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2017, 12-05 Study Session MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING STUDY SESSION Spokane Valley City I lair Council Chambers Spokane a l l ey, Washington December 5, 20[7 AUendrinee: Councilmernbers Staff Rod I liggins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Arne Woodard,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney Pam I Ialey, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Ed Pace, Councilmember Erik T.amh, Deputy City Attorney Brandi Pcctz, Councilmember Gloria Manta, Engineering Manager Linda Thompson, Councilmember Morgan Koudelka, Sr, A in, Analyst Sam Wood, Councilmcmber John Pietro, Administrative Analyst John Whitehead, Human Resources Manager l .il]Hclbig, City Engineer Henry Allen, Senior Engineer Elisha Heath, Executive Assistant Carolbelle Branch, Public information Officer Mark Werner, Police Chief Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor lliggins called the meeting [ea order at 6:00 p.m. and welcomed the two new Council members, ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll, all Councilmcmbcrs were present. _ Resolution Updating Insurance and Health Related Benefits John Whitehead Human Resources Manager Whitehead explained that Council periodically reviews and amends the City resolution concerning benefits;that the City was informed by the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Benefits Trust,that the medical plans currently offered to City Councilmcmbcrs will terminate at the end of 2017. Deputy Mayor Woodard asked about some kind of an 1 IRA (I lealth Reimbursement Account) to help compensate for some of the differentials, and Mr. Whitehead explained that the health plans for employees changed in 2013, and at that point a Health Reimbursement Arrangement was initiated, which provides a certain amount of money to help offset some of the changes in benefi[s; he said it is not a health savings account, but rather a health reimbursement. arrangement. Deputy Mayor Woodard asked if this change will make it so Council will now have the same coverage as employees,and therefore,would council also get that ]IRA. Mr, Calhoun said the[ the employee gotip went to the new plans in 2013, which represented a reduc[ion in benefits, and to help mitigate that in part, an I IRA was established with a rate of $400 for a full family under the then Group Health Plan,and $750 under the Asuris plan;and that we would do the same with Council when this goes into effect in January, and as Deputy Mayor Woodard asked,said that will be reflected in the resolution for next week's Council meeting. 2. Sidewalk Snow Removal Implementation—Cary Driskell, Elisha Heath City Attorney Driskell went through the PowerPoint presentation explaining that tonight is an opportunity to provide council and the public with information about staff's efforts to implement the recently-adopted City Code provisions about sidewalk snow and ice removal requirements; he explained about some of-the hazards to the public dealing with accumulated snow and ice on pub]is sidewalks;briefly went through the history of the adoption process, and of the unified approach in solving the problem of clearing the snow after the City plows have come through, Mr. Driskell also explained that the City Manager has authority to Council Study Session: 12-05-2017 Page I oil Approved by Council; 12-19-20.17 declare periods of amnesty during significant snow events; and stressed that this implementation only applies to Tier I areas, which inc]ude all commercially-zoned areas and Safe Routes to Schools; and he mentioned that depositing snow and ice so as to obstruct vehicle or pedestrian traffic is still a misdemeanor under separate Code provisions; he discussed the violations and associated fires, and that residential violators are permitted to raise a defense for a violation if certain requirements are met regarding age and/or physical limitations. Councilmember Wood said the word "obstruct" doesn't clarify if for him and questioned if it is permissible to deposit small amounts of snow into the street.. Mr, Dr iskel[ explained that residents are strongly discouraged from pushing any snow into the street; that there are some areas where it is physically impossible to place snow elsewhere, so he would ask in those situations, that snow be deposited as close to the curb as possible. Councilmember Wood asked about changing the word"obstruct" and Mr_ Driskell said that didn't change as it is in the criminal code and state law. Mr. Driskell said police are not looking for reasons to ticket people; that we want compliance, and that we will not go after people who are not able to remove the snow and ice. Ms. Heath then explained about the implementation and training of administrative staff for responding to calls; that the City sent out 7,147 letters and accompanying materials, notifying occupants in Tier I of the new requirements; and that.staff received 104 calls and 12 emails with questions or comments, which she explained represents a very small percentage of citizen comments_ Mr. Driskell said some calls were questions about whether [lre caller was in Tier 1 or not, and if they would hai'e to comply. Mr_ Driskell mentioned the shared use pathway and questions concerning who is responsible for that maintenance. Mr. Driskell said when that pathway issue came u[about ten years ago,staff held some open houses to explain about the path, and that questions was asked then about maintenance responsibility; and said the City at that time said there was no present requirement for citizens to do any kind of maintenance, but that Council would look at that in the future and make a determination city-wide; which he said is what we have just done; so it is appropriate that these requirements apply to that Shared Ilse Path as well. Mr. Driskell said there were also questions about clearing the Centennial `frail, and we responded that. the Trail is not a sidewalk and therefore does not fall under this provision. In response to Councilmember I laley's question about resources for helping citizens clear the sidewalks, Ms_ I feath said Catholic Charities is one resource, that the person must be at least 65, and that Catholic Charities will clear the sidewalk but will not clear driveway berms; and the Washington State Missionary Office for the LDS Church is also a resource, and wilt assist regardless of age, Ms. Heath said calling 2-1-1 is still an option but those manning that phone system lack resources. Councilmember Wood asked if the emails and calls were positive or negative,, and Ms. Heath said many people were unhappy. Councilmember Wood also noted that part of the mason for implementing this is that$500 fine which needed to be remedied, and with this change that fine is $52. Mr. Driskell said that the previous fine was highly disproportionate; and this new regulation is a good solution to a problem without raising taxes, but yet allow sidewalks to be cleared. Deputy Mayor Woodard mentioned ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) as potential groups that might have threatened to sue if we were not making a reasonable attempt to keep the walkways clear. Mr. Driskell said the plan is to give a warning before imposing any penalty, which will also be another opportunity for education, and City Manager Calhoun noted that those fines would go into the street fund and not the general fund. 3 Police Precinct Lease Agreement—John Pietro Administrative Analyst Pietro briefly explained the background of this aagz-eement between us and Spokane County as [hey lease part of our city-owned building,the Police Precinct; he said the current lease expires the end of this year. Mr. Pietro said other than the upcoming termination of the agreement, the purpose of this addendum is to more accurately reflect the percentage of space occupied by the County, as the County occupies 15% of the space, rather than the previously stated 44%_ Mr_ Koudelka noted that some of the space in that building is used by SCOPE personnel, and there are other areas we did not account for, such as some of the holding area,and said that is more about a good neighbor approach; but the 15%is primarily used by the Court. It was mentioned about an automatic renewal, and Mr. Koudelka said this is a little different situation then some of the contracts we have with the County, since this is us renting space to Council Study Session: 12-05-2.017 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-14.2017 them. Mayor I liggins said it would he nice if Council was appraised when that the contract is about to renew unless we do something; and Mr. Koudelka said staff will be happy to do that, arid as well supply any other information Council would like, 4. Commute"Trip Reduction—Morgan Koudelka Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka explained [hat ails is the next version of the Commute Trip Reduction agreement we have with Spokane County; he explained than, there are no substantive changes from the previous agreement; the agreement is for two years and expires June 20, 2019; and since the program would be administered by the County, the County would retain the City's state-appropriated funds of 3,519,30. There were no objections from Council to move this forward to next week's meeting agenda for a motion consideration.. 5. Solid Waste Drop Box Contra et with Sunshine and Waste Management Erik Lamb, Morgan Koudelka, Henry Allen Deputy City Attorney Lamb went over the background of our solid waste program, an almost two-year process which culminated in collection services contracts with. Sunshine Disposal and Waste Management,. which will take effect April.2018; he explained that since May, staff has been working to finalize the non- exclusive contracts for drop-box services with those same Iwo entities; he said originally Waste Connections was included in those operations,but they determined that since they did not have established operations already in existence, it would not he cost effective for theme. Mr, lamb said staff now seeks Council consensus for a motion consideration on the December 12, 2017 Council agenda, for Council to consider approval of the contracts with Sunshine and Waste Management for Solid Waste Box Drop Collection Services. Council gave their consensus for staff to move forward with this item for next week's Council agenda. 6. Street Standards Update—Gloria Mantz, Henry Allen Via the PowerPoint presentation, Senior Engineer Allen explained the, basics of the Street Standards, including what is required,our last updates,the purpose of the revision being proposed and of the upcoming Timeline Io make these revisions. Ms. Manly explained that the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has requested these updates 10 the Maintenance Responsibility Section of those standards to ensure that infrastructure funded with federal funds is adequately cared for; and she mentioned that other changes are necessary to address changes to implementation of the Standards and to the City's organizational structure which was changed in early 2017- There was brief discussion about the F1-LWA having control over the assets we put in place and of any time limits we might he facing from them concerning us being and keeping in compliance. City Attorney Driskell said he is not aware of any specific timeframe but like the sidewalks, we must keep them open and usable for the public;he said the FI 1WA would not come out and inspect, but in the event there was some injury, people would look to see if we are in compliance with maintenance, Council agreed to move 1.his forward. 7, Federally Funded Properties, Acquisition Requirements Gloria M.a.ntz, Bill 1-lelbig City Engineer Helbig greeted Council,and said he just started working here three weeks ago,and be yielded the floor to Ms. Ma ntz. Engineering Manager Mantz went through the PowerPoint presentation giving an overview of the Right-of-Way Acquisition program, including discussion on the fundamentals, residential relocation, non-residential relocations, and acquisition examples as well as the Uniform Relocation Act minimum standards. Council thanked staff for the information. 8, Advance Agenda. •Mayor Higgins Although not an advance agenda item, Couneilmrcrrther Wood suggested for next year,that the Christmas tree in front of City I hill shocald be decorated with more lights and more decorations, and that we should also have lights on the City 1 Tall building and property,and said perhaps that would encourage others to do likewise, City Manager Calhoun. agreed, and said after the Christmas tree lighting, he gave his business Council Study Scssiov; 12-W-2017 Page 3 of 4 Aplmwed by Council; 12-19-2017 card to the Rotary Club president so they could talk about lights the City might purchase on behalf of the Rotary Club; said this year's fhcu,s was getting into the building, adding that we will also have a Christmas tree in the lobby alter tonight. 9, Council Check in—Mayor Higgins. Counoihnembcr Thompson expressed her appreciation for the help staff has shown to her, from the front desk and IT, and everyone and also expressed appreciation for Councihnembers reaching out to help; said after the election She attended a Veterans' Day program at Felts Field and said she encourages us to find ways to honor our veterans throughout the year; said sltc also attended some AWC (Association of Washington Cities) training last Saturday and it was very helpful. Deputy Mayor Woodard mentioned the upcoming program of Wreaths Across America,with a ceremony at Pines Cemetery, lo be held December 16- I0, City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun Mr. Calhoun said that in addition to next Tuesday's regular Council meeting here at 6 pm, there will also be a special meeting at 4 pm in the second floor conferenew room, to meet with our 4`r`District Legislators to communicate to them, our 2018 Legislative Agenda which Council adopted last November, and said he hopes all Councilmemhers will be able to attend, and that our lobbyists from Gordon Thomas Honeywell will be in attendance also. Mr_ Calhoun noted that our contract with our lobbyists expires the end of this year, and that contract is well within the City Manager's authority, at $55,000, which is included in our budget. it was moved by Deputy Mayor Woodard seconded and uracrnrnrously agreed to adjourn, The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m. ATT .S` I R. I Liggins,Mayor laristane-Bainbricl e,City Cie]. Council 5[rady Session: 12-05-2017 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 12-19-2017