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2015, 09-22 Regular Formal Format MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Meeting Format Tuesday, September 22,2015 Mayor Grafos called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: City Staff Dean Grafos,Mayor Mike Jackson City Manager Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Mark Calhoun, Deputy City Manager Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Rod Higgins, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks& Recreation Director Ed Pace, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Interim Finance Director Ben Wick, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Pro Tem John Hohman, Community Development Dir. Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Chris Bainbridge,City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Gary Weber of Valley Fourth Memorial Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, Staff, and audience stood for 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: n/a COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS Councilmember Hafner:reported that he attended the STA(Spokane Transit Authority)Operations meeting where they discussed the organization and how it is run and that he heard a suggestion about an advisory committee for the STA Central City Line; said that committee has not yet been approved,and said he spoke against the suggestion;attended the Health District workshop;went to the Council of Governments meeting at the Fairgrounds; attended the Auditor's Exit Interview and said our city received a good report; he also attended a meeting with the Health Board, and attended a SCOPE Board meeting. Concerning the STA meeting, Councilmember Hafner explained that it was determined that the advisory committee would be added; said if the feds give them$72 million and not enough board members vote against it,that will mean that they will have funds to build a central city line but no funds to operate it, which means, he explained, they'll have to find additional sales tax; said as part of the City of Spokane Council Meeting, it appeared that several Spokane City Council Members feel this is a "done deal" and that they really want it as they feel it will contribute to their economic development, however, Councilmember Hafner said, it would not contribute to our City's economic development. Councilmember Pace: said he attended the Greater Valley Support network where they heard about the good work SNAP does for the community; attended the Chamber's Big 5 meeting; went to the Council of Governments meeting at the fair; said he was unable to attend the STA board meeting but agrees with Councilmember Hafner that the central city line is a city of Spokane thing; went to the Inland Northwest Partners economic development forum in Hayden, Idaho and that it appear if we want businesses to come here we will have to have a legislative agenda, have our state as a right-to-work state, eliminate prevailing wage, and reduce L&I. Councilmember Higgins: said he attended the Inland Northwest Partners meeting and that the general misconception is that employment is driven by large corporations, but in communities like ours, we have an 80/20 split with 80% small employers, and 20% large box stores. Minutes Regular Council Meeting:09-22-2015 Page 1 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-13-2015 Councilmember Gothmann: reported that he attended Norma Ventris' funeral and gave some background on Ms. Ventris' participation in our community; said he also attended the Council of Governments meeting where our Deputy City Attorney Lamb gave an excellent summary of the marijuana legislation; said he participated in SpokeFest and rode the 21-miles; attended our City's Audit Exit Interview and he extended congratulations to Mr. Jackson and his staff. Councilmember Wick: said he attended the Chamber's Big 5 leadership meeting where they worked to narrow down the top 5 priorities;went to the Interstate Fair's ribbon-cutting;attended the Port District study meeting about what a port district could do; concerning the SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council) and funding for Bigelow Gulch, said he was one of the dissenting votes on the return of funds to the County; he explained that when the County received funds for Bigelow years ago, there were errors with their right-of-way acquisitions and they were made to return the funds and close down the project; he said the County had to let their entire right-of-way department go; but now they are back in compliance and the feds said they are now eligible, but since so much time has elapsed,the funding pools were reallocated to different projects; the County asked for the return of the funds and to be bumped ahead without going through the new process and to just give them the money; he said the majority of the Board decided to give the funds back,but that he voted against that;said his was not a vote against the project but more the process as he voted to follow the established process. Deputy Mayor Woodard: as part of the HCDAC (Spokane County Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee) which deals with grants such as CDBG (Community Development Block Grants), that they had their first meeting for this year and as part of our City's guaranteed set-aside funds, we will retain approximately$251,000 for projects this year;said he attended the Council of Governments meeting, as well as the Inland Northwest Foundation meeting. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Grafos reported that he attended the Spokane County fair opening ceremony, followed by the Council of Governments meeting; that he met with the Spokesman Review reporter to talk about the new city hall; attended the annual meeting and reception with the Contractors group at Arbor Crest where they spoke with state representatives and members of the construction and development community;he mentioned the Valleyfest Magazine and expressed thanks to Petty Doering for her work with Valleyfest,which occurs this weekend. PROCLAMATION: n/a PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Grafos invited public comment. Peggy Doering: said she is the Executive Director of Valleyfest which is occurring this week, and she invited all the citizens in the region to come participate;said the signs will go up tomorrow about the closure of Sprague for the parade,which starts at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Jenny Willardson, Spokane Valley: extended compliments to the City for having a wonderful parks department, especially the pools with the water slide and lazy river; extended thanks for having the water exercise program at Terrace View; also said she is enjoying the stormwater work as that means no water and ice on the road this winter. Nina Fluegal: started to speak about the Mansfield Speed Limit, but was asked to wait until Council got to that item for comments. Marcia Sands: City Clerk Bainbridge noted she received e-mail comments (which were previously distributed to Councilmembers) from Marcia Sands expressing concern about and opposition to the proposed development at the former Painted Hills Golf Course. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: 2016 Budget—Chelsie Taylor Mayor Grafos opened the public hearing at 6:37 p.m. After Ms. Taylor gave an overview of the budget, including changes as noted in blue on the Request for Council Action form, as well as on slide #2 of the PowerPoint, Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Councilmember Pace said he wants to see growth in the general fund be less than 1% instead of 2.7%. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he agreed with that statement; that a portion of the growth is an additional Minutes Regular Council Meeting:09-22-2015 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-13-2015 snow plow and he wants that taken out of the budget until we figure out if there are contractors who would do it; said he doesn't understand why we are trying to build a fleet of snow plows when there are"slews of them in the area" and before we buy new trucks, to make sure there's no one that could do that. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he wants to keep growth in the budget that we set for the city and that there are plenty of ways we can do that; that Council asked staff to stay at 1%, that he knows personnel costs go up and accelerate but that we have surpluses; and questioned why we should keep expanding to create a new base when there are no real extenuating circumstances to exceed the 1%budget this year; said he won't vote for the budget the way it is now. Councilmember Pace said areas where we could make reductions include the NLC(National League of Cities),and City Council travel;said he doesn't want to micromanage but Council sets the goal of 1% and staff has to decide how to meet that goal; said it is just the general principle. Mayor Grafos said the target was 1% and we have held to that, especially when you pull out the wages, said health costs have gone up; that this is the time as the economy improves and we change our focus to economic development, and that if we want to pull those items out, that he thinks it is the wrong timing. Councilmember Pace said he doesn't want to pull out economic development line items,as that's up to the City Manager and staff. Deputy Mayor Woodard said that we are a contract city and he wonders why we have a fleet of nine; that there are other companies that would be willing to be on a moment's notice call for the winter season; or to at least stay the same for this year and find out what the contract community would like to do,then decide if that's the only option; said for every new three trucks, you have three new employees, which includes mechanics and drivers. Councilmember Hafner said he thinks things are going extremely well and he will vote for this budget; that he thinks we are providing the best services with the amount of money and not to correct or reduce that. Councilmember Wick added that the 1% was a goal, but that several different projects were added, such as the Appleway Trail and maintenance for a city hall; said they are not really expenses yet,that this is a budget and not actuals; that we have a history of rolling over numerous dollars as we underspend in the budget; said this is a planning and guidance tool and that staff will only spend what is needed to be spent. Mayor Grafos asked Mr.Jackson if he is planning to hire three or four snowplow drivers. Mr. Jackson said we would use part-time drivers; that we would advertise for drivers who are willing to drive in the winter, licensed CDL drivers and only pay them during the snow plow months; said if we have a bad storm we contract for graders; said we found when we started our own program that plows are not available; that it would be difficult going back and forth from one process to the other;that this current process gives us the control over the service and it is a good service;again stating that it would be difficult to change in the process; said moving forward staff could examine if plows are available, but if they are,we haven't heard; and said it is not the intent to hire additional full time staff and such does not exist in this budget. Mayor Grafos added that it is difficult to get people to plow snow in the middle of the winter or to ask someone to set aside their equipment and be on call for our city; said that won't happen; that he doesn't want to see kids walking to school with four to five inches of snow on the street; and that the plow is a good capital investment for our city. Mr. Jackson said Council can amend the budget moving forward, and that he will bring information about how to reduce the budget if Council chooses to make that amendment;and that he will be prepared to do so if the majority of Council asked him to do so.There was no further discussion and Mayor Grafos closed the public hearing at 7:00 p.m. 2. 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 vouchers on Sept 22, 2015 Request for Council Action Form Totaling$4,016,801.17 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending September 15, 2015: $335,885.68 c. Approval of September 8, 2015 Formal Format Council Meeting Minutes d. Approval of September 11,2015 Special Meeting Minutes, Regional Council of Governments It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. Minutes Regular Council Meeting:09-22-2015 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-13-2015 NEW BUSINESS 3. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 15-016 Property Tax—Chelsie Taylor After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title,it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to advance Ordinance #15-016 levying regular property taxes for 2106 to a second reading. Interim Finance Director Taylor explained that this ordinance does not include the 1%tax increase which is allowed by law; she noted that Council can expect some revised numbers from the County Assessor's office for the levy estimate, and said all figures are based on estimates. Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered.Councilmember Pace said he talked to a lot of citizens who told him their property taxes are going up and that this is too high; and he moved to amend the ordinance by lowering the property tax 1%for a reduction of$112,791.52. Deputy Mayor Woodard seconded the motion, and added that he would like to eventually eliminate the property tax. Ms. Taylor said if we cut the property tax 1%, that represents$113,000 which would exceed our budget by$77,000 and would result in a deficit in the general fund. Councilmember Hafner explained that there are a lot of other agencies that affect the property tax and not just Spokane Valley, and that he feels our services are adequate. Councilmember Wick said we have "held the line" for six years now. Mr. Jackson said the only increased property tax revenue is new construction,and said the goal is to grow the economy.Councilmember Gothmann said that the actual taxes on a home are also determined by assessed value, and that his taxes went down last year, and that the property tax is for commercial and residential. Councilmember Higgins said that this assumes the economy is improving,but what if it is not. Councilmember Pace said we don't control the assessed value of houses, but we do control the tax rate, and if the tax is not taken,there would be more money in the economy. Vote to amend the motion to decrease the property tax by 1%for a reduction of$112,791.52:In Favor:Deputy Mayor Woodard and Councilmembers Higgins and Pace. Opposed: Mayor Grafos, and Councilmembers Hafner, Wick and Gothmann. Motion to amend failed. Vote on the original motion to advance ordinance #15-016 levying regular property for 2016 to a second reading: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. 4. Proposed Resolution 15-008 Changing Mansfield Speed Limit—Sean Messner It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to approve Resolution 15-008 amending the Master Speed Limit Schedule as proposed. Public Works Director Guth, standing in for Engineer Messner, explained the existing 25 mph is because of pre-construction configuration in which Mansfield turned ninety-degrees, but the project completion changes the number of travel lanes,the configuration of bicycle lanes, will now be mostly straight, and includes the installation of median islands. Mr. Guth said staff recommends changing the speed limit to 35 mph based on prevailing travel speeds and changes to the road. Mayor Grafos invited public comment. Nina Fluegal expressed concern with changing the speed limit and said people should obey the speed limits, not change them based on what speed most people are travelling. There were no further public comments. Council discussion favored the change. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried. Mayor Grafos called for a recess at 7:21 p.m.; he reconvened the meeting at 7:33 p.m. 5. Motion Consideration: Outside Agency Grant Allocations—Chelsie Taylor It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to award 2016 Outside Agency funding as follows: (1) Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce$26,704; (2)Spokane Valley Arts Council$18,953; (3) Spokane Valley Heritage Museum $1,571; (4) Valleyfest$13,000; (5) Greater Spokane County Meals on Wheels $7,429; (6) Greater Spokane Substance Abuse Council $5,429; (7) Hearth Homes $12,057; (8) Spokane Valley Partners $19,286; and(9) YWCA $2,571. After Ms. Taylor reviewed the background and formula for allocating funds, Mayor Grafos invited public comment.No comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Grafos invited public comment; no comments were offered. Minutes Regular Council Meeting:09-22-2015 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-13-2015 ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS 6. Budget Amendment for 2015 —Chelsie Taylor After Interim Finance Director Taylor briefed Council on the various proposed amendments, all as noted on the five-page Request for Council Action form, Council concurred to move this forward. 7. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos Councilmember Pace suggested including the topic of the Painted Hills development project on an upcoming agenda as citizens don't seem to know that the City of Spokane Valley doesn't have anything to do with that, and to brief Council on the issue as well.City Manager Jackson agreed that there seems to be an information deficit on this, and said that community development is working to get the information on our website to help citizens better understand this project; and suggested that an information item might be a good way to start. Council agreed. Councilmember Wick brought up the topic of wayfinding signs; said the regional proposal wasn't well received by Council, but he thinks there is some merit to the idea as it affects tourism and is a potential idea for applying for LTAC funds (Lodging Tax Advisory Committee); said he would like more discussion about perhaps applying for a lodging tax grant for a small piece of wayfinding and not for approval of the whole study; said applications are due October 2. Several Councilmembers voiced agreement with the idea, and Mr. Jackson said it could take a few weeks to start discussion, and he will schedule this as a future item. INFORMATION ONLY: Agenda Item(8)Stormwater Construction Grants;and(9)Department Reports were for information only and were not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Mr. Jackson stated that information is on the City's website and has been placed in both newspapers concerning the design of the new city hall and he is hopeful people will come out and comment at next week's meeting, at which time staff will seek a motion to move the project forward on the general concept by the architect. Councilmember Gothmann mentioned he was asked to attend a forum concerning information about the proposed city hall, and Mr. Jackson agreed Councilmember Gothmann should get together with Director Hohman prior to that forum. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. ATTEST. Dean rafos,Mayor j (.. 2.�7�)--L /-3-4;.-k0 Bainbridge, City Clerk Minutes Regular Council Meeting:09-22-2015 Page 5 of 5 Approved by Council: 10-13-2015 Chris Bainbridge From: Chris Bainbridge Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2015 4:42 PM To: 'marcia_sands@comcast.net' Cc: Arne Woodard; Ben Wick; Bill Gothmann; Chuck Hafner; Dean Grafos; Ed Pace; Rod Higgins; Mike Jackson; Christina Janssen; Elisha Heath Subject: RE: Painted Hills Project Concerns Good afternoon Marcia. I am writing in response to your request that your e-mail become part of the Council's meeting minutes for next week's Council meeting. Please be advised that this topic is not on the Council's agenda, and as such, I assume you would like this included as part of the general comments. As noted in the City's Governance Manual: 2. Written Public Comments. Citizens have the option of submitting written views, opinions,comments, data and arguments to Council on any topic and at any time, not just prior to or during public Council meetings. Unless the Mayor asks the Clerk to read written comments,or the citizen reads their own prepared written comments,such comments shall not be read aloud during regular or special Council meetings although they shall be included as part of the public record on the topic and if appropriate, may be publicly acknowledged.Any written comments submitted to Council via the City Clerk shall be distributed to Council by placing copies at each Councilmember's workstation or City desk; or in the case of e-mailed or other electronic comments, shall be forwarded to Council via e-mail. If individual Councilmembers receive written (including electronic) public comments or materials for the purpose of reading/sharing those materials during Council meetings,those materials should be submitted to the City Clerk prior to the Council meeting so the Clerk can make copies for later distribution to members of Council. I will have copies of your e-mail printed and distributed to Council at the dais for Tuesday's Council meeting. I see you have already submitted your comments electronically to Council. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns. Chris Bainbridge Christine (Chris) Bainbridge Spokane Valley City Clerk 509-720-5102 (Con_2Pcs Gr7;7 ci;7y reply w ;Abject to public disclosure) From: Marcia Sands [mailto:marcia sands©comcast.net] Sent: Thursday, September 17, 2015 4:16 PM To: Christina Janssen Cc: mayor/ councilmembers Subject: Painted Hills Project Concerns Hi Christina, Mr. Mayor & Councilmembers: 1 I am writing because I have recently become aware that there is a proposed High Density Housing Development at the location of the former Painted Hills Golf Course. I argue that this location is not appropriate for residential development based on the following: The location is within the FEMA 100 year flood plain (Photo attached). It is designated as AE. Spokane Valley Municipal Code Ch. 21.30.090 - Provisions for flood hazard reduction Section 5. "AE and Al —30 Zones with Base Flood Elevations but No Floodways. a. In areas where a regulatory floodway has not been designated, no new construction, substantial improvements, or other development (including fill) shall be permitted within Zones Al —30 and AE on the community's FIRM, unless it is demonstrated that the cumulative effect of the proposed development, when combined with all other existing and anticipated development,will not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood more than one foot at any point within the community. b. In the unnumbered A zones, the development may not increase the water surface elevation of the base flood by more than one foot at any point. c. In the A zones where base flood elevations have been provided, but floodways have not been established, the development may not increase the surface water elevation of the base flood by more than one-tenth of a foot at any point. d. All adjacent or other property owners impacted by the development within the floodplain must give their written, notarized approval for any increased base flood elevations upon their property." Even if you are able to demonstrate that the development meets these requirement AND you get permission from Washington Department of Ecology - as required in Subsection 1.e. of the same Chapter - there is the human aspect to take into consideration. A golf course or multi-use park is the perfect use for that property because if it floods, and it does flood, there is very little damage to construction and people's lives who are affected by the flooding. The developer will come in, build, sell and leave taking away a nice little profit leaving the City, State and Federal governments to pay for the cost of housing that is damaged due to flooding. Please make a responsible decision for the community that you serve and use common sense. Do not allow further development in flood plains. Furthermore, mitigation of the flood hazard in this location will only cause other locations up and downstream to have more flooding than they already have. As you are probably aware the FEMA map for this area was updated in 2010 and many people learned that their houses are located within the flood plain that they did not know about when they chose to build there. - Schools - The schools in our community are already overcrowded and underfunded. The addition of 580 units worth of children to this system will severely impact these 2 resources. There is no cost to the developer to provide for more classrooms and teachers. The cost of more schools will be put upon our community. But until more schools are built our children will be stuck in overcrowded conditions. This will reduce property values. Good schools that are not overcrowded is a major draw to people looking to move to Spokane Valley. - Roads - The existing two-lane roadways surrounding this parcel are inadequate to handle the additional traffic that would be generated by such a large high-density development at that location. I am not anti-development but I do think that development should be completed in locations that are not going to have substantial adverse impacts to the people living in them in the future or the community in which they are located. Just because someone is able to purchase a property very inexpensively (because it is a flood plain) does not give them the right to make a profit at the expense of everyone else. Please do the responsible thing and vote to not allow residential development (especially high- density) at this location. I request that this email be included in the minute of the next city council meeting. Thank you for your consideration Marcia Sands 10618 E Ferret Dr. Spokane Valley, WA 99206 3