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2008, 02-05 Study Session MinutesMayor Munson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m., welcomed everyone to the meeting, and thanked those in the service industry such as garbage collection, mail service, police and fire, and those working the snowplows to get the streets so that they may be safely traveled. Present: Councilmembers: Rich Munson, Mayor Dick Denenny, Deputy Mayor Rose Dempsey, Councilmember Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Gary Schimmels, Councilmember Steve Taylor, Councilmember Diana Wilhite, Councilmember MINUTES CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION Tuesday, February 5, 2008 Staff: Dave Mercier, City Manager Mike Jackson, Deputy City Manager Mike Connelly, City Attorney Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir. Ken Thompson, Finance Director Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Steve Worley, Senior Engineer Morgan Koudelka, Administrative Analyst Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Greg Bingaman, IT Specialist Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk New Employee Introductions: Deputy City Manager Jackson introduced Tammy Messing, new HR Technician; Engineer Worley introduced Craig Aldworth, Senior Engineer Project Manager in the Capital Improvement Program (CIP); City Attorney Connelly introduced Diana Powell, Legal Intern; and Finance Director Thompson introduced Terrina Marchant, Accountant /Budget Analyst. Councilmembers greeted and welcomed the new employees. Mayor Munson recognized and welcomed County Commissioner Todd Mielke, and later Commissioner Mark Richard in attendance at the meeting. 1. 2007 Travel Demand Model Update — Glenn Miles and Neil Kersten Mr. Miles went through the PowerPoint presentation explaining that the purpose of the travel demand model is to examine the current and future travel demand, including examination of the entire roadway capacity, and to examine intersection delays and how they affect the model. Mayor Munson asked for larger copies of the maps and project slides in order to better review the data, and Mr. Miles said he would supply those. Discussion ensued including intersection -based levels of service versus trip time; concurrency levels and how to measure the same; mention that the information has now been submitted to the City's consultant Glatting Jackson who will run scenarios with this model; and mention that people would likely not change their traffic patterns until their desired roadway reaches approximately 18,000 cars daily. Council thanked Mr. Miles for coming to make this informative presentation. 2. Communications Interoperability — Rick VanLeuven Police Chief VanLeuven began the presentation by introducing Fire Chief Mike Thompson, County Commissioners Mark Richard and Todd Mielke, Sparling's Associate Information Technology RF Consultant Spencer Bahner, Spokane Police Department Planning and Information Analysis Manager Bob Lincoln, and Spokane County Radio and Electronic Coordinator Chuck Chisholm. Commissioner Mielke went through several slides explaining the challenges facing the public safety communications systems in the Spokane Region, and as a result of the previously failed ballot issue, they realize citizens Study Session Meeting Minutes: 2 -05 -08 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council: 02 -12 -08 want to know more, so they are working to provide that information. Chief VanLeuven explained about some of the shortcomings in the current system including no funding for this FCC - mandated issue to have conversion to narrow bands by the end of 2012, Chief Thompson added that should they begin to make those changes now, it would take four or more years to bring the system up to date. Also mentioned was that the current digital system is severely outdated as analog is going to be the required system, that finding parts for such an old system is a challenge, and that the entire system cost range is between $40 and $45 million dollars; and that they feel the best solution would be the 1 /10 of 1% sales tax ballot issue, with funds to be used solely for emergency communication systems and facilities. Commissioner Richard thanked Council for their support of this measure last fall; mentioned that public safety is always a top priority for local governments; that the last ballot issue only lost by a small percentage; and that he hopes this project will happen with additional citizen understanding and support, along with added changes in this proposal to include a ten -year sunset clause; that he asks Council to have future dialogue on this issue and /or hold a public hearing, and to give this issue whatever voice of support they can in terms of getting the message out. City Attorney Connelly reminded everyone that tonight's agenda item is only to hear information and /or clear up any questions; and that if Council desires, we can place this issue on a future agenda to hear the pros and cons of the ballot measure. This presentation generated much discussion, such as how state laws including pending legislation interacts with interoperability; how these issues are funded in other states and communities; that almost all entities use some type of local funding; that there are some federal grant opportunities to "seed" this type of system but some require matching funds or matching in -kind funds; the desire to not have confusing language on the ballot; the idea of having only one issue on the ballot rather than three (crime check, 911, and communications interoperability); the idea of building up 911 rather than re- introducing crime check; having one call center to handle all calls whether emergency or other; mention of increasing taxes, either property or phone lines or other; that people were accustomed to using crime check and can be re- trained; the value of crime reporting data; and whether the plan will be put in place in phases. Mayor Munson mentioned that he would like to see exactly what the money will be purchasing; what needs to occur first and how much it will cost, and of the idea of purchasing first only what is critical; and having additions later. Mr. Lincoln agreed that more detail is needed, and said that of the $40 to $45 million, only a small amount, perhaps $1 million annually would be needed for 911, and $1.5 million for crime check, with the remainder used for capital improvements. Commissioner Richard stated that they will need a committed source of revenue to be able to bond against, and reminded everyone of the 2012 FCC deadline, which means the work needs to be completed within five to seven years. Chief Williams also mentioned the need for on -going system maintenance, and at the standard 1 %, that would result in a needed $400,000 just for maintenance; and that we also must take into consideration equipment life expectancy. Commissioner Richard stated that they do not have funds to have a complete engineering analysis performed, but will get more figures to council showing the funding details of the system. City Manager Mercier asked if there is an estimate of the amount of revenue to be raised if Voice Over Internet passes, and how would that affect his proposal. Chief Williams said the purpose of that legislation is to address the loss in funding to 911 systems because of decreased land lines and increased cell phones, to aid in the anticipated gap in the regular 911 operations; but that he is uncertain if the 1 /10 of 1 % would pay for that, and that answer would require further research, and that the 911 Board has been advocating for that legislation. Mr. Mercier said that as only revenues associated with 911 would be affected, it seems prudent to develop an estimate if that measure passed, to try to allocate that to 911 to see if it would alleviate the anticipated gap at least through the end of the sunset provision. Mr. Mercier added that he would appreciate seeing some pro -forma as to how any measure that would tax $7 or $8 million would be appropriated against a variety of purposes such as those described tonight, including crime check and filling the 911 gap. In addition, Mr. Mercier said that concerning public facilities financing and the "flow of funds analysis," it would be helpful to understand how this would be Study Session Meeting Minutes: 2 -05 -08 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 02 -12 -08 paid for; and asked if we are comfortable moving forward on one measure with three parts; e.g. 911, crime check, and radio equipment, and if that would satisfy the requirements of one item per ballot issue. Commissioner Richard replied that he feels comfortable in that all three are within the framework of emergency communications system, that none are stand -alone systems, but this is a fully integrated system. Mayor Munson said staff will prepare a list of questions and information sought, and submit that to the appropriate people as soon as possible. Commissioner Richard said he hopes questions continue to be asked, as he and others want to make sure everyone is comfortable with what they are proposing; and he asked Council to consider holding a public hearing, and then sharing with this Board, Council's desire on this measure. Mayor Munson called for a short recess at 7:57 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 8:07 p.m. 3. Contractor Selection Outdoor Pools — Mike Jackson and Steve Worley Deputy City Manager Jackson explained that staff has been working with ORB to develop pool concept plans; that staff put out bids for the project, and that only one bid was received last Friday, February 1; and that bid was almost $600,000 higher than ORB's projections; and that staff would like to discuss possible alternatives. Engineer Worley added that in discussing this project, staff was made aware that the 150 -day time period in the plan for completing the work was felt by those in the industry to be too short; that the specifications called for the work to be performed during the season in which the pool would be open thus necessitating having the work area fenced off; and that this area appears to have an enormous amount of pool work available. Mr. Worley said that staff recommends we cancel this bid, which is allowed in the specs, and re -bid the project with changes mentioned, and to also allow a longer period to complete the project. Mr. Worley said they are proposing having additions to each pool scheduled to begin after Labor Day this year, and have them work through the winter and completed prior to the 2009 swimming season. There was Council consensus to move forward as described. 4. Joint Planning Area — Mike Connelly City Attorney Connelly briefly went over his February 5 Request for Council Action listing the history of this issue, and mentioned that the exhibits are on file with the City Clerk should councilmembers desire to examine those; that we are trying to execute a Joint Planning Agreement with the County on Turtle Creek and there will be a luncheon tomorrow to discuss that issue. Concerning the necessary steps to take to designate JPAs, Mr. Connelly said that concerning the process of designating urban growth areas as JPA's that has not occurred yet; as when the UDC was passed the UGAs were not yet identified; the next step is to identify those existing UGAs and that once the UGA identification is complete, they would become JPAs for our city, and that will occur some time during this calendar year and he will ask Greg McCormick and/or Scott Kuhta for that schedule. Mr. Connelly also mentioned that once we identify the UGAs as ours, the County has to accept that; but we don't have specific dates for that process; and we can enter into an agreement on Turtle Creek whenever the two entities desire. Mayor Munson asked that staff keep him posted as to the next step so that issue can be placed on an upcoming council agenda. a Snow Plowing and Budget — Neil and Ken (added agenda item) Public Works Director Kersten gave a brief PowerPoint presentation showing average snowfall during winter 07 -08, mentioned that we have had the fourth highest amount of January snowfall in history; explained the current status of the city streets of gave an explanation of the current work plan; he mentioned future flooding concerns, and said that street repair and potholes are greater than normal. Mr. Kersten also expressed thanks to Street Maintenance Superintendent Tim Klein, the City's receptionists and street maintenance inspectors, the County supervisors and crew, and the private contractors. Finance Director Thompson then explained the financial side of this issue, showing the actual expenditures for sanding, deicing, and snow removal for 2004, 2005, 2006, and 2007, with a total increased difference from 2004 to 2007 of over $400,000. Mr. Thompson said there was an error of Study Session Meeting Minutes: 2 -05 -08 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 02 -12 -08 $387,000 between the 2008 budget submittal, and what was approved; that the budget should have been for $1,401,466, but was formally adopted as $1,014,466. Mr. Thompson said he is uncertain how that occurred, but the question now is how to pay for that and he suggested looking to the street fund; although Mr. Thompson also mentioned there could be a few hundred thousand dollars in savings in the summer, and in closing the books for 2007, he feels comfortable there will be some leftover funds which could be used for additional snow removal, or placed back in the reserves. After discussion of the budget issues, Mr. Mercier explained that the object is to avoid a deficit this year, even with the financial challenges of the street fund; that the conditions of the streets tonight are a consequence of natural elements, that our intent is to stay with Council's prioritization of snow removal; and that there are enough areas with an "under- expenditure" to offset this overage. Deputy Manager Denenny mentioned having a line -item of snow removal in future budgets; and Mr. Mercier said that option is available. It was moved by Councilmember. Gothmann, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to 10:00 p.m. 5. Advance Agenda — Mayor Munson Mayor Munson mentioned there will be an open house at the Fire Department tomorrow; as well as the Chamber's annual economic Forecast, and the February 19 joint meeting with the Planning Commission as we hear more from Michael Freedman. City Manager Mercier asked Councilmembers to consider a preferred meeting date for the summer retreat, and it was determined that the retreat will be held Saturday, June 14 at Deputy Mayor Denenny's cabin. Mr. Mercier added that the Spokane Regional Council of Governments meeting will be held Friday February 22, and that regarding phase 2 of the CTED collaboration grant, individuals from Clark County will be in town tomorrow to work with the area group of elected/appointed officials regarding joint planning. 6. Information Only: The items of Economic Development Dialogue, Spokane County Library District 2007 4 Quarter Report, Street Acceptance, and Letters of Support were for information only and were not discussed. Mayor Munson said unless Councilmembers have questions concerning the letter of support, that item will be placed on the next Council's consent agenda. 7 Council Check -in — Mayor Munson: no further comments. 8. City Manager Comments — Dave Mercier Mr. Mercier said there has been some ongoing research on funding options to launch a city center, including some technical research, and that a memo will be coming to Council soon to explain what the statutes provide for funding options. 9. Executive Session: Land Acquisition and Pending Litigation Mayor Munson moved to adjourn into Executive Session for land acquisition and pending litigation, for an hour, and that no action will be taken thereafter. Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:52 p.m. Mayor Munson declared Council out of Executive Session at 9:56 p.m. It was moved by Councilmember Wilhite, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:57 p.m. ATTES Christine Bainbridge, C Clerk Ric 'rd Muns • , '" ayor Study Session Meeting Minutes: 2 -05 -08 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 02 -12 -08