2015, 07-07 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
STUDY SESSION FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley,Washington
July 7,2015 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Dean Grafos, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor(via phone) Mark Calhoun, Deputy City Manager
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Rod Higgins, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Ed Pace, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks &Recreation Director
Ben Wick, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Pro Tem John Hohman, Community Dev. Director
Steve Worley, Senior Engineer
Christine 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. It was noted that
Deputy Mayor Woodard was attending via telephone conference.
1. Governance Manual—Chris Bainbridge
City Clerk Bainbridge and City Attorney Driskell discussed the various proposed changes throughout the
Governance Manual. Council agreed to the following changes: page 12 new section about placing items
on an agenda; page 13 under telephone conference, clarifying that at present we only have the capability
of handling one telephone number per meeting; page 18's clarification of the motion "call for the
question" as well as the clarification of process for reconsideration on pages 19 and 20; and the proposed
changes on pages 23-28 for the selection of Mayor, and process for appointing a permanent
Councilmember as well as a temporary Councilmember. Concerning the new section on page 13 about tax
rate changes, Councilmembers appeared to be split on the need for that section; and there were other
comments concerning some of the aspects of appointing and selecting a permanent and temporary
Councilmember, including the voting process. It was decided to schedule a Mayoral appointment to
include Councilmember Pro Tem Gothmann on the Governance Committee, and afterwards have that
committee meet again to further discuss the manual and then bring the issue back before Council for
approval consideration. A motion consideration will be added to next week's Council agenda for
appointment of Councilmember Gothmann to the Governance Committee.
2. Transportation Improvement Board(TIB) Call for Projects—Steve Worley
Mr. Worley went over the TIB Call for Projects and the suggested projects. After brief discussion,
Council agreed staff should submit all projects for TIB Grant consideration. There was also brief
discussion about the Opportunity Elementary project and Deputy Mayor Woodard asked if 11`h Avenue
would qualify for CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) funds, and Mr. Worley said he would
have to research that. When Mr. Worley asked Council if they had any other projects they would like
considered in this process, no other projects were suggested.
3. Public Works Project Updates and Progress Report—Eric Guth
Public Works Director Guth's progress report included an update of numerous construction projects, such
as the Argonne Road Corridor Upgrade, Mansfield Avenue Connection, Sullivan West Bridge
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Replacement, Appleway Trail University to Pines, and numerous street preservation projects, as well as
sidewalk projects, storm drain retrofits, the update on the decant facility, and bridge maintenance for
Barker Road bridge and Sands Road Bridge. Deputy Mayor Woodard asked about an area which appears
to be buckling after a hard rain,just past Cherry before going around the corner on 24°i, and Mr. Guth
said he will look into that. Councilmember Pace asked about the Appleway Trail and noted there are no
signs or accesses to businesses and apartments, and no landscaping. Mr. Guth explained that some signs
have been erected directing people out to the commercial area to dine, explore and shop as well as to
direct people to businesses on Sprague; he said there is no access from the apartments as he was not sure
that was envisioned unless we partnered with the apartments in that regard, adding that they tried not to
fence the area so it would remain accessible; said the landscaping idea is to have a more natural look, and
that the plan has been to do more improvements later as funding becomes available. Mayor Grafos stated
that the infrastructure is in but this is a work in progress; it is a lineal type of park which can be a little
confusing, but we will continue to move ahead. Mr. Jackson added that there is a certain amount of
money available for the projects, but we were just awarded $1.8 million toward the Trail; said that Public
Works is working on other grants and we might be able to use some of those other funds for trail
enhancements; and said we need to let people know that this is the first phase and other enhancements
will be coming in the future.
4. Parks & Recreation Project Updates and Progress Report—Mike Stone
Parks and Recreation Director Stone's progress report included information on a variety of projects,
programs and services, including Browns Park Sand Volleyball and Hoopfest Court, Edgecliff Park
Shelter, Park Signs, Valley Mission Pool Tank, summer programs including the aquatics program and the
pool opening day free swim, free summer outdoor movies, Fun Fridays in the Parks in July, their very
popular Summer Day Camp, CenterPlace, and that July is National Parks and Recreation Month.
Mayor Grafos called for a recess at 7:40 p.m.; and reconvened the meeting at 7:51 p.m.
5. Community & Economic Development Project Updates and Progress Report—John Hohman
Community Development Director Hohman's progress report included information on the master plans,
permitting, committees and regional meetings, business development and marketing. Mayor Grafos
suggested as a type of information piece, to compare our utilities, such as water usage, garbage, property
taxes, sewer costs, with the City of Spokane, as a factor for people when they are considering moving to
the area.
6. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos
Councilmember Gothmann asked about the property north of Sullivan Park which was discussed at the
Workshop, and of Council's opportunity to evaluate the information to determine whether we want to buy
some or all of that acreage; and said there is a deadline of August to respond. Mr. Jackson said that item
will be added to the Advance Agenda pending list.
7. Information Only Items
The items of (a) Mullan Road Street Preservation; and (b) Stormwater Call for Projects were for
information only and were not reported or discussed.
8. Council Comments—Mayor Grafos
Deputy Mayor Woodard thanked Council for allowing him to be telephonically connected to tonight's
meeting.
9. City Manager Comments—Mike Jackson
Concerning the legislative process, Mr. Jackson reported he has been informed by our lobbyist Mr. Alex
Soldano that AWC (Association of Washington Cities) indicated that about $4 million in direct
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allocations will be distributed due to increased gas taxes over the sixteen years of the initiative, and Mr.
Jackson explained that our share of that direction allocation would be about$250,000 a year.
10. Executive Session: Pending Litigation
It was moved by Councilmember Wick, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn into Executive
Session for approximately thirty minutes to discuss pending litigation, and that no action would be taken
upon return to open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 8:25 p.m. Mayor Grafos
declared Council out of executive session at 8:43 p.m., after which it was immediately moved by
Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed, to adjourn.
Dean rafos,Mayor
ATTES/
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Christine
stine Bainbridge, City Clerk
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