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2019, 02-19 Special Meeting, Workshop MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING: WORKSHOP Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley, Washington February 19,2019 Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Rod Higgins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Pam Haley, Deputy Mayor John Hohman, Deputy City Manager Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Linda Thompson, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks &Roc Director Sam Wood, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Arne Woodard, Councilmember Bill Helbig, City Engineer Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst John Pietro,Administrative Analyst John Whitehead, Human Resources Manager Henry Allen, Senior Engineer Annie Gannon, Public Information Officer Matt Lyons, Police Inspector Mark Werner,Police Chief Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll, all Councilmembers were present. 1.Review of Public Safety Contracts—Morgan Koudelka, John Pietro, Chief Werner, Inspector Lyons After City Manager Calhoun gave an overview of the discussion topics, Mr. Koudelka gave a brief explanation about contracts, cost comparisons, and of the desire to bring Council up-to-date on developments that may impact the City in the future. a.Law Enforcement—Chief Werner, Inspector Lyons Inspector Lyons went through his PowerPoint presentation explaining current and future staff projections, dedicated commissioned positions, upcoming patrol staffing levels, recruitment efforts and results as well as efforts to increase the efficiency of processing applicants; outcomes of implementing the power shift; comparisons of calls for service;patrol hours worked; and the investigation's unit and its primary focus. There was discussion about recruiting,with Councilmember Thompson asking about a designated recruiter. Chief Werner replied that we do not have one dedicated recruiter, and Inspector Lyons added that there is a team of volunteers who do this in addition to everything else they do; they go to job fairs, Fairchild Air Force Base, the universities, and elsewhere. There was also discussion about educating the public about how the calls for service work, how they are prioritized, what is not a 9-1-1 call, and why all calls don't receive a response. Mr. Koudelka stated that we have a high level of service and we want that personal contact with impacted victims, but it would be nice to have some parameters or performance measures for customer service;that perhaps we could look at how we deal with those calls when they come in, and then work to educate the public so as to address any false expectations; that it would be great to solve all cases and recover all stolen articles, but in many cases,there simply isn't enough evidence to effectively pursue Special Council Meeting, Workshop:02-19-19 Page 1 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 the crime. Mr. Calhoun said perhaps we could set something on our home page website where it would be easy to find about how the priorities work;and to also include that information in the Hot Topics newsletter. Inspector Lyons said we want to be careful and not tell the public we'd never go to a certain type of crime; but most people are reasonable and will understand about the priorities. Discussion turned to recidivism; not just putting prolific criminals back on the streets, acknowledging we can't put everyone in prison; bail reform; trial process; sentencing guidelines; electronic monitoring; that some crimes could be considered victimless;flight risks versus harm to the community upon release; being released pending pre-trial, and that there are not enough jail cells. Mr. Driskell noted there will be further discussions later about incarcerations. Councilmember Peetz mentioned that Spokane has a pilot program for supervising property crimes, and she questioned if that would work for our city. Chief Werner said the issue goes back to the Department of Corrections (DOC) not supervising people who commit property crimes; he said he is not familiar with what Spokane is doing, but doing that kind of a program involves cost; and a space is needed for when people don't perform as they should; and said he feels the burden should fall back on the state since they are incarcerated under the DOC. Councilmember Peetz also mentioned officer training as she stated that she has heard complaints about lack of training,and she asked if the officer pays for the training. Chief Werner said to his knowledge,that is not the case; adding that they even allow trainers to use our facility for free classes; that if there were costs involved, those instances would have to be reviewed to determine if they are reimbursable; and said he is not aware of people who are paying for classes on their own without reimbursement. Inspector Lyons said they have revamped their employee evaluation and added a voluntary career development form; that if an officer expresses a certain interest, he said he would try to move them down that path with appropriate training. The meeting took a brief recess at 9:55 a.m. and reconvened at 10:01 a.m. Mr. Koudellca then went over the materials in the charts included in the packet materials, which compare Spokane Valley Enforcement to other similarly sized Washington cities. Mr. Calhoun noted that for our law enforcement contract, we are in the second year of a five-year contract, which contract includes a twenty-four month termination notice, so we will have an administrative report to Council January 2021, and with that, the topic moved to possible impact fees for example, apartments or large stores to handle some dedication of policing or security. Mr. Koudelka said there has not been thought to any impact fees specific to that type of development; but perhaps we would earmark some of the sales tax revenue for law enforcement; he also mentioned the idea of working with those large retailers to see if they or their loss preventive personnel might be interested in receiving some limited commissions;he said he'd like to see a balance between retailers and our resources so not all the burden would be on the City. There was some discussion about the City's dedicated officers, `pool' positions, and turnover, which is noted, is a country- wide problem. Councilmember Thompson again mentioned a dedicated recruiter, and that perhaps with several positions vacant, of spending some of those dollars not spent on officers,to a contracted recruiter, and Mr. Calhoun noted that is a discussion we could have in the future with Chief Werner and the Sheriff's Office to get more people here, and to address the idea of dedicated personnel to recruitment efforts. Mr. Koudelka explained the implementation of a new cost methodology, with the idea being we want to know as much as possible about our true costs, but also don't want to be penalized for our successes; said staff has been working on some of these aspects with the County budget office, and we asked for a couple corrections to the 2019 estimates, one of which was $3 million more than what we thought it should be; said estimates are derived on a full staff, but we are not paying for people not providing us services so we felt the estimate should be based on filled positions; adding that we always have a `settle and adjust' at the end of the year. Mr. Koudellca also noted Chief Werner is researching what generates the need for over- time, such as vacations or illnesses, and we have asked for monthly updates so we can work to reduce that and achieve more efficient staffing levels. Councilmembers Thompson and Woodard each mentioned the Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 2 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 idea of reduced housing for specific positions, but staff said they were not aware of those at the present; and it was mentioned we do not know if those HUD programs still exist. b. Detention Services City Attorney Driskell mentioned he has been on the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council for about four years,and that Chief Werner is also on that Council;that they have been asked to participate on a work group researching region-wide incarceration policies and to look at'big picture' concepts on pre-trial hold; he said the group will make a recommendation to the Facilities Committee which makes the recommendation to the larger council; said if we were to build a new jail, how would that function; they need to focus on a program on who and why they are in jail whether due to drug, mental health, or an interplay between those things;then give an idea of what such a facility would be like including how much would it cost to build and operate. Mr. Driskell said the existing facility opened in 1986 and doesn't allow for any programs,and monitoring inmates doesn't work well.He mentioned the Geiger facility at the airport area, which is really an old military facility; and that we will likely see a ballot measure before the end of the year as the existing downtown facility is heavily used and is over thirty year's old and suffering from some maintenance issues. There was some discussion about pre-trial misdemeanors and handling bookings in the valley, as well as transporting more than one person at a time; but it was also noted we do not have a holding facility in Spokane Valley. Mr. Koudelka said a question to consider is, what are we achieving on the turnaround release, and what do we want to achieve; that sometime it's a matter of getting accurate identification on these people, and exploring options. He said that the mental health issue consumes a huge amount of law enforcement officer's time; regarding a new jail, we don't know where a new proposed cost methodology would end up; that if there is a successful ballot measure, we could end up with something huge; that now we have options; and said the preference is to learn as much as we can within the next few months and come to Council with best solutions for moving forward. Mr. Calhoun also noted this topic is introductory and will be discussed further in the future. e.District Court In looking at the charts included in the Council packet, Mr. Koudelka said there is a coding issue now as the current code is incorrect which indicates we have a higher number; but comparing us to other cities,we are significantly lower. d. Public Defender; e. Prosecutor; f. Pretrial Mr.Koudelka noted we are the only city in the large cities that does not have an in-house prosecutor; that we have reached that point where perhaps we need a more tailored service,and maybe it is time to consider a dedicated prosecutor for Spokane Valley; and said this too could be a future Council topic. Mr.Koudelka mentioned pretrial and the variety of functions, as well as a risk assessment tool, and said without a tool, we don't know what kind of jail would be needed or how to address a jail population in order to provide better outcomes. Mr. Pietro added that a risk assessment is also a tool to help judges concerning whether to release someone, if they would likely re-offend,and/or return to court as scheduled. g. Emergency Management; h. Animal Control After briefly going over some of the information contained on the Emergency Management chart, Mr. Koudelka moved to the animal control information and mentioned our twenty-year contract with SCRAPS for animal control, which includes the cost of the new animal shelter. He explained that the County and SCRAPS have continued to have an unbalanced budget due to over spending,that the beginning costs were miscalculated,and some costs were not adjusted for inflation;said they over expended the budget for capital costs with $7 million for the shelter instead of the estimated $4.5 million; said when we negotiated this we wanted to make sure Spokane City didn't get a better deal than us, and there is a clause in the contract to address that; but it was discovered SCRAPS has not collected capital payments from the City of Spokane Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 3 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 for this entire period; he said we are willing to listen to discussion about how to make this sustainable in the future; but if they can't get Spokane to pay their fair share,then ifs a non-starter. Mr. Calhoun added that we are reaching a point in County discussions where we are almost ready to give Council an administrative report;and that this will end up as a policy discussion from Council on how to proceed;that we are only in year six of the twenty-year agreement. Mr. Koudelka said we are stewards of taxpayer dollars; that animals desire and should be treated humanely; but there is a great demand for taxpayer resources so we want to keep things in perspective;that they didn't ask us about a$7 million animal shelter, and they are now attempting to shift those costs on us, and said we are not acquiescent, although we understand some of the calculations were not accurate in the beginning, there is a need to reach a point where services and costs are fair and equitable for all. 2. General Fund,Fund Balance -Chelsie Taylor Finance Director Taylor went over the highlights of the memorandum explaining the process of our General Fund,fund balance,or reserves,and why we carry a minimum 50%,which she said takes into consideration cash flows and reflects a six month operating reserve, all as noted within the Memorandum included in the packet. 3. 2020 Budget Development Calendar—Chelsie Taylor Finance Director Taylor gave a brief review of the upcoming development of the 2020 budget, and noted among other dates, the Council's Budget Workshop is tentatively set for June 11. The meeting recessed at 11:25 for lunch, and reconvened at 12:06 p.m. 4. Waste and Recycle Update—Erik Lamb, Morgan Koudelka,Henry Allen Deputy City Attorney Lamb explained that Waste Management has requested some amendments to our contract even though we are only about ten months into its ten year term. He explained, as noted on the Request for Council Action form,that Waste Management has(1)requested a rate increase of$1.01 to the monthly rate of each residential customer to recover increased costs of recycling; (2) wants to impose a contamination service charge on persons with excessive recycling contamination; (3)wants changes made to the acceptable recyclables list, and (4) wants changes made to the contract language on recycling. Mr. Lamb explained that Waste Management indicated that the basis for the requested changes are due in part to the recycling market changes implemented by the Chinese Government. Via their PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Allen briefly went over the information on slide 3 showing the percentage composition by commodity, as well as the data for 2018, including the residual of 7.7%, which was explained includes anything not recyclable. As noted on slide 4, Mr. Lamb discussed Waste Management's request for change as well as the City's response, including that the rate change is not warranted,the rates were established from a competitive process,the contract is very new,per the contract the hauler bears the risk of market changes, and there are no clearly identified local impacts. Mr. Lamb noted Waste Management also wants to remove glass as well as several plastics, and explained that China has now placed limits on contamination, which must be so low that they effectively stop accepting recycling. Mr. Lamb noted that we do not want to be going through an annual process to try to evaluate recycling markets; although we recognize things are changing and he added that this is a partnership and . we want to work with them. Mr. Koudelka added that if we entertained some of these rate changes after Waste Management winning the bid, others could be unhappy; he said we want Waste Management to be successful and we understand there are issues with recycling, but our goal is to maintain low rates for our customers while preserving the service level; that if for example, Waste Management removed plastics numbered three through seven, if might be determined that those have very little value and represent a very small impact to our citizens; but we have to ask if we are caught up in recycling for the sake of recycling, or if there is net gain; is there value to this, or is it so cost, energy, and resource consuming that we will have a net loss. Mr. Koudelka said if we can see there's no get gain, we might be willing to consider that. Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 4 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 Mr. KoudelIta mentioned that they want glass in its purest form; that glass can be used as road fill, or in insulation or sandblasting so it can be re-purposed and kept out of the landfill;that if those possibilities are acceptable by the Department of Ecology, perhaps that would be something to consider; he said that glass is a very heavy commodity, and it would be our preference to open other markets for it; that if we removed it from recycling,the bigger impact is we don't have the volume;that we've been emphasizing that people can save money by recycling and therefore maybe reduce the size of the garbage container; but to depose of glass via garbage instead of recycling would have a big impact. Deputy City Attorney Lamb noted we relied heavily on an outside consultant through the procurement process,but that consultant will be retiring in June so we are considering getting a consultant to assist with the credibility of some of the issues, such as is the market failing for glass, and what are the secondary markets, and how can contamination be reduced. Mr. Lamb also noted we realize Waste Management has had some corporate challenges, but we want them to put the message out to our citizens about what our contract provides and what we want; he said we are looking at what kind of education we can use moving forward, and if we need to, we can put together an appropriate education program for such things as decontamination. Mr. Lamb also explained as noted on slide 5, that recycling works in a global economy and one change has rippling effects through the rest of the system; he noted glass has historically been a challenging commodity and not highly profitable; and he stated that it doesn't appear the glass market was impacted by the Chinese government even prior to our contract. Mr. Lamb explained that because glass breaks, it also contaminates other recycling,so staff is looking at glass to see if there are other options, such as not having a single source pickup, but doing that is also more effort and therefore lends to less public participation. Mr. Koudelka added that when Waste Management converted to single stream, China was accepting just about everything, so it was beneficial to the haulers to reduce the number of drivers and routes, and have a mechanical lift for one bin instead of the driver needing to get out,which also results in fewer injuries; but there would be an extra cost to revert back as it would mean slower and more routes. Mr. Koudelka said we have asked Waste Management to think about the entire picture: sorting at the facility,having material sorted at the curb, and how much that would reduce the cost. Mr. Lamb mentioned that the City of Spokane has issued an RFP (request for proposal) for someone to take glass so it will be interesting to see that response. As noted on slide 6, it was mentioned that there are proposed state legislative changes with at least fourteen bills being introduced, with Mr. Allen giving a very brief overview of some of the bills such as no straws and/or no plastics;adding that even if those were passed,we do not know how those bills would be enforced. Mr. Lamb said staff will continue to monitor these bills. Discussion ensued about recyclables, with Councilmember Woodard mentioning an article he saw about plastics and possible uses; he mentioned crushed glass could also be used in asphalt although he acknowledged that the Department of Transportation would need to approve that method; he added that he does not want to change our contract as we haven't been in it long enough. Councilmember Wick mentioned that our contract indicates they must take these items now,but what is the benefit to our citizens, and what are we gaining; and he too mentioned we are in the beginning of a ten-year contract and doesn't know if it is worth the time to spend researching commodity issues for glass when we have limited resources and limited staff. Mr. Koudelka explained that part of the limitations includes that the language in our contract makes it restrictive on what can be done; but there are also legal implications to consider as we don't want to put the City at risk; he said staff is trying to understand the reality of the issues and feel we need to do some fact-checking, adding that maybe a consultant could help provide some straight information for realistic options. Mr. Lamb stated that our contract mirrors state laws about items to be recycled and not disposed of as waste; that state law states that repurposing glass in roads doesn't fit into the definition; so are there other avenues to explore on how to repurpose glass while still addressing the contamination issue. Mr. Lamb noted that some of the smaller cities such as Liberty Lake and Deer Park amended their contracts to remove glass from recycling so it is now garbage; and there have been petitions Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 5 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 to the UTC (Utilities and Transportation Commission) to remove glass from recycling. City Manager Calhoun noted this discussion will continue to evolve as it involves numerous players; that he is sensitive to how much staff time is committed to this; that it is something we will evaluate and it will be a future topic for Council as well. 5.Neighborhood Restoration Program—Erik Lamb, Morgan Koudelka, Henry Allen As noted in the Request for Council Action form, Deputy City Attorney Lamb explained that Council has previously identified the topic of neighborhood restoration as an advance agenda item; and that staff and Deputy Mayor Haley and Councilmembers Woodard and Wood have been meeting over the last several months with solid waste providers as well as with a representative from SCOPE,to outline some parameters for a pilot neighborhood restoration program for Council consideration.Deputy Mayor Haley said this was done in the Edgecliff neighborhood as a volunteer program, and it was very effective; said staff chose the same neighborhood as a pilot project since there is familiarity with the neighborhood;and that staff pursued issues including funding to see if Council is interested. Councilmember Wood said all involved realize this is not a substitute for garbage collection, but is a way to clean up a neighborhood where health and safety issues are involved. Mr.Lamb said the estimated cost of this pilot event is$20,000,which would be funded through Solid Waste Fund 106. Mr. Allen said that it seems every municipality has at least examined this issue; that he contacted several similar cities and many have annual neighborhood clean-up events; some of these events started because of the accumulated garbage not being removed;that there are also health issues as well as pride in community; he said this is a pilot project so we don't know how many people will show up or what they might bring, noting some people in the pilot area subscribe to waste pickup,while others do not.They went through the details of the event, including sending a letter and ticket, and of the process to participate; adding that one of the goals is to make sure people only come through once since there will be limited capacity, and we want to keep track of the participation,Councilmember Woodard asked if the ticket would include the name and address of the ticket holder, and Mr. Allen said that can be accomplished. It was also mentioned that as other municipalities have done,this would be limited only to single families and not multi-family areas; and that the result is, one ticket would enable one family to bring a regular pickup truck full of materials. The question of accepting household hazardous waste like paint and/or sharp objects like needles was mentioned, and it was noted those will not be accepted for this pilot project. Councilmember Woodard suggested maybe getting sponsors in the future and Mr.Lamb said we will likely develop a contract with SCOPE, the Sheriff's office, and the Department of Transportation as they have cleared out some properties along 4th near the Freeway, for $100 a day which we could use as a staging area. Mr-. Calhoun again reminded everyone that this is just a pilot project; and there will be more research and more to Council in the future. 6. Social Media—Annie Gannon Public Information Officer Gannon gave a brief overview of the City's new Facebook account, which was just launched February 4th; and explained that this is in conformance with the objective of engaging the community; she explained that Facebook is the world's largest social media site; that we would still have to conform to the regulations under the Public Records Act so its contents would be subject to disclosure; and she briefly went over the social media guidelines,and roles and responsibilities.Ms. Gannon noted we welcome dialogue with the public, however, there will be restrictions on comments so as not to have anything profane or threatening as the primary usage is for distribution of City information and messages. She noted the City also reserves the right to remove any content that violates the listed restrictions, and/or to ban or block any user who violates those restrictions. She noted the site will also include a disclaimer that the City shall not be liable for any content posted by or usage of the account by any site user or visitor. Ms. Gannon noted we will use this media means to tell our own story and highlight what's important to the City; and it will also be an opportunity to directly correct misinformation. Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 6 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19 Councilmember Woodard asked if that would be another way to let people know about our Tuesday night agenda,and Ms.Gannon nodded yes;adding that we will probably have a lot of repeat followers. Mr.Lamb stated that although we would have some control over some of the comments, we would not inhibit free speech; and that we can establish limited public forms, as we want comments on the topics we post, so we can dictate that as well.Mr.Allen noted Facebook would also be a good means to address natural disasters, with Mr. Stone adding that it would also provide a means of notifying parents when pools are closed, or to remind them about movies, and said he anticipates it will be more heavily used than a media release. 7. Advance Agenda--Mayor Higgins Councilmember Wood said that he attended a Public Utilities District meeting where there was a lot of discussion about way signing and that perhaps that is something to re-visit. At least four Councilmernbers agreed, and Mr. Calhoun said we can bring back information that was presented earlier. Councilmember Wood also mentioned the previous presentation from Avista and that radiation is a real concern in our country; said Avista didn't talk about opting out and he wants that to be clear to our residents, and said he hopes Avista will make that clear. He also noted that Laura Padden has been sending out e-mails about sidewalks and she suggested plowing snow so as to keep the bike lane open for people to walk on;or raising the blade a couple of inches instead of taking it down to the road in residential areas; and Councilmember Woodard agreed he would like to review the snow plowing techniques again. There appeared to be consensus on bringing the topic back for further discussion. Councilmember Woodard also mentioned the topic of discussing the pros and cons of mandatory garbage service, but there was no indication of Council consensus for that item. Mr.Calhoun said he will e-mail Avista representative Ms.Melanie Rose to request Avista makes it clear citizens have the option of not participating. Mr. Calhoun noted we will also look at carrying something forward again on the snow plowing issues. 8. EXECUTIVE SESSION [RCW 42.30.110(1)(i)]: Potential Litigation It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn into executive session for,fifteen minutes to discuss potential litigation, and no action will be taken upon return to open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 2:28 p.m. At 2:43 p.m., Mayor Higgins declared Council out of executive session, at which time it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. 411 Amok120 ATTE ' L.R.Higgins,' . e• pristine Bainbridge, City Clerk Special Council Meeting,Workshop:02-19-19 Page 7 of 7 Approved by Council:03-12-19