2016, 07-05 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL
MEETING STUDY SESSION
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley, Washington
July 5,2016
Attendance:
Councilnnembers Staff
Rod Higgins,Mayor Mark Calhoun,Deputy City Manager
Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Caty Driskell, City Attorney
Caleb Collier, Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney
Pam Haley, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director
Ed Pace, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks &Recreation Director
Sam Wood, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director
Mark Werner, Police Chief
Steve Worley,Capital Improvement Program Mgr.
Morgan Koudelka, Sr.Administrative Analyst
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Conncilmembers were present.
ACTION ITEMS:
1. Sullivan Road Bridge,Max J. Kuney Centennial Trail Change Order—Eric Guth
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to authorize the Acting City Manager or his
designee to execute Change Order No. 11 to Max J. Kuney's construction contract for the Sullivan Road
West Bridge Replacement Project in the amount of$104,016.12 for Phase 2 of the Centennial Trail
realignment work and approve the resulting total contract amount of$12,866,566.46. Mr.Guth explained
the necessity for the change order as noted in his Request for Council Action form,as well as his explanation
last week. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In
Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
2. Seth Woodard Sidewalk Project#0234 Bid Award—Steve Worley
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to award the Seth Woodard Sidewalk Project, CIP
#234 to Cameron Reilly, LLC in the amount of 8335,026.00 and authorize the Acting City Manager to
finalize and execute the construction contract.Mr. Worley explained the project as noted in his Request for
Council Action Form. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by
Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
3. Mayoral Appointment: Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials—Mayor Higgins
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the Mayoral appointment of Mayor
Higgins to the Growth Management Steering Committee of Elected Officials for the remainder of 2016,
and to appoint all other current Councilmembers as voting alternates for the remainder of 2016. Mayor
Higgins explained the need for this appointment as noted in the Request for Council Action. Mayor Higgins
invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous.
Opposed:None. Motion carried.
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 1 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
4. Review of Lodging Tax Advisory Committee Goals and Priorities—Chelsie Taylor
Finance Director Taylor went over the information contained in the Request for Council Action form,
explaining that she is seeking input on the goals and priorities, to keep as they are, or to amend. Deputy
Mayor Woodard asked about what terms a bond purchase would be for $377,000 if that was used to buy
capital and over what period of time;also for$950,000 ; and Ms.Taylor explained that assuming a 30-year
bond at 4.5% would be about $6 million in net bond proceeds; and the $$550,000 would result in about
$8.5 million, so together it would be about$12 million. Deputy Mayor Woodard said there might be some
unusual requests maybe combining all funding; but that the$377,000 is slated for exactly that purpose of a
capital project. Mr. Taylor noted that would require buy-off and recommendation of the Lodging Tax
Advisory Committee in order to bond those dollar amounts.
Councilmember Pace said regarding goal lc,instead of spending$330,000 for organizations,which include
their overhead for sports and advertising, he would like to start focusing on investing in capital facilities
that would draw in people;for goal 2,lie would like to re-focus back on heads and beds,said that restaurants
and retail have peaks which can't be measured,but you can measure heads in beds and said the hotelhnotel
community would support that;for goal 4,he would like to stick with that,and for example,Valleyfest,he
said they didn't have any heads in beds data and said some main hotel/motels indicated they never get
lodging nights for people coming to Valleyfest; he said he feels it is time to stop giving them money and
move on as Valleyfest should be supported by businesses and individuals. For goal 5,Councilmember Pace
said he would like to focus on that 20% to get some other events that will not compete with but would
instead complement Valleyfest.Concerning Valleyfest,Councilmember Pace said he thinks the City should
give them free use of the park and staff to set up and clean up and help run things, including the assistance
of the police,as well as fee use of CenterPlace for breakfasts,etc.,and support Valleyfest that way.He said
he would also like to move in the direction of putting all that money into capital investment. Deputy Mayor
Woodard said he would like to bring back the symphony to our parks, and perhaps combine the arts in the
green type of event;or maybe even a theater in the park to attract people here.Mr.Calhoun said Ms.Taylor
will be bringing this back to Council the end of July, and she will take these six goals, and based on
Councilmember comments,will track the changes for Council's review, so Council can collectively make
sure we have Council's intentions.
5. Washington State Department of Transportation(WSDOT)Call for Projects;Innovative Safety Program
—Steve Worley
Capital Improvement Program Manager Worley said that call for projects represents an opportunity for
some grant funding for projects to reduce fatal and serious injury collisions on public roads, by using
innovative safety improvements; said that the Highway Safety Improvement Program awarded us funds in
2014 to install retroreflective borders on traffic signal backplates at ten signalized intersections that had the
highest crash rates; said staff reviewed the grant criteria for this call and determined that the City can
continue this effort to install more backplates at several more intersections. Mr. Worley said that even in
situations when the electricity goes out, headlights reflect off the backplates thereby making drivers aware
of the intersection, even without electricity; and he directed Council's attention to the accompanying map
showing fourteen locations for these potential backplates.Mr.Worley added that Spokane County performs
the maintenance for us via contract. Deputy Mayor Woodard said he thinks 16"' and Highway 27 should
also be a high priority because of the high speeds of drivers. Mr. Worley said he will examine that
intersection. Councilmember Wood mentioned the stop sign poles with red reflectors and asked if that
project would be a part of this, and Mr. Worley said he will also examine that possibility and will let the
Senior Traffic Engineer know of that suggestion for when this comes back next week. There was Council
consensus to bring this item forward to the next Council meeting.
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 2 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016
6.Public Safety Goals-Law Enforcement—Moran Koudelka, Cary Driskell
Mr.Koudelka explained that this agenda item is in follow up to the March 15 Council workshop, as well
as the June 7 meeting discussion; he explained the process in coming up with these goals, and that the
intended purpose is to address what we heard as major concerns from Council regarding law enforcement;
and is intended to help as Council identifies goals; said tonight's discussion is not intended to steer Council
is any specific direction;and Council should feel free to eliminate,add,and change as Council sees fit.Mr.
Koudelka said after discussion of each goal,he will turn to Mayor Higgins to see if Council concurs on that
particular goal, or desires to make a change or eliminate the goal; and said we can have even more
discussion or if more information is needed,the goal can be set aside and readdressed later.
Goal#1: Contract Length: Mr. Koudelka said staff was not ignoring Council when some said they did not
want the auto renewal;but in listening to comments,he thought the major concerns were being locked into
a long-term agreement with no way out, or have it renew without Council review;but he left auto-renewal
in because of the importance of that service and of the thought that it is beneficial to have that ability if
Council is happy with the service, it would be very simple to continue that service and ensure that.
continuity; regarding the range of 18 to 24 months rolling termination, if the County were to abruptly
terminate, we'd be completely unprepared and would like more time to prepare for that transition; so he
suggested leaving the term open would give staff an opportunity to negotiate with the County.
Councilmember Pace said the auto-renewal as well as regular reviews is important; and Deputy Mayor
Woodard agreed that the auto-renewal only becomes a problem if we don't discuss the contract before the
auto renewal; and Councilmernbers agreed they liked the second point under the goal of "evaluation
presented to Council periodically or prior to term expiration." Mr. Driskell added that they tried to focus
on the principles voiced by Council in various comments and if the concern is to have the ability to get out
if the contract is not working, then we could include some report annually on the functionality of the
contract so Council gets some discussion annually along with a closer understanding of how the contract is
working;and said Council could even include that in their Governance Manual if so desired.Mayor Higgins
said Council wasn't aware the last time this renewed so with the goal as stated, this alleviates that issue.
There was Council consensus to keep Goal#1 as stated.
Goal #2: Vehicle Color: Mr. Koudelka said that the existing ice blue is no longer a stock option so he
recommends light blue metallic; said regarding the cost to paint,the Sheriffs Office repainted at a low-cost
paint shop for less than $2000,and they did a decent job, although not the highest standard, so$6,000 was
the average from a variety of paint shops; lie said the vehicles already have unique equipment and decals,
and he proposes working with the existing colors, and as the ice-blue goes out of use, we'd have all light
blue. Deputy Mayor Woodard said while he prefers the light blue metallic, it is not so much the color as
when vehicles are purchased,to make sure they coordinate,or even coordinate the units, and of having the
vehicle clearly marked Spokane Valley Police. Mr. Koudelka said part of the painting problem was the
decals; said the lettering for Spokane Valley Police is very large, nice striping,and there is a badge in front
of the letters, so overall it is very recognizable as a Spokane Valley police vehicle. There was Council
consensus to keep Goal#2 as stated.
Goal #3: Marked Cars: After Mr. Koudelka went over the information contained under this goal,
Councilmember Wood stated that he prefers to see the police traffic as a deterrent instead of toying to catch
people, and would like to see traffic with marked cars. Councilmember Collier agreed and said there have
been incidents of people getting pulled over by unmarked cars that turned out not to be police;
Councilmember Pace also agreed and said the more marked cars one sees the safer one feels.Mr.Koudelka
further explained that one of the duties of traffic is to fill requests for traffic assistance in neighborhoods.
There was Council consensus to keep the Goal#3 as stated with the removal of"traffic" from unmarked,
to clearly marked.
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 3 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016
Goal#4: Officer Uniforms: There was brief discussion about this goal of having a uniform with perhaps a
less-military, softer approach; and Council liked the idea of having the ad-hoc committee comprised of
Spokane Valley Police Officers. Deputy Mayor Woodard mentioned that officers are given an annual
uniform allowance,and an option would be as the old uniforms wear out,to work in the newer uniforms as
part of a normal uniform replacement. There was Council consensus to keep Goal#4 as stated.
Goal #5: Dedicated Officers: Mr. Koudelka explained that while we have 107.5 officers, category three
officers fluctuates and is therefore, inconsistent in the number;that as much as possible, we want a fixed
number which will help control costs, budget, predictability, stability, and continuity of supervision and
keep officers more closely in line with customer service; said this would require some negotiation with the
Sheriff's Office. Councilmember Wood said he would like a roster of those dedicated positions.There was
Council consensus to keep Goal #5 as stated.
Goal #6: Citizen Oversight: Mayor Higgins asked that this be deferred in light of current events, which
could even make this goal moot. Council concurred.
Goal#7:Cost Methodology: Mr.Koudelka suggested the development of a simple cost methodology would
make the contract easier to understand and administer, and lie noted that the cost is based on two-year old
costs, which generally results in a large settle and adjust at the end of the year. Councilmember Wood
asked if this would aggressively address overtime,and Mr.Koudelka indicated it would. There was Council
consensus to keep Goal#7 as stated.
Goal#8: Public Safety Department: as noted,this goal will be discussed at a future council meeting as part
of an agenda item on Spokane Valley Municipal Code 2.45.
Goal #9: City Control of Police Chief: after brief discussion, including mention by Mr. Calhoun that his
predecessor met weekly with department directors, including the Police Chief, and that he continues that
practice as well,there was Council consensus to keep Goal#9 as stated.
Goal #10: Public Information: Mr. Koudelka said there is a need to make sure this is done quickly and
correctly;that we will rely upon our Chief to make sure we are represented in times of emergency, and in
non-emergencies, the Sheriff' Office will coordinate with the City Manager and our Public Information
Officer and Police Chief prior to release of information,which will ensure that any information that includes
us is a fair representation of us and a quality message delivered.There was Council consensus to keep Goal
#10 as stated.
Goal #11: Contract Performance: Mayor Higgins asked if this goal is close to goal#7, and Mr. Koudelka
replied that it is related to cost, and separated base on how we determine those costs; adding that he is not
sure if there is final agreement yet. There was Council consensus to keep Goal #11 as stated.
Goal#12: S.C.O.P.E. Services: Mr. Koudelka stated that S.C.O.P.E. volunteers are a great resource;they
have limited commission, get training, and are visible; and they want to be filly used and would gladly
accept more duties as they want to be in an area where services are really needed, which is right here in
Spokane Valley.There was Council consensus to keep Goal#12 as stated.Councilmember Wood suggested
that perhaps we could get the Spokane Valley S.C.O.P.E. cars marked as Spokane Valley.
Goal#13:Regular Police Department Updates to Council: There was Council consensus to keep Goal#13
as stated.
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 4 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016
Mr.KoudeIka said that he will address those other two goals at a future date,and will formalize these. Mr.
Calhoun added that we have a good idea of what to cavy to the County to initiate discussions with the
Sheriffs Office and with the County's CEO; and that staff will return to Council after those discussions.
Councilmember Pace said he would like to add three more goals.Councilmember Pace's Goal 1: make part
of the performance measure, a crime-free city with zero tolerance for drug related offenses. There was
discussion about what crime-free means and how would we be zero-tolerant. Mr. Koudelka suggested
incorporating that into goal#11. There were no objections.
Councilmember Pace's Goal 2: develop a measure of officer morale; said he is not suggesting that we tell
people they will have good morale; but morale starts with leadership at the top, and we should have a goal
that our City has the highest morale;that maybe that's part of goal#11;said there are indicators like overuse
of sick leave or inappropriate behavior; and Coumcihnember Haley added turnover rate could also be an
indicator of morale. There were no objections.
Councilmember Pace's Goal 3: said the Spokane Valley wages through some kind of bonus or to be
negotiated,should be set so they are based on salary surveys that include our neighboring cities like Spokane
and Coeur d'Alene; and also include cities all over of similar size; said he feels our officers should be paid
the same as the City of Spokane's officers; said he realizes this is controversial, but we have people who
leave and go to the City of Spokane.
Deputy Mayor Woodard said with our Sheriff Officers, some work as our police and some work in the
unincorporated area,and that could be a problem within a contract to have officers with different rates,and
would probably make morale decline. Mr.Koudelka added that for our contract,we are looking at possible
measures for contract performance; that the staffing level will always have some people out, whether for
training, sick leave or other time off; that there is a difficulty in recruiting and retaining; there are some
lateral changes but also a lot of people coming up on retirement which he would prefer to address as soon
as possible;said we have a new Chief so we should talk to him and consider all options;maybe some salary
pay differential or other incentives that would allow us to operate at peak levels; also we don't collectively
bargain with labor; we want the best servicing us but would like the opportunity to discuss some options
and bring those back; and suggested he could check to see if the Board of County Commissioners would
like a joint meeting;that overall he would like to get a better feel for what they are or are not willing to do;
keeping in mind that the staffing level is a serious situation that he would like to address as soon as possible.
Mr.Calhoun said he understands the idea, but we need to realize there is a cost implication to the City;that
we are in the process of preparing a 2017 budget which we will deliver at or below the 1% goal for the
general fund for 2017;but this sort of move would likely make that absolutely impossible; and there is risk
of putting funds into revenues without compromising other services the city historically delivers;however,
if there is Council consensus,we can carry that idea forward in our discussions with the County,recognizing
that it is a negotiation item. hi response to a Council concern of why the officers leave,Mr. Koudelka said
the Chief tells him the reason why the officers leave: some because of benefits, sometimes the individual
is not cut out for the work, sometimes due to retirement, sometime the family moves elsewhere; said there
are a variety of reasons; and sometimes it does go back to the morale issue; that certainty in jobs helps
morale.
Deputy Mayor Woodard said he is inclined to be against this last goal; that we need to let staff encompass
these and we will know in a year with the potentially new performance criteria; that this item might be
micromanaging, and lie would rather leave that to staff. Mayor Higgins agreed and said we are trying to
hold down costs and not encroach on the County's business. Councilmember Wood agreed and said this
does tread into County business, and perhaps this might be discussed during a budget workshop next year,
but now isn't the time for this goal. There was no Council consensus on Councilmember Pace's third goal.
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 5 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016
7. Second Extension of Mining Moratorium Erik Lamb .
Deputy City Attorney Lamb went over the background for a second extension of the renewal of the
moratorium on mining, which was outlined in the Request for Council Action Form; said there will be a
public hearing next week and a more detailed report then, but tonight he wanted to give Council more
background on this unique type of land use.
8.Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins
Councilmember Pace mentioned the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC) and the total $60,000 for
advertising CenterPlace: $30,000 from LTAC and another$30,000 from the general fund;said he hopes to
set a goal to use that LTAC funding for marketing CenterPlace instead of just advertising, and to develop
a brand and value proposition and marketing strategy and plan for CenterPlace; said he is now convinced
that CenterPlace is an asset so we should go beyond just advertising, and should market it as well. Mr.
Calhoun explained that historically the $30,000 dedicated to advertising from the general fund, and with
another supplement of$30,000 from LTAC, we don't have to run that through LTAC since it was done
historically, but if we took that LTAC allocation and re-purposed it away from advertising to develop a
marketing plan,we would have to apply for LTAC funds; or we could look at using the LTAC$30,000 for
advertising and look at our own$30,000 to marketing plan.Councilmember Pace said that was his intention.
9. Information Items (a) Spokane Regional Transportation Management Center Interlocal; and (b)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Policy were for information only and were not reported or discussed.
10. Council Comments-Mayor Higgins
Mayor Higgins extended thanks to Mr. Koudelka and Mr. Calhoun for their work on the law enforcement
goals; and Mr. Calhoun also extended his thanks to Mr. Driskell.
11.Acting City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun
Mr. Calhoun noted that there will be a bid opening this Friday July 8 for the Pines and Mirabeau signal
project, and in this instance due to the timing factor, he is recommending bringing that motion bid award
to the July 12 Council meetings. There were no objections.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
/--------:.,-...--
j _
4" .- 0
ATTES L.R.Big: u or
'' / oiiL
G
Christine Bainbridge,City Clerk
Council Study Session:07-05-2016 Page 6 of 6
Approved by Council:07-26-2016