2015, 10-20 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
STUDY SESSION FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley,Washington
October 20,2015 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Dean Grafos,Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney
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 John Hohman, Community Development Dir.
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Pro Tern 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.
AMENDED AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to
approve the amended agenda.
ACTION ITEM: . - - • =. _ ••• • --••-• -• • • • -• •. Removed from the agenda)
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
2. Library Services Update—Managing Librarian Aileen Luppert, and Community Librarian Sheree West
Managing Librarian Aileen Luppert and Community Librarian Sheree West went through their PowerPoint
presentation explaining some of the various and many aspects of the services offered by the library,as well
as some upcoming services planned for the near future.
3. Washington State Prevailing Wage-Cary Driskell, and Legal Intern Matt Dowgin
City Attorney Driskell introduced Mr. Matt Dowgin, our City's Legal Intern and second year law student.
Mr. Dowgin gave an overview of what the prevailing wage is, how it is calculated, what it applies to, who
is entitled to the prevailing wage and four situations when less than the prevailing wage may be applied;
and recent successful and unsuccessful legislative activity.
4. Proposed Contracting and Purchasing Code Amendments—Cary Driskell and Erik Lamb
After Mr.Driskell and Mr.Lamb briefly went over the sections of the proposed ordinances,Council agreed
to omit the $7,500 amount and stay with the $15,000 amount for new section 7 of the proposed ordinance
dealing with chapter 3.30 of our municipal code. Mr. Driskell also mentioned that these ordinances, if
approved, would likely have an effective date of May 1, 2016, thereby allowing time for staff training.
Council concurred to bring these ordinances back for a first reading at an upcoming Council meeting.
5. Proposed Legislative Agenda—Mike Jackson
Mr.Jackson noted that a newly revised legislative agenda has been placed at Councils' seat at the dais,and
that those redline revisions are based on new Council input. Mr. Jackson explained that in discussing this
with Ms. Briahna Murray (nee Taylor), the adoption of this legislative agenda will be on the Council's
December 8 agenda as Ms. Murray will be meeting with local legislators Dec 9th, thereby making it more
convenient for her travelling; and said there is ample time for changes if Council desires. After briefly
reviewing the two Legislative Agenda items, Mr. Jackson mentioned that Ms. Murray came up with the
idea of having "Policy Statements" as a separate document from the legislative agenda; he said these
Council Study Session: 10-20-2015 Page 1 of 2
Approved by Council: 10-27-2015
statements would help take out the "guesswork" for when Briahna meets with legislators, in that she will
know our City's stance on various policies.
Concerning the Transportation Funding Request legislative agenda item,Mr.Jackson said we should know
by the end of the year if the TIGER(Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery)Grant is
successful; said we are asking for $21 million and that figure won't change, and if something needs to
change, he said we could change other parts of the equation. For the Lien Authority legislative item, Mr.
Jackson explained that the majority of these issues are cleaned up by the property owner; that there are
some who end up being taken to court and then they are ordered to clean up the property; and there is a
small group who don't pay, so the City goes in and pays for these cleanings; he said there is about$40,000
in outstanding claims that citizens have never paid back,which means all taxpayers are paying for this; and
he said we feel the property owner should be responsible so we are asking for a first lien authority. Mr.
Jackson also mentioned that a$2,000 cap was added last year. Mr.Jackson said if Council has other items,
we could add them later since this isn't coming up for a motion until the December 8`h Council meeting.
Councilmembers also discussed the Policy Statements,particularly those sections in red.Mr.Jackson added
that for many businesses, the L&I (Labor and Industries) rates are a significant expense; said Washington
State ranks 14th in the rate they charge for L&I so it is fairly high; adding that if an employee files for L&I
compensation, that L&I usually works in favor of the employee. Mayor Grafos said he would support
reform of L&I but is not in favor of eliminating it; Councilmember Gothmann said he has no problem with
L&I being handled by private insurance, and several other Councilmembers nodded in agreement.
Councilmember Gothmann also stated that the issue of right-to-work is usually decided by a vote of the
people and again,several other Councilmembers nodded in agreement. Mr.Jackson said he would research
these issues and provide more background material for the next discussion. It was also noted that the
"Legislative Agenda" and the "Policy Statements" are two separate documents. Councilmember Wick
mentioned that the topic of oil trains was discussed at the Chamber of Commerce meeting at the behest of
the Fire District, and said he would support efforts for further rail safety. Other Councilmembers agreed.
6. Advance Agenda—Mayor Grafos
Councilmember Wick suggested, and other Councilmembers concurred,to have a representative from the
Chamber of Commerce come to a future Council meeting to further discuss their Big 5 issues.
7. Council Comments—Mayor Grafos There were no additional Council comments.
8. City Manager Comments—Mike Jackson
Mr. Jackson explained that Public Works Director Guth had previously discussed the re-routing of the
Centennial Trail, and that staff would be obtaining an estimate on that project. Mr.Jackson said it is likely
that the amount will exceed his change-order authority and he would like Council to be involved in that
process, and said the Finance Committee could make the decision; said in an effort to keep this project
moving without delay, Mr. Jackson asked if Council would agree to invoking that portion of Council
procedures to allow him to receive approval from the Finance Committee once the dollar figure is known,
and that he would make Council aware after the fact. Council agreed.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:07 p.m.
ATTE T: Dean Grafos,Mayor
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Study Session: 10-20-2015 Page 2 of 2
Approved by Council: 10-27-2015
Spokan e�
jValley.
2016 DRAFT Legislative Agenda
Transportation Funding Request—Barker Road/BNSF Grade Separation (overpass/underpass)
The City of Spokane Valley supports identifying future funding opportunities for the Barker Road/BNSF
Grade Separation project. As the state experiences an increase in rail traffic, this particular intersection will
become increasingly congested and dangerous. This project will separate vehicle traffic from train traffic and
remove the at-grade rail crossing. The total anticipated cost is $29.2 million. The City has secured $5.84
million from the Washington State Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board and the project has been
identified as regionally significant by the Inland Pacific Hub Study. The City is able to contribute $1.294
million. Contribution from BNSF is $346,000 and from the 2009 Earmark is $720,000. The City is seeking
$21 million in future funding for the Barker Road/BNSF Grade Separation. Additional benefits include:
Improve the Level of Service(LOS)of'F' at this intersection, allowing for new development in the industrial-
zoned portion of the City; improve emergency access; and help to address concerns about coal trains,including
impeded traffic flow, increased whistle noise, and train-vehicle conflict safety.
Additional Authority to Recoup Code Enforcement Costs
The City of Spokane Valley seeks legislation to provide cities with additional tools to recoup costs for
enforcing code compliance when a court order has been issued and a city performs the abatement itself or
through a contractor. In particular,the city supports establishing first priority lien authority to assist in the cost
recovery.
The City supports the Association of Washington Cities'legislative agenda items
that serve the best interests of Spokane Valley.
Policy Statements-2016 Legislative Session
This document is an internal document designed to provide guidance to City staff and the City's lobbyist. The
policy statements in this document allow the City to quickly take positions on legislation. It is not all inclusive
of all policy positions that the City may take throughout a session.
Prevailing Wage — Spokane Valley supports reforming state prevailing wage statutes to the benefit of
business, including aligning state statutes with federal law. Spokane Valley would support revisiting HB 1455
which would allow cities to opt out of paying prevailing wages on certain projects.
Recreational Immunity—Spokane Valley supports legislation that extends recreational immunity to trails that
serve both a recreational and transportation purpose.
State-Shared Revenues—Spokane Valley supports maintaining funding for state-shared revenues. These funds
include the Liquor Excise Tax account, Liquor Profit Revenues, Streamlined Sales Tax Mitigation, Municipal
Criminal Justice Assistance Account, and City-County Assistance Account.
Marijuana Lounges — Spokane Valley supports the statewide ban on marijuana clubs/lounges. The City
opposes any legislation removing or altering this ban.
/d Q'r-
Right-to-Work—Spokane Valley would support legislation that would make Washington a Right-to Work
State allowing employees to choose if they wish to be represented by a union.
B&O(Business and Occupation)Tax—Spokane Valley would support a reduction or removal of State B &0
tax to make Washington more competitive and business friendly.
L&I(Labor and Industries)—Spokane Valley would support reform to L& Ito make it more efficient and
more business-friendly.