifics later concerning housing. There was Council consensus to proceed to a first
ordinance reading.
4. Public Works Projects Update — Eric Guth
Concerning the Street and Stormwater Maintenance and Repair Contract, Public Works Director Guth
explained that we are in our final year of this multiyear contract and said staff is working on drafting an
RFB (request for bids) to solicit new bids for the upcoming 2015 year; he said they are also proposing a
shorter term, that of five years with four, optional one -year renewals. Mr. Guth said these maintenance
activities include work on potholes, patching, asphalt repair, overlays, etc.; he also mentioned his work
with our legal department as well as with a consultant as this type of work does not fit well with state
bidding laws; and said he hopes to have a first draft completed March 1, and advertise the bid early May.
Mayor Grafos asked if there is a maximum mount and Mr. Guth said there is; he said the current contract
includes snow removal but that will be a separate contract moving forward; he said we handled snow
removal differently in 2007 when this contract was initially written; but now it makes sense to remove
that from the road maintenance contract, which gives us flexibility in using multiple drivers; he said there
is $900,000 in the pavement preservation program for maintenance and that they try to use that amount
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Approved by Council: 03 -11 -2014
strictly for pavement preservation. Mr. Guth said he will keep Council informed on some of those projects
dealing with surface treatments and chip sealings.
Concerning the Sullivan Road West Bridge Replacement project, Mr. Guth explained that under the
"Right -of -Way" paragraph that we are not exactly on the right -of -way; he said a submittal was given to
WSDOT (Washington State Department of Transportation) and through their review, found some policies
and procedures that don't match with ours but were approved by WSDOT several years ago; he said they
are working on those issues; he said they also learned that an easement is needed for the bridge; said they
need some defined policies and procedures on how to negotiate with private property owners and on
providing proper notice; he said there is a meeting tomorrow between FHWA (Federal highway
Administration) and WSDOT to discuss the current proposal for the right -of -way and to determine where
we go from here. Mr. Guth said ideally FHWA would accept our submittal, but additional work might be
needed, and said it could be a timing issue; he said they are hopeful to bid the end of March, but if that
gets bumped, it would move to the end of April or May; he said construction usually starts about mid
June; and said all timeframes are estimates as at this time, we won't know the outcome of that review
with FHWA and WSDOT until after tomorrow.
5. Advance Agenda
Councilmember Pace suggested adding the topic of pigs and urban farming; and Deputy Mayor Woodard
said he would like staff to contact the Fire Chief to see about a presentation to Council concerning the
Pulse Point program.
6. Department Monthly Reports
Department reports were for information only and were not reported or discussed.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
City Manager Jackson said staff is reviewing the minutes from the February 18 workshop in order to
schedule items for future council meetings. Mr. Jackson also mentioned the copy of a letter distributed to
Council concerning AWC (Association of Washington Cities) asking for signatures from mayors to sent a
letter to Washington legislators, asking that the state partner with cities to meet the commitment to
provide communities with strong regulations, law enforcement and public safety protections expected by
citizens when voters legalized marijuana, and that cities can't accommodate the increased needs without
funding assistance, and that we feel cities should share in revenue generated from those activities. There
was no objection from Council for Mayor Grafos to sign the letter, and to send it to our legislators.
Mr. Jackson noted that Council's legislative agenda item concerning lien authority has changed based on
feedback related to us by Ms. Briahna Taylor from various legislators' concerning the idea of placing a
lien on the property; he said we feel we have a workable solution and Deputy Mayor Woodard and City
Attorney Driskell will make this proposal this Thursday about the idea of contracting with the County
Treasurer to collect a special assessment; and said the earlier proposed language wasn't successful
because of the possible connection with property foreclosure.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:18 p.m.
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Council Regular Meeting 02 -25 -2014 Page 4 of 4
Approved by Council: 03 -11 -2014
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SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
February 25, 2014
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1076 Franklin Street SE * Olympia, WA 98501 -1346 • 360.753.4137 • 1.800.562.8981
February 24, 2014
The Honorable Jay Inslee
Governor
The Honorable Rodney Tom
Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Mark Schoesler
Senate Republican Leader
The Honorable Sharon Nelson
Senate Democratic Leader
The Honorable Andy Hill
Ways & Means Chair
The Honorable Frank Chopp
Speaker of the House of Representatives
The Honorable Pat Sullivan
House Majority Leader
The Honorable Dan Kristiansen
House Minority Leader
The Honorable Ross Hunter
Appropriations Chair
Subject: Mayors call on state to provide marijuana legalization enforcement and public safety protections
Dear Governor and Legislative Leaders:
As mayors from across Washington State, we are asking that the state partner with cities to meet the
commitment to provide local communities with strong regulation, law enforcement and public safety protections
expected by citizens when voters legalized marijuana. Of the eight mandates for legalized marijuana from the
federal government, five fall to local jurisdictions and local law enforcement.
Washington voters supported marijuana legalization with the assurance that government would implement
robust oversight and enforcement. The state needs to meet these commitments to make the new marijuana laws
work. To do so the state and cities must work in cooperation.
The majority of marijuana sales and use will occur in our jurisdictions. This makes us responsible for overseeing
permitting, code enforcement, ensuring money and drugs stay out of criminal hands, preventing distribution to
minors, and addressing drugged driving and other adverse public health consequences.
If the state is relying on local cities to enforce new marijuana laws, it needs to provide some of the new
marijuana tax revenues to pay for it — this is a matter of common sense and fairness. It is estimated legalizing
marijuana will give the state significant new annual tax revenue. We're asking for a portion of those revenues.
Communities are already feeling the impacts of legalized marijuana, even before retail operations open this
summer which will dramatically expand access. The state has only 69 liquor enforcement officers and they will
only focus on licensing. All other oversight and enforcement falls to local governments.
Cities can't accommodate the increased needs created by legalization of marijuana without funding. We can't
wait, this is already having an impact and will only increase in the next few months as businesses start-up
operations.
Washington voters took a leap of faith and approved marijuana legalization. We have to work together if this
initiative is to be implemented successfully. We have a history of partnership working together to meet the needs
of our communities and state. Let's build on this track record of success going forward. We ask that the
legislature take action now, before the 2014 session ends, to share marijuana revenue with cities.
Sincerely,