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2019, 03-26 Regular MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Meeting Format Tuesday, March 26, 2019 Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Rod Higgins, Mayor Pam Haley, Deputy Mayor Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Linda Thompson, Councilmember Ben Wick, Councilmember Sam Wood, Councilmember Arne Woodard, Councilmember Staff Mark Calhoun, City Manager Cary Driskell, City Attorney Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director Mark Werner, Police Chief Bill Helbig, City Engineer Adam Jackson, Planning/Grants Engineer Morgan Koudelka, Administrative Analyst Chaz Bates, Economic Development Specialist Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Joe Pursch of Valley Fourth Memorial Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff, and the audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance led by a member from Boy Scout Troop 325. ROLL CALL City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS n/a COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS Councilmember Wood: stated that the STA is doing well with revenues up and ridership down, and that they are trying to figure out how to resolve the ridership problem; said someone suggested that bus rides should be free; he said those rides are already subsidized as the average ride is $5.74, but the typical rider pays $2.00; said he went to a Rotary meeting where they heard a discussion about a device that would prevent all the U.S. grids from being taken out if there were ever an atomic bomb set off above our country; and said he attended a Gonzaga Law School symposium on American religious liberty. Councilmember Peetz: reported that she attended the Midilome Public Meeting which was well attended; said she took a tour with new Visit Spokane CEO Meg Winchester; went to the State of the City Address; and attended several meetings with legislators in Olympia. Councilmember Woodard: said on behalf of Deputy Mayor Haley who was out of town, he attended the STA meeting; went to the State of the City address, which he said was a sold out event; mentioned again that as part of the Spokane Regional Transportation Council, the work on the last section of the Appleway Trail has been moved to this year instead of next; and he spoke about the I-95 project. Councilmember Thompson: explained that last night's Youth Voice put on a community engagement event which focused on living without a home, and said they did an excellent job, and she also extended thanks to Parks & Recreation Coordinator Ms. Gregerson for all her support; mentioned that she volunteered serving meals with Meals on Wheels; spoke about the support shown to the mosque as a result of the shootings in New Zealand; and that she attended a workshop with the National League of Cities about racial equity. Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 1 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 Councilmember Wick: he also mentioned the Visit Spokane tour with their new CEO Ms. Winchester; said he too attended the State of the City address held at CenterPlace and said the videos looked amazing; participated in the AWC lobby day in Olympia and he briefly reported on several transportation issues including Pines Road, and a Port District about halfway between Olympia and Portland that has helped with economic development yet the Port District does not charge any tax to their citizens. Deputy Mayor Haley: reported that she traveled to Washington, D.C. with STA; attended the AWC Lobby Days in Olympia and although the House has put in funding for the Barker Project, our senators implied it will not be funded in the senate budget; but the good news is that the House and Senate have agreed on $520,000 for Browns Park. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Higgins said he also attended the Midilome meeting and that Engineer Jackson had a great presentation; and he extended thanks to the City's public relations people who did a masterful job for the State of the City Address. PROCLAMATIONS: 2020 Census Awareness Day; Vietnam Veterans' Day After Mayor Higgins read the 2020 Census Awareness Day proclamation, it was received with thanks from Ms. Mindy Thorp, Partnership Specialist with the Northern Idaho U.S. Census Bureau. Mayor Higgins then read the `Vietnam Veterans' Day proclamation; he also mentioned this will be read at the flag ceremony on Friday, March 29, 2019, in front of City Hall. 1. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. Any member of Council may ask that an item be removed from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately. Proposed Motion: I move to approve the Consent Agenda. a. Approval of claim vouchers on March 26, 2019 Request for Council Action Form Total: $2,621,619.60 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending March 15, 2019: $371,291.96 c. Approval of March 5, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session d. Approval of March 12, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes, Regular Formal Format e. Interagency Agreement with Washington State Department of Enterprise Services f. Department of Ecology Agreement, Drywell Retrofit Program It was nioved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. NEW BUSINESS: 2. Second Reading Ordinance 19-003 Amending 2019 Budget — Chelsie Taylor After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to approve Ordinance 19-003 amending ordinance 18-024 which adopted a budget for the period January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2019. Finance Director Taylor briefly went over the amendments to the budget. Since this ordinance was the matter of a previous and now closed public hearing, no public comments were solicited. Vote by acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 3. Motion Consideration: Federal Highway Bridge Program Grant — Adam Jackson, Bill Helbig It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to authorize the City Manager or designee to apply for the Federal Highway Bridge Program grant for the Sullivan Road northbound bridge deck resurfacing project. After Mr. Jackson explained about the program and of our eligibility for it, with just the northbound Sullivan Road Bridge as the only eligible project, Mayor Higgins invited public comment. Ms. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley: asked if this is the bridge where a truck exploded or had dumped gas. Councilmember Woodard replied that it is not. There were no further public comments. Vote by acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 4. Motion Consideration: Bid Award, Argonne Rd., Vaileyway to Broadway — Bill Helbig It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to award the Argonne Road Preservation Project (Broadway to Valleyway) CIP 0284 to Inland Asphalt Paving Company in the amount of $220, 000 and authorize the City Manager to finalize and execute the construction contract. After City Engineer Helbig Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 2 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 went over the project and the bid results, Mayor Higgins invited public comment. No comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: In favor: Unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: After Mayor Higgins explained the process, he invited public comment. Ms. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley: spoke about the cost of a code or text amendment in Spokane County and Spokane City compared with our cost; also mentioned how inexpensive our business license is compared to the City of Spokane; said if we had a higher business license we could raise more revenue, especially with street preservation a concern; and suggested we could also get it from the developers. Mr. James Johnson, Spokane Valley: spoke about the gathering at the Islamic Center as a memorial to the New Zealand tragedy, and said there were about two or three hundred people who attended; and with Mayor Higgins' consent, read a letter that was presented at that memorial, which letter was signed by individuals and communities representing atheists, Buddhists, Christians, Jews, Muslims, Sufis, and community organizations. There were no other public comment as the other individuals who signed up to speak, were here for the next agenda item. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 5. Spokane County Regional Homelessness Funding — Morgan Koudelka, Chaz Bates Mr. Koudelka mentioned that homelessness is a very complex issue, and said that City Manager Calhoun thought tonight would be an good opportunity to share what we have learned about the system we currently have in place. Mr. Koudelka thanked Spokane County Housing & Community Development Manager Mr. Tim Crowley, as well as Ms. Kathleen Torella, Director of Community Services, Housing and Community Development; and Ms. Kate Kennedy who implemented and oversaw the County's coordinated entry system that provides access to homeless programs; and explained that they will be discussing the system for allocating homeless resources. Via his PowerPoint slides, Mr. Crowley gave an overview of the regional homeless system that includes the Board of County Commissions, the Housing & Community Development Advisory Board, Spokane County Community Services Housing & Community Development Department, the Spokane Regional Continuum of Care, and Spokane City Council and their Community Housing & Human Services Board as well as their Community Housing & Human Services Division. Mr. Crowley mentioned that through outreach and engagement they have a coordinated means to deliver more complete client information to determine those that need temporary shelter, rapid re -housing, or transitional housing, and then hopefully on to permanent supportive housing with stable independent voucher housing programs. Mr. Crowley also noted the various Spokane County allocations for such providers as the YWCA, SNAP, Catholic Charities, Goodwill, Volunteers of America, Salvation Army, and others. Mr. Koudelka explained that he and Mr. Bates were tasked with identifying and explaining the process for the funding source that serves the homeless and other community needs; he said that some funding comes from the U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD), some from the local recording fees, and some from the Department of Commerce through the state; and he briefly mentioned some of the functions of each of those three funding sources. He noted that the Spokane Housing Authority has $26 million annually to contribute in rental assistance programs to hopefully get people into permanent housing; he explained some of the functions of the Continuum of Care (COC) which includes bringing people together from the various jurisdictions to address homelessness as a regional problem, and added that Councilmember Woodard is a COC Board member; he went over some of the grant projects funded by HUD in 2018, which amounts to over $3 million; said there is also an Emergency Solutions Grant (ESG) through HUD which is used by the City of Spokane to provide various services, but that Spokane County and the City of Spokane Valley do not qualify for that funding. Mr. Crowley explained that using census and other information, the Department of Housing determined that the County and Spokane Valley aren't eligible for that ESG Grant, adding that the City of Spokane is responsible for those funds both inside and outside their city. Mr. Bates then went over the information concerning the Community Development Block Grant, including requirements and process for administration and funding allocation; and mentioned that the City of Spokane Valley has 20% of funds set aside out of the County total allocation for our CDBG projects. Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 3 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 Councilmember Woodard added that even though CDBG funds are not used to get people off the streets, those funds are a critical piece to help make sure people don't end up homeless as it is limited to people in the low to moderate income brackets. Councilmember Thompson asked what those income ranges are for low to moderate income and Mr. Crowley said he didn't have that information handy, but it is based on a percentage of the medium area income with various adjustments including an adjustment based on family size, and that it is adjusted annually. Concerning our City's decision about not being an entitlement city, City Manager Calhoun said that in the spring of 2017, Mr. Bates brought that topic to Council; and at that point, Council made the decision for the three-year period, 2018, 2019, and 2020, to not become an entitlement city but to continue working through Spokane County; and that this will return to Council again in the spring of 2020. Mayor Higgins said one of the reasons for tonight's report, is that there has been a public accusation that the City of Spokane Valley is not paying its fair share; but he said that those who made those charges are ignoring that the City of Spokane Valley is a participant. Mr. Koudelka continued the PowerPoint presentation by explaining about the HUD Home Investment Partnerships and that they are used to create affordable housing and how local jurisdictions can receive separate allocations if they qualify, or they must join a consortium that meets the threshold requirements; he said we have been told we do not qualify but that doesn't mean we aren't a part of the formula calculated; he said staff has not researched the details of what it would take if we wanted to go our separate way if there was some point in the future where we would qualify; he said tonight staff is conveying information and looking at all the funding sources, and that there are specific regulations tied to those funding sources. Mr. Koudelka went over the homeless surcharge recording fees and said there are three separate state statutes dictating how different recording fees are applied to different real estate transactions; and that the Consolidated Homeless Grant (CSG) uses funds from those recording fee surcharges to assist the homeless, as noted on the slides; and that the CSG funds are split between Spokane City and Spokane County, and for the current period, $2 million in funds go to the County, and $1.2 million go to the City of Spokane; adding that each county must have one low barrier housing project serving homeless adults and one low barrier housing project serving homeless households with children; that the funds are reviewed by the advisory committee and the Board of County Commissioners makes the final allocation decision; he said Spokane Valley is eligible to receive its share if all the requirements are met to become a lead grantee and establishes its own homeless plan. Mr. Koudelka explained that the Department of Commerce Housing and Essential Needs (HEN) funding is also funded by local government document recording fee surcharges, which includes the City of Spokane Valley's portion; that Spokane County opted to have the City of Spokane administer all funds for the County as that City has a larger department with more staff; that the City of Spokane makes funding decisions with input from the Continuum of Care, and Spokane received $4 million for the current two-year period. Mayor Higgins asked for a definition of low -barrier, and Ms. Kennedy explained that low -barrier means there are a minimum number of expectations placed on people who want to live there such as there is no requirement to remain clean and sober in order to stay in those facilities; that a facility for example, could not impose a requirement of having a driver's license in order to stay. Mr. Koudelka added that there are some shelters that will require sobriety or a screening process, and a low -barrier doesn't require that type of screening; but that it doesn't mean they must accept someone who is exhibiting behavior deemed to be a danger to themselves or others; so the low -barrier is another means to try to get people into a shelter. Mr. Bates then explained about the state statutes associated with recording fees/homeless surcharge; and how much of that recording fee would go to the County for administration, or to the State Department of Commerce for housing and shelter of extremely low-income households; followed by Mr. Koudelka explaining the table summarizing the funding, as shown on slide 24. Councilmember Woodard added that Spokane Valley citizens would get an estimated one-third of the funds that come into the County, which is estimated at over $2 million each year. Mr. Koudelka stated that we are addressing these needs regionally as we participate in the Consortium, and there is a process to apply for these funds, and all that requires coordination, cooperation, and participation from all entities; that this winter that didn't occur, but Ms. Pam Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 4 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 Tietz, who is the Chair of the Continuum of Care and the Executive Director of the Housing Authority, is working with the City of Spokane staff to ensure that everyone understands the process and are working together to address the needs moving forward as the funds are intended to meet the needs throughout the County. Mr. Koudelka stated that he never heard from the staff from any other city that we or the County were failing to pay our share; that it was a surprise that a measure was put before Spokane Council, and that it didn't transition smoothly as the City thought it would have, and then suddenly there is a motion before them to fund $1.6 million from their own funds for warming shelters; he added that most of the existing resources for the homeless are in the City of Spokane, which doesn't mean there aren't some in Spokane Valley and we don't have the ability in our code to prevent that from happening; that we choose to follow the process that is in place and rely upon the service providers to determine where is the best place to provide these services, and that emergency providers are obligated to make sure people in the community are safe; which includes transporting people to shelters or hospitals as needed, or even taking them into custody for their own protection. Mr. Koudelka said we think we can better address these needs in collaboration with each other and hopefully that will occur moving forward. Councilmember Woodard said Spokane Valley has been severely criticized by the City of Spokane; he said we are trying to make sure our Council as well as the citizens understand that we participate in homelessness in a big way, but the services are indeed downtown; said that one of the referring agencies, if you are homeless or know of someone who is who needs help, if the Valley Partners who will refer them on to all those different services, 96 of them in the city, and they will tell them where those services are and how to get there; he said there are two warming shelters in Spokane Valley, and said he would not disclose the location as they are done privately by churches; that they have obviously gone out after our own homeless to get them warm, and said it amounts to about 125 to 130 beds; he said all but one of them was full most of the winter. Councilmember Woodard said it's not that we don't have some of these services, but we don't particularly want the imports from other states; he said by the time we get the `point and time' count around the middle of next month, we should have more details; he said he isn't against homeless from other areas, but we are doing some things wrong if we are importing them and said he wants to take care of our homeless people in Spokane County; he said he wants to make sure the public knows that at a minimum we contribute $1.2 million but it is actually much more than that when you take the assumptions of the partnerships we have with the County taking care of things and with the collaboration; and said that he wants to stay that way because we don't want to have to have ten staff dealing with this. Mr. Koudelka thanked Councilmember Woodard for his clarification, and made a clarification also that the point he is making is that he is saying that no agency staff made any claims that the City of Spokane Valley wasn't paying their share. Mr. Koudelka further stated that the purpose of tonight's discussion is for Council and citizens to understand that there is a process in place and there are many funding sources; that homelessness is a difficult situation which won't be quickly solved; he said the City of Spokane Council was asked very suddenly to make a rather large funding decision out of their general fund, and they reacted without having all the information; said we prefer to keep working together with them and move past this, as there is tremendous need. Councilmember Thompson said that the City of Spokane Valley is not listed on the slides that were presented in the beginning; and she suggested including the City of Spokane Valley on the slide about the Spokane Consortium; she said that some people think there is no homeless problem in our community, while others think it is all downtown; she said it is a problem in Spokane Valley as it is in the entire region; concerning transporting people to services, she said she hears it is very difficult to get people who are in Spokane Valley to the needed resources in downtown; and she asked if there are resources for transportation. Councilmember Woodard mentioned that Spokane Valley Partners has bus passes. Councilmember Thompson questioned how people get to those resources if needed in the middle of the night, and that there are shelters here but people have no way to get there. Mr. Crowley said they have been trying to work on that problem; that the effort is to keep people where they are, and to make sure they have access to services so they wouldn't have to go downtown; he said in addressing that problem, they had their own coordinated entry that someone could contact and could enter the portal by contacting 2-1-1; and from there it opened the door to provide services; said there is really a preference for serving that population Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 5 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 because that's where the largest portion of money comes from to those agencies; said they provided for example, eight months of rental assistance, where some of the agencies in the city were only funding security deposits; or first or last month's rent; which he said doesn't make sense to get someone in housing and not be able to keep them there. To clarify, Mr. Crowley said if someone is in Spokane Valley or Rockford, there is no transportation. Mr. Koudelka stated that the Board of County Commissioners has the final say on many of these funds; but it is tightly controlled with a process in place; and the City of Spokane administers the HEN funds but it runs through the State DSHS and they have their own segregated funds that they decide on; HUD makes the final decision on the continuum of care grant, with prioritization and recommendations provided by the Continuum of Care board; and the Housing Authority provides housing and rental assistance funding but there too is a very strict qualifying process. Mr. Crowley mentioned that the Spokane City Council is fairly new; and that there is a need for the City of Spokane to update their Council on these issues discussed tonight; he said they have had this same conversation with the Board of County Commissioners a few months ago; and said this will be an on-going challenge. 6. Advance Agenda — Mayor Higgins Councilmember Thompson talked about the importance of the various boards and committees, and suggested we have a quarterly report from individuals who serve on those committees. There was some discussion about putting such a report on an agenda, and it was ultimately determined that if a member of an outside committee wishes to give a report, they just need to let us know ahead of time. Mayor Higgins mentioned an upcoming Valley Partners `mortgage burning' event, possibly the 16th of April but that he will get further details later. INFORMATION ONLY 7. Department Monthly Reports These were for information only and were not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS City Manager Calhoun mentioned he will be bringing to an upcoming Council meeting, a preliminary federal legislative agenda, with an anticipated date of April 30 for Council adoption consideration; he mentioned the upcoming trip to Olympia; and also mentioned that the amenities are underway on our Appleway Trail, and he thanked the 4f' District legislators for their support. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:12 p.m. ATTEST: L.R. Higgin • Ma ' o C Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Minutes Regular Council Meeting: 03-26-2019 Page 6 of 6 Approved by Council: 04-23-2019 SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, March 26, 2019 6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS SIGN -IN SHEET YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES This sign -in sheet is for making comments not associated with an action item on tonight's agenda. If you wish to comment about an individual action item on tonight's agenda (such a a otion to approve an ordinance, resolution, or contract) the Mayor will ask for comme s on • ose items once that item is reached on the agenda. Please sign in if you wish to make uublic comments. NAME PLEASE PRINT TOPIC WILL OF CONCERN YOU YOUR CITY OF RSIDENCE SPEAK ABOUT OA tL .4-45L<D,„Ci` (,t-tC4d ' � . ,.... _itaii 40 L -1---'"-C P'==',41----R. I Please note that once information is entered on this forme, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.