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2015, 01-13 Formal Format Meeting MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Meeting Format Tuesday,January 13,2015 Mayor Grafos called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: City Staff: Dean Grafos, Mayor Mark Calhoun Deputy City Manager Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney Chuck Hafner, Councilmember John Hohman, Community Development Dir. Rod Higgins, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Rec Director Ed Pace, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst ABSENT: Micki Harnois, Planner Bill Bates, Councilmember Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Ben Wick, Councilmember Chris Bainbridge, City CIerk INVOCATION: Pastor Isaac Hebden of The Intersection Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Council, Staff, and audience rose for the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present except Councilmember Bates and Councilmember Wick. It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Councilmember Bates from tonight's meeting. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Councilmember Wick from tonight's meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a COMMITTEE,BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Deputy Mayor Woodard: said he participated in the HCDAC (Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee) CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) overview process; said our City had one project for $400,000 but the preliminary interim process cut that to $290,000 with much complaining from him and other Spokane Valley representatives; he said some projects were completely unfunded, while other projects were partially funded. Councilmember Higgins: no report Councilmember Pace: said he represented the Mayor at the Human Trafficking Vigil at Riverpark Square where he read a proclamation for Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Councilmember Hafner: said there was a recent accident in Port Orchard where a teenager was driving excessively fast, had an accident, and said he had smoked marijuana before the accident, and where three teenager passengers were killed; said he spoke with the principals in our high schools and with the Dean of Students, who indicated that since the law has been in effect, they have seen 20-25 percent more discipline incidents at school related to the use of marijuana; said the biggest problem seems to be students dumping pure marijuana buds into e-cigarettes; said another issue is that some parents feel there is nothing wrong with and users suffer no ill-effects from smoking marijuana, and said with Council's concurrence, he will meet with other principals and superintendents, as well as with Chief VanLeuven Minutes Regular Council Meeting 01-13--2015 Page 1 of 5 Approved by Council:01-27-2015 and Deputy City Attorney Lamb. There were no objections from Council. CounciImember Hafner noted that he had a telephone conversation with Councilmember Bates who tells us the tumor has shrunk and it appears that the treatments are helping, and that he expresses his thanks to everyone. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Grafos reported that he attended a news conference with Mayor Condon at the Northwest Mayor's Association meeting, where the discussion included the idea of sending a message to the state that shared revenues should not be taken away from cities, and that the state budget should not be balanced on the "backs of the cities" that depend on those revenues for public safety. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Grafos invited public comment. Lynn Plaggemeier: said he spent some time in Gilbert, Arizona, and found that city and others such as Mesa and Chandler, inspiring; said he met with a planner and the assessor and said taxes were half of what he is paying here; said when a construction company uses a public street, they clean the street at the end of the day whether they were finished with the project or not; said there are virtually no signs and he talked to business people in Albertsons and McDonalds who said their business was actually increasing without signs; Mr. Plaggemeier recommended some Councilmembers and staff take a trip to Arizona to see what they are doing right; that people are enthusiastic about their city, greenspace is required to be maintained and not allowed to be a "weed patch" and that marijuana problems in the schools are not tolerated as the schools are charter schools. Cheri Ann Kelley: said she was with Chris Wetherill who spoke earlier in the year about railroad quiet zones and that they hope to meet with Councilmember Wick about a quiet zone at Park and Trent, and/or Vista and Trent; said she received an e-mail from Burlington Northern Railroad who indicated they have had no communication from Spokane Valley to create or extend any quiet zones, and if the City is interested, the City should work with Burlington to investigate these possibilities; said the last quiet zone was four years ago and said she would be willing to volunteer her time to help facilitate this issue. 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. Proposed Motion:I move to approve the Consent Agenda. a. Approval of claim vouchers on Jan 13, 2015 Request for Council Action Form Totaling: $5,778,657.03 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending December 15, 2014: $310,755.36 c. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending December 31, 2014: $442,262.88 d. Approval of December 9,2014 Council Meeting Minutes, Formal Meeting Format e. Approval of December 16, 2014 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. NEW BUSINESS: 2. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 15-001 Amending Dangerous Dog Regulations—Erik Lamb It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to advance Ordinance 15-001 amending Spokane Valley Municipal Code Animal Regulations, to a second reading. After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, Deputy City Attorney Lamb explained the proposed amendments, as noted on the Request for Council Action Form, and as mentioned at the December 16, Council meeting. Councilmember Pace asked about the process to have a dog designated as dangerous, and Mr. Lamb said he will have that information for Council at the second reading. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. 3. Motion Consideration: Mayoral Council Appointments to Committees/Boards—Mayor Grafos Mayor Grafos read the list of his recommendations for each Councilmember's committee assignments, as noted on the Request for Council Action, and in addition to those appointments, that Councilmember Minutes Regular Council Meeting Ol-13--2015 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council:01-27-2015 Hafner will be an alternate for the Emergency 9-1-1 Board, Councilmember Higgins will be an alternate for the Clean Air Agency, and that Deputy Mayor Woodard will be an alternate for the Wastewater Policy Advisory Board. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded, to confirm the Mayoral appointments of Councilmembers to the committees and boards as listed, which includes the alternates. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 4. Commute Trip Reduction—Morgan Koudelka Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka went over the background of the Commute Trip Reduction (CTR) Plan, as contained under State Statutes, and mentioned our Interlocal Agreement with Spokane County naming the County as the program's administrator. Mr. Koudelka explained that Council adopted the CTR ordinance and Plan in 2010 and subsequently the City Manager approved the four year plan; he said the State Commute Trip Reduction Board adopts its own plan every four years and local jurisdictions implement the new goals into the own plans; and those plans are then approved by the local Regional Transportation Councils and the state CTR Board. Mr. Koudelka said the goals and approach to the goals have changed significantly enough to warrant Council approval; rather than have a goal to reduce drive- alone trips, the Plan will now set goals to increase the use of commute alternatives. Mr. Koudelka then introduced Ms. LeAnn Yamamoto, Spokane County's Transportation Demand Management Manager. Ms. Yamamoto explained that the CTR Iaw passed was passed in 1991, implemented in 1993, and updated in 2006 to adhere to the CTR Efficiency Act, which addresses improving overall transportation and transportation efficiency, and air quality; she said this Act applies to public and private employers; that the Board established policy, allocated funding, and established guidelines and that Spokane CTR office works collaboratively to keep all necessary documents updated; that this was last updated in 2011 and this update would be for the timeframe of 2015-2019; and she mentioned the change in the goals and the different approach to how they are measured. Ms. Yamamoto then went over the 2015-2019 Plan Update's planning and community goals, including the Governor's Executive Order as noted in the materials. Council questions and discussion ensued, including a question about consequences of not complying, to which Ms. Yamamoto explained that if employment sites don't participate,they could face fines although she is only aware of one company being fined about fifteen years ago; she said the goal is to work collaboratively with all employment sites; that the Governor wants to increase his goals by 40%, and that the state-wide that figure is about 34%; she said it is a good faith effort law. Mr. Koudelka added that we get funding from the State and we contract with the County for them to provide oversight services, and said this isn't an unfunded mandate; they are looking to employment sites to put in the effort to enable employers to be successful and reduce employees' trip miles to and from work, and said it is very rare if ever that punitive measures are taken; and said the County does the bulk of the work. Councilmember Pace asked how much it cost employers to track and administer the program and Ms. Yamamoto said she would have to research those figures, but the return value is about 18:1 ratio, and that each site has an employee transportation coordinator to help implement the program. Councilmember Pace said the funds still come from the taxpayers. Mr. Koudelka said that this does require a commitment from each employer that requires time, but that he is not aware of any measurement for that; and said for example, our coordinator is Chris Thompson, and that handling these CTR duties are just one of her regular duties,which he said is common for employers. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he has attended the "Way To Go" meetings in the past but has never seen this information before,that he feels Chris Thompson does a great job but assumed she worked on this on her own time and thought it was voluntary and that it did not involve the false science of greenhouse emissions; said he thinks the State is in the wrong business on this; said he realizes the County does a Minutes Regular Council Meeting 01-13--2015 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council:01-27-2015 great job of promoting and encouraging people for the program, but when the Governor says we are going to increase something with no proof that what is occurring is doing any good or could even be doing harm to the economy or businesses; and asked where are the freedoms for making choices. Councilmember Pace said he can't believe the government believes it is their business to determine how people get to work. Ms. Yamamoto explained that this is mandated by state law, and that an ordinance has been in effect since it was approved in 2010; said this program encourages people to make different choices but that no one is forced to make a certain choice; she said there are people who enjoy riding the bus or biking and this program encourages them to use those transportation choices;the program is not a heavy-handed program to tell people they can't drive; she said it helps communities and encourages employees to use those commute alternatives, but people don't have to use them. Councilmember Pace said it is offensive that government tax dollars are spent on this. Deputy Mayor Woodard said these programs stem from the West Side of the state;that they pass a law for example about two lanes of freeway and a transit lane, and the law has to affect the entire state; said he is not opposed to the goals but rather is opposed to it being a law; that now the state has started talking about a carbon tax and mileage penalties and that there are never any sunsetting clauses on these things, and that he would like to see empirical evidence that this program has done anything at all. Councilmember Hafner suggested Council look at this from the angle of what is the value for us in Spokane Valley; he said there are good objectives and the program is run at a minimal cost and that we cannot do anything about a state-mandated program. Mayor Grafos added that we have an interlocal agreement; that these are just goals and the program only affects employers with one hundred employees or more; that it is a promotional program working with cities for commute alternatives, like using the bus or bike paths to see if we can reduce the carbon emissions a little. Ms. Yamamoto added that the focus is to increase commute alternatives thereby reducing vehicle miles traveled; that this does not represent a big change and that the program throughout the region removes about 7600 cars off roadways every morning, which all has a significant impact on traffic. Mr. Koudelka said that we always have a choice and this is likely not the first law from Olympia to have been found distasteful to some; he said we are not Seattle and generally do not have gridlocks on roads; but when we apply for grants for road projects, the grants often require ADA (Americans with Disability Act) compliance like having bike lanes; and he asked if pushing back against an executive order is the battle to fight and what would we gain; he said staff can research this further and come back for continued discussion, but that the program is not requiring us to do anything other than try to offer commute alternatives. Mayor Grafos said this is an educational program and he is in favor of moving this forward. Councilmember Pace said it still involves taxpayer dollars, and he and Deputy Mayor Woodard asked what costs we incur. Mr. Koudelka said there are no additional costs, but he can bring back a calculation of Ms. Thompson's time. There was Council consensus to bring this item back for a future motion,but not on the next consent agenda. 5.Beekeeping—Micki Hamois Planner Harnois explained that this agenda item is in follow-up to the previous discussion where questions were raised about the Washington State Department of Agriculture (WSDA) requirement that all apiarists be registered. As shown in her PowerPoint, Ms. Harnois gave a brief explanation about the process, said that beekeepers are required to register annually with WSDA, and that the fee for doing so is nominal. There was some Council discussion about beekeeping requirements including the setbacks, the maximum number of hives and colonies, and of requiring flyway barriers and a source of water, with Deputy Mayor Woodard suggesting a limit of one colony per 4,350 square feet; and Mayor Grafos stating that he liked the City of Spokane's requirement of one colony per 4,350 square feet. Council agreed that this item should be referred to the Planning Commission to begin the code text amendment process. Minutes Regular Council Meeting 01-13--2015 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council:01-27-2015 6. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos Mayor Grafos said he feels quiet zones are an economic and public safety issue and that we can't wait for the Bridging the Valley, and that he would like to start over on this quiet zone, and take these crossings maybe one at a time, work with the railroad and make some progress, including getting cost estimates. Council agreed and Deputy City Manager Calhoun said he will research the topic, and work to possibly bring back an administrative report covering this topic and include the information given by former Interim Deputy City Manager Roger Crum. In other business, Mayor Grafos reported that for 2014, he signed 1,899 letters welcoming new businesses, compared with 1,534 in 2013, which represents about a 24% increase in businesses. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS There were no additional comments. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:24 p.m. ATTES. D rafos,Mayor r ,` 1 ristine Bainbridge,City Clerk Minutes Regular Council Meeting 01-13--2015 Page 5 of 5 Approved by Council:01-27-2015 GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN-IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, January 13, 2015 GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTE Please sign in if you wish to make public comments. NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE PLEASE PRINT YOU WILL SPEAK ABOUT / 1 -4� . j t,l //76, 1 /f0> „7 , d G *0t” Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.