2017, 01-03 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING
STUDY SESSION
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley, Washington
January 3,2017
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Rod Higgins,Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager
Arne Woodard, Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Caleb Collier, Councilmember [arrived 6:09 p.m.] John Holtman, Comm&Eco. Dev, Director
Pam Haley,Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney
Mike Munch, Courlcillnelnber Eric Guth, Public Works Director
Ed Pace, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks&Recreation Director
Sam Wood, Councilmember Morgan Koudelka, Sr.Administrative Analyst
Mark Werner,Police Chief
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
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 Councilmembers were present except
Councilmember Collier. Mayor Higgins mentioned that Councilmember Collier would be arriving a little
late.
ACTION ITEMS:
1. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 17-001 Amending SVMC 7.20 Alarm Systems—Morgan Koudelka
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title,it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded
to advance Ordinance 17-001 to a second reading. Mr.Koudelka gave a summary of the proposed changes,
which lie said included some re-numbering and a few grammatical edits; said this amendment would
eliminate all registration requirements and only have cost recovery fees assessed should an alarm occur and
be deemed false by the police;he mentioned that an amended fee resolution will be necessary, and that staff
continues working with the County on those fees. Deputy Mayor Woodard asked if the fee estimates would
be ready by the second reading,and Mr. Koudelka replied that he is not certain,but staff is working through
the cost estimates and that it might be toward the end of the month before we have those figures; he
mentioned that he has had some phone calls relative to this and he has been informing citizens that the fees
will remain as they are until changed. Mayor Higgins invited public comment. Mr. Tony Lazanis:
mentioned a letter he received a few days ago from the Police Chief that lie said sounds like lie has
everything finalized to charge a fee; said the County allows free false alarms but we don't here; said the
letter indicates if they come to your place, they'll charge you a fee, but it doesn't state how much. Mr.
Koudelka explained that this new system will be strictly cost recovery to recover the cost to send out an
officer to check the premises; said the County has a much higher false rate than we do; but the County is
joining us with this effort and will have the same fee structure. Mayor Higgins invited further public
comment. Gary Babcock: said he wished Council would get rid of this; that he was falsely accused one
time and they even sent him a letter and charged him $175, and said they had come to his house, but Mr.
Babcock said that they actually didn't. [Councilmember Collier arrived 6:09 p.m.]
In response to Deputy Mayor Woodard's question about the typical cost for residents, Mr. Koudelka
explained that he did an analysis earlier last year where he looked at the cost of responding, number of
response times, how long on site, the difference between residential and commercial, plus the cost of the
private vendor administering the program, as well as a bank accepting payments; said that was when we
came back and recommended reducing the fees and said he hopes to reduce those even further; that we
Council Study Session:01-03-2017 Page 1 of 3
Approved by Council:01-24-2017
want to make it easier, get rid of all the registration requirements, and will now have this in-house, it will
be through our police department with people familiar with the area who can follow-up if corrections are
necessary;and also taking into consideration such things as power outages,or windstorms;he said we won't
have a private vendor,and our police department will hear any appeal,and that there will be no appeal fees.
There were no further public comments. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous, Opposed: None.
Motion carried.
2. Motion Consideration: Mayoral Appointment Two Planning Commissioners—Mayor Higgins
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the Mayor's nomination for appointment
to the Planning Commission of Michelle Rasmussen for a three-year term beginning January 1, 2017 and
ending December 31, 2019. Mayor Higgins explained that although there are two vacancies, due to time
constraints he did not have an opportunity to interview the other applicants,and that this is a re-appointment
of Ms. Rasnmssen. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vole by
Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
3. Motion Consideration: Mayoral Appointment: Two Members to the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee
—Mayor Higgins
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the Mayoral appointments to the Lodging
Tax Advisory Committee of Lee Cameron for a term of two years; and of Scott Peterson for a term of two
years, with terms beginning Janualy 1, 2017. Mayor Higgins invited public comment;no comments were
offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
4.Motion Consideration: Mayoral Appointments: Councilmembers to Various Boards and Committees for
2017—Mayor Higgins
Deputy Mayor Woodard noted that in addition to those committee appointments listed, Councilmember
Sam Wood would also be appointed to the Health District Board. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor
Woodard and seconded to confirm the Mayoral appointments of Councihnnembers to the committees and
boards as listed.Mayor Higgins invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation:
In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried.
5. Motion Consideration: Appointments to and Charge of Library Ad Hoc Committee—Mark Calhoun
City Manager Calhoun briefly explained the background of the idea of forming the ad hoc committee, as
noted on his January 3, 2017 Request for Council Action form; and said that once approved, he would
contact Library District Director Nancy Ledeboer to get the meetings started. It was moved by Deputy
Mayor Woodard and seconded to confirm the,formation of the Library Ad Hoc Task Force with the charge
to research the library building concept and site; that the committee will sunset December 31, 2018, and
to confirm the committee appointments of Counncilmembers Rod Higgins and Arne Woodard; as well as
City Manager Mark Calhoun, City Attorney Cary Driskell, Community and Economic Development
Director Joint Holtman, and Parks & Recreation Director Mike Stone. Mayor Higgins invited public
comment.Mr.Tony Lazanis: suggested it would be nice if the people who get appointed would say a couple
of words so the public can see who they are.There were no other public comments. At the behest of Deputy
Mayor Woodard,the staff for this committee stood. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:
None. Motion carried.
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
6. GIS Enterprise License Agreement—Morgan Koudelka
Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka went over the information contained in his January 3, 2017
Request for Council Action form, giving a brief overview of what GIS is and what is does for us, such as
mapping, tables of information, and programs for analysis; said members of the public can access
information on such things as drywells and where they are located; the GIS will show all the streets,types,
traffic counts, pavement index rating, as well as street lights and replacement schedules; concerning land
use, said the use of the GIS makes the review process much more beneficial, and the public can access the
maps that show the land use simply by clicking on a parcel; he explained that this interlocal agreement is
Council Study Session:01-03-2017 Page 2 of 3
Approved by Council:01-24-2017
updated every four years, and going together with others saves money.A question arose about cost and Mr.
Koudelka said that the cost is set out in the agreement, but we pre-pay a year in advance; said that the other
entities wanted more licenses and they have different types of licenses that do more; so the total cost goes
up but our cost actually goes down since we don't have the special extensions or some of the other
enhancements. There was Council consensus to bring this forward for a motion consideration at an
upcoming Council meeting.
7. Pines Road Underpass Right-of-way Acquisition—Erie Guth
Public Works Director Guth went through his PowerPoint presentation explaining the Pines Road Grade
Separation project; he showed the realignment of Pines, said that the City agreed to purchase the vacant
property to protect it from being developed, adding that it would be more costly if the right-of-way were
purchased after development; he noted the potential right-of-way takes include the slope, retaining walls,
and future drainage Swale; and also mentioned as part of the negotiations with the owner, a boundary line
adjustment;he said the outcomes would mean that the new parcel would allow the construction of the road,
that the neighboring property could be developed, and that acquisition allows the project to move forward.
Councilmember Collier asked about having a cost analysis for the shown green, black and blue areas, and
Mr. Guth said he would caution against putting numbers to that as it would likely change, as this design is
very preliminary. There was also discussion about the cost per square foot of$7.50, and that the total area
of 62,669 square feet equates to approximately $470,000; which Mr. Guth said is within the budget of
$500,000 allocated.City Manager Calhoun noted that this will be included in the 2017 budget amendment;
and for next week, this will come before Council for approval consideration. Council concurred with
bringing this back next week for a motion consideration.
8. City Hall Update—Steve Worley
Standing in for Mr. Worley, Public Works Director Guth went through the PowerPoint presentation
showing the progress of the new City Hall building.
9. Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins
Councilmember Munch asked about having an update on the issue of snow removal from sidewalks, and
City Attorney Driskell said the committee met today, and he will prepare an administrative report for the
January 17 council meeting. There were no other suggestions for the advance agenda.
10. Council Check-in—Mayor Higgins
Council had no further comments.
11.City Manager Comments--Mark Calhoun
Mr. Calhoun mentioned he received an e-mail from lobbyist Briahna Murray regarding an update on
Senator Padden's water rights bill; Mr.Driskell said that the public hearing on that issue will be January 12,
from 8 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and that Ms. Murray requests staff and/or council come testify if possible. At
Mayor Higgins' request, and in an effort to support the bill, Mr. Driskell said lie will try to determine if
another venue can be used to testify other than going to Olympia in person.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:01 p.m. /� u
j 1
'ir 4111* . �
ATT L.R.Higg ns, uAr
ristine Bainbridge, City Clerk -
Council Study Session:01-03--2017 Page 3 of 3
Approved by Council:01-24-2017