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2014, 12-02 Study Session Minutes MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING STUDY SESSION FORMAT Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley,Washington December 2,2014 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Dean Grafos, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Mark Calhoun, Deputy City Manager Chuck Hafner, Councilmember John Hohman, Community Development Dir. Rod Higgins, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director Ed Pace, Councilmember Eric Guth,Public Works Director Ben Wick, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney ABSENT: Doug Powell, Building Official Bill Bates, Councilmember Luis Garcia,Development Services Coordinator Karen Kendall, Planner Micki Harnois, Associate Planner Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Grafos called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present except Councilmember Bates. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Councilmember Bates from tonight's meeting. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Motion Consideration: Drainage Easement Agreement—John Hohman It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to authorize the City Manager to finalize and execute the Drainage Easement Agreement between the City of Spokane Valley, and Kenneth and Sharon Tupper, and Hilda Rentz. Director Hohman explained that as discussed at the November 17 meeting, this deals with an approximate eleven-acre parcel originally provided by the developers to accommodate stormwater drainage in the area; that many of the provisions of those documents have either been long since fulfilled, or were found to be in error; and said that the original documents were all executed before the City's incorporation. Mr. Hohman added that the owners will continue to be responsible for the ongoing maintenance of the parcel, as well as hold the City harmless. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. 2. Motion Consideration: Purchase of Real Property—John Hohman, Cary Driskell It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to approve the acquisition of 3.38 acres of real property at the southeast corner of Sprague Avenue and Dartmouth Road from Dartmouth, LLC, and authorize the City Manager to finalize and execute any documents necessary to accomplish that acquisition. City Attorney Driskell said that there has been previous discussion of the need for a city hall owned by the City instead of leased; and at the summer workshop, the focus included looking at various places in particular, the former University City site; he said staff explored the various options and that a letter of intent was given to the owner, Mr. Magnuson for the proposed site as noted in the motion. Mr. Council Study Session U-02-2014 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-09-2014 Driskell said the purchase price is $7.65 per square foot, plus standard closing costs, and as part of the purchase, the City would do a boundary line adjustment to create the lot out of the existing parcels. Mr. Driskell also noted that this purchase would require an amendment to the 2015 budget, and that funding would be covered by reserves in funds 310 and 312. As part of the agreement, Mr. Driskell explained that the owner would remove the existing parking between the former JC Penney and Crescent buildings, as well as the parking approaches, in the hope to entice future development. Mr. Driskell said the closing is anticipated for the first week of January. Councilmember Wick asked if any of the additional land around the parcel is for sale and Mr. Driskell indicated it is, by the same owners. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Councilmember Wick said he feels the location is good, and he likes the ability to be joined to the park and trail, but thinks we are limiting ourselves by buying a smaller piece to only house city hall and parking; and said he would like to purchase more land; that extra land might be used for organizations such as SNAP or Spokane Valley Partners. Mayor Grafos said he feels this purchase as stated, is the best option and that the City can buy this and construct the building for about the same cost as we pay in rent, and that the owners would remove those obsolete buildings at the owner's expense, all at no cost to the taxpayer; he said this is simple, affordable, and within budget. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he spoke with Spokane Valley Partners and they are not prepared to move even ten or more years from now; that they know they will get the bus route corrected; that he feels the City needs to move forward and not restrict the Valley Partners or other property owners. Councilmembers Hafner and Pace also agreed with the purchase and location; and Councilmember Pace said other organizations have boards and budgets and if they are in the market for property, they should pursue that on their own. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor Grafos, Deputy Mayor Woodard, and Councilmernbers Hafner, Pace, and Higgins. Opposed: Councilmember Wick. Motion carried. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 3. Countywide Hazard Mitigation Plan—Luis Garcia, Doug Powell Director Hohman introduced new Development Services Coordinator Luis Garcia, who is a certified building official, and with him Mr. Gerry Bozarth from Spokane County Emergency Management. Via his PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Garcia explained that the plan expired in 2012, and an update is required in order to qualify for federal funding under the Disaster Mitigation Act; and that it is important to remember: "No Plan, No Money." After Mr. Garcia explained about the initial adoption, and went over the highlights, goals, objectives and guiding principle, Councilmember Pace asked if any of this would require any additional cost to our residents or businesses, and Mr. Bozarth confirmed that there would be no additional cost; and in response to other questions, explained that this plan is just for natural hazards, like winter storms and wildfire problems; he said he applied for the grant the year before the initial plan expired,that grant was denied,he applied again the following year, and it was approved; and said that this is a two-year process. Mr. Bozarth said that as grant funds become available, he will make Mr. Garcia aware and that they would apply for those funds. Concerning the objectives, Mr. Bozarth explained that they were developed by a steering committee comprised of members from the entire community, and that the objectives are very broad in order to enable the applying for grants later. There were no objections to moving this forward. 4. Beekeeping—Micki Harnois Planner Harnois explained that the purpose of this agenda item is to provide information to assist Council in determining if City beekeeping regulations are adequate, to provide a small survey of regulations in other jurisdictions, and to discuss beekeeping issues and possible solutions. Ms. Harnois explained what beekeeping is; she showed the comparison of our requirements to other jurisdictions, explained the purpose of the regulations including the minimum lot area, setbacks, flyaway barrier and source of water. Councilmember Higgins asked why the minimum lot area was set at 40,000 sq. ft.; and Mr. Hohman said that was the recommendation from the Planning Commission at the time. Councilmember Pace said he Council Study Session 12-02-2014 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-09-2014 would like to see this move forward, but suggested that perhaps a WSDA (Washington State Department of Agriculture) registration might not be needed unless it also deals with training. Ms. Harnois said the registration fee is $5.00 for one to five colonies; and that the WSDA would, upon request, perform inspections. Councilmember Pace suggested that we don't need to register bees, and that it is more of a question of freedom and property rights. Councilmember Hafner said he would like to see what those WSDA requirements are and Mr. Driskell said staff will research those regulations as it could be that the registration is mandatory. Mayor Grafos said he also would like to see the regulations and said he would have no problem with a $5.00 registration. Mr. Hohman said staff will conduct further research and come back to Council for additional discussion. Council concurred. 5. Street Vacation Process—Karen Kendall Planner Kendall explained the street vacation process, including the definition of a street vacation and accompanying regulations, who can initiate a vacation, the application process including the setting of a public hearing for the Planning Commission; process for the public hearing noticing;the decision process, and the historical application process as noted in our Municipal Code. 6. Old Mission Right-of-way Vacation—John Hohman Director Hohman said that the City received an application requesting a street vacation of approximately 3,688 square feet on Old Mission Avenue in order to enhance the entry to the trailhead and development, provide delineation between the public and private ownership, and offset land lost by the dedication of right-of-way for the trailhead turnaround and parking. Mr. Hohman noted that the applicant also donated $25,000 for trailhead enhancement. Mr. Hohman asked for Council consensus to place this on the December 9 consent agenda to set the Planning Commission January 8, 2015 public hearing. Council concurred. 7. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos. There were no suggestions for changes to the Advance Agenda. 8. Information Only: The (a) Department Monthly Reports and (b) Argonne Road Project were for information only and were not reported or discussed. 9. Council Comments—Mayor Grafos. There were no Council comments. 10. City Manager Comments—Mike Jackson Mr. Jackson mentioned that next week's Council agenda will include an informational item on the "no truck" parking signs. Mr. Jackson also noted that this year Christmas day falls on a Thursday, and at times in the past, City Hall was also closed for the following Friday, and he asked if Council agreed to placing a motion on next week's consent agenda to close City Hall December 26. Council concurred. Concerning the AWC Rail Committee that he, Mr. Guth, and Councilmember Wick have been involved with, Mr. Jackson said that the DOE (Department of Ecology) finalized their initial 450 page draft report yesterday; that in looking at the summary of the report's recommendations, which can be found on the DOE website, the study completely omits the City of Spokane Valley; he said we will plan to make some comments about the issue; that some of the report discusses hazard based on population density, yet the accident in Quebec which resulted in killing 47 people, shows a town population density of only 760 per square mile; and Mr. Jackson noted there is no correlation between hazard and population density. Mr. Jackson said he, Mr. Guth, and Councilmember Wick will draft some comments in response to this study, and that he hopes to bring this back in a few weeks. Mr. Jackson said the final report is due in March. On a different topic, Mr. Jackson said the Council's winter workshop is tentatively scheduled for February 17, 2015, but that February 18 begins the AWC(Association of Washington Cities) legislation action meeting in Olympia; he said if many Councilmembers are planning to attend the Olympia session, we could rescheduled the workshop. Councilmember Wick said he is planning to go to Olympia, although he Council Study Session 12-02-2014 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-09-2014 hasn't seen an agenda yet, and likely could take a flight the evening of February 17. It was determined that this would be discussed further. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:15 p.m. ATT • Dean Grafos,Mayor .i1 • ristine Bainbri.ge, City Clerk Council Study Session U-02-2014 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-09-2014