Loading...
2019, 07-23 Regular FormalMINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING FORMAL FORMAT Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley, Washington July 23, 2019 Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Attendance. Councilmembers Staff Rod Higgins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager Pam Haley, Deputy Mayor John Hohman, Deputy City Manager Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Linda Thompson, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director Sam Wood, Councilmember Dill Helbig, City Engineer Arne Woodard, Councilmember Mark Werner, Police Chief Connor Lange, Planner Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Pastor Mike Graef of the United Methodist Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff, and the audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance led by members of Scout Troop 468. 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 Thompson: reported that she attended the Board of Health Finance Committee meeting where they mentioned that their 2020 budget has expanded with grants to help with projects; attended a Youth Leaders Reception at WSU where Lisa Brown from the Department of Commerce talked about opportunities and how to take life stories and make a difference in the community; went to the Chamber of Commerce breakfast with the Trail Association; went to the Spokane Regional Emergency Community Center kick-off, and she extended kudos to Deputy Michael Vincini for using Narcan which saved the life of a woman suffering from a drug overdose. Councilmember Wick: mentioned that Visit Spokane did not meet this month; but he did attend a Health District meeting and they are getting closer to hiring their new CEO. Councilmember Wood: said that he attended the STA (Spokane Transit Authority) Performance and External Relations Committee meeting, and he then gave some statistics on sales tax revenue comparing this year to last year; he also noted there will be a groundbreaking celebration tomorrow from 1-2 pm at the Moran Station Park & Ride. Councilmember Peetz: said that she attended the Multicare event at Arbor Crest celebrating the 501 anniversary ofMulticare Valley Hospital; said she attended the Law Enforcement Community Appreciation Day at Spokane Community College; and she mentioned the Pioneer Day Celebration which commemorates the LDS settlers. Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-23-2019 Pagel of 5 Approved by Council: 08-13-2019 Councilmember Woodard: said he attended the Chamber of Commerce business breakfast regarding trails and that it was a well-done presentation; went to other Chamber of Commerce meetings; said SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council) was supposed to cancel their meetings in July and August, but they will have those meetings as they arc re -working their bylaws and restructuring the citizens' committee, and want to have everything ready for September to get passed by the Board; he added that SRTC is finally fully staffed; and said he also attended the Farmers' Market and that it was a great experience. Deputy Mayor Haley: said she attended two STA board meetings where they mostly talked about the small source grant; and went over the budget as well as the five-year projected budget; and that she also attended the Farmers Market and had a great time. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Higgins reported that he also attended the 501 celebration of the Hospital; went to a Clean Air committee meeting and except for the occasional fire in Canada, the air has been good; attended the CRAVE event; went to Dr. Hinkle's 801 birthday celebration; attended the GSI (Greater Spokane, Inc.) board meeting; attended the Washington Policy Center event where they talked about many of the things that happened in the last legislative session, adding that it will be interesting to see the outcome of some of those issues. PROCLAMATION: Nick Manger Days After Mayor Higgins read the proclamation honoring Nick Mamer Days, it was received with thanks from Mr. J.B. Rivard, who stated that he wrote a book about Nick Mamer. 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 July 23, 2019 Request for Council Action Form Total: $3,434,736.94 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending July 15, 2019: $413,463.21 e. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 9, 2019 Study Session Format [formal fortnat] It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. NEW BUSINESS: L. Jecona KeaQingurnlriance ry-uuy zueeryacationzuly-yuu1 rnuunrlait-rna—�uuuur r,ailrc After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to approve Ordinance No. 19-009. Planner Lange briefly explained the process of this city -initiated street vacation in the northeast Industrial Area. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 3 Second Reading Ordinance 19-010 Street Vacation 2019-0002 Baldwin Ave, Glenn Rd— Connor Lanae After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to approve Ordinance No. 19-010. Planner Lange briefly explained the process of this street vacation of Baldwin Avenue and Glenn Road. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 4 Second Reading Ordinance 19-011 Marijuana Transportation — Erik Lamb After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to approve Ordinance No. 19-011 adopting amendments to allow licensed marijuana transporters. After Deputy City Attorney Lamb explained the process leading up to tonight's second reading, Councihnember Thompson explained that she cannot support this expansion of the marijuana industry; said she isn't saying there will be issues around transportation, but that communities are not getting the resources to deal with this. Vote by acclamation: in favor. Mayor Higgins, Deputy Mayor Haley, and Councilmembers Wick, Peetz, Woodard, and Wood. Opposed: Councilmember Thompson. Motion carried. Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-23-2019 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council: 08-13-2019 PUBLIC COMMIE NTS: After explaining the process, Mayor Higgins invited public comment. Ms. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley: said she witnessed something impressive, that one of the City's attorneys, Ms. Caitlin Prunty in her handling one of Ms. Howard's neighborhood problems; said that Ms. Prouty was very impressive; and said that Deputies also did a fantastic job, as did Chief Werner in how they handled a recent car chase. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 5. Police Department Quarterly Report — Chief Werner Chief Werner went over his second quarter report, which includes data on the SCOPE effort, patrol staffing, patrol calls received, citizen complaints, staffing levels, figures on felonies, misdemeanors and search warrants; seizures and recoveries, property crime incidents, and nuisance property issues. Councilmember Wood asked about a double trailer parked on property on Sprague near Costco and Walmart which trailer has been tagged with graffiti and that it appears to be occupied by homeless people. Chief Werner said he would check on that issue. 6 Potential 2020 Community Develo mment Block Grant (CDBG) Projects — John Hohman Deputy City Manager Hohman explained some of the background of our City's involvement with the CDBG process, as noted on his Request for Council Action; and that he has been working with Spokane County Environmental Services to do targeted septic tank elimination, similar to the process done several years ago with the original STEP (septic tank elimination program) project; and said there were some `pockets' left here and there. He mentioned a manufactured home subdivision which had qualified in the past for low and moderate income, and that we could still use some of our set-aside funding there; said he will work with the County on how to bring this forward as an overall cooperative project. Mr. Hohman also noted that the pavement in that area is in very bad condition; and that water quality is a concern with having septic tanks that close to the River; and he noted that the focus is to get this before Council in case there are any concerns, and then come back in the next few months with more refined details. Mr. Hohman asked if Council had any concerns in moving forward with this type of project. Councilmember Wood asked about the low or no interest Loans for the properties as some of those properties are not low income, but are rather valued at $200,000 or $300,000. Mr. Hohman said there is a process the owner would have to demonstrate about their annual income in order to qualify and receive a grant, but guessed there would be 30% of those individuals who might qualify. The expense of hooking up to the sewer system was discussed and in answer to Councilmember Thompson's question, said he would have to inquire about actual costs. Councilmember Thompson also asked if everyone would be required to get sewer and Mr. Hohman replied that would be up to the County, that they have various requirements over the years, but he would have to research that question as well; said he thinks the County is hoping for all to be hooked up in one or two years. Councilmember Wick asked about the four properties shown on the map that are apparently not being included in this project, and that it would make sense to get those properties hooked. Mr. Hohman said he will look into that for his future report. Mayor Higgins asked Council if they were in favor of moving forward, and they all nodded in agreement. 7. Advance Agenda — Mayor Higgins Councilmember Thompson explained that she received a letter from the NAACP about an invitation to Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, to meet with us and the City of Spokane and Spokane County, and said she would like to see us move forward with a municipal action guide for what she just heard about; that she attended a class at the NLC (National League of Cities) about REAL, which stands for Race, Equity and Leadership; and to work with the NAACP to develop a policy and see what we can do to advance racial equity in our city; she said that she would be willing to contact the NAACP and see what we can do so we are prepared when we do have the meeting, which she said has not yet been scheduled; that we might be able to have some policies or some action or some ideas of what we could do in that regard for our City. Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-23-2019 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council: 08-13-2019 Councilmember Thompson said that some of the ideas are, to look at your policies and see if there are any issues that are not equitable for everyone; to look at neighborhoods and whether they share resources; or if there is a guiding statement; said our law enforcement is always looking to treat every citizen the same; and to bring priorities to make sure we make connections with communities of color; that perhaps the LGBTQ community; and that everyone is welcome and that all the policies that we have with the City whether its housing or anything, that we have equitable policies that the city, Council and staff work from to make sure that we are inclusive. Mayor Higgins said we already have that; that we might enumerate it, but that he doesn't see a need to go further. Councilmember Thompson said she could likely just meet with the NAACP and talk about how we could work with them and make sure we have equity for all neighborhoods, make sure our policies are that every neighborhood is treated the same, to make sure every neighborhood knows that they matter; and to make sure there are equity policies in place for all citizens. Councilmember Thompson referenced a municipal action guide advancing racial equity, which guide comes from REAL; that said she heard a presentation from the director of REAL, which stands for Race, Equity and Leadership, which she read is "dedicated to helping local leaders understand and gain the tools necessary to combat racial disparities in their community." She said "there are six steps; looking at the definition of racial equity is that race does not predict what success, while also proving outcomes for all, looking at policies, practices and procedures that work better for white people than people of color often intentionally or inadvertently; looking at ways to eliminate racial disparity, heal racial divisions, and build more equitable communities." She said she thought this might be a tool to use to talk with partners in the community like the NAACP so that when we do come to the meeting with them, that we would have some ideas of how we could work together. Deputy Mayor Haley suggested perhaps it would be better to have staff come forward with what we already have rather than to `try to re -invent the wheel." City Manager Calhoun said he doesn't know that we have policies that necessarily address that although we have EEO (equal employment opportunities) policies. Deputy City Attorney Lamb noted that Council adopted a resolution of full inclusion; but in terms of looking at specific policies, we could see what the Police Department has, but that staff did not attend the class that Councihnember Thompson did, so there is a challenge of not knowing what we would be looking for. Deputy Mayor Haley added that since we are a contract city, we don't have the same kind of full control of a full-service city. Councilmember Peetz stated that since Councilmember Thompson had the training and has offered to reach out to the NAACP, that she doesn't see any problem with Councilmember Thompson exploring this issue, getting information and reporting back to Council. Councilmember Woodard said he has attended many NLC classes and thinks we are trying to make a problem when there isn't one; said thatjust in the last week of talking to people of color, that he asked them if they feel prejudiced against and find discrimination in our city and each of them said no they do not and that this is a great place to live; said he asked them if they ever had any problem with the police and that one person replied that he was stopped because he was very dark skinned, and said the man said he was stopped one evening and the officer wanted to know what he was doing and where he was going and that the man told the officer and then told the officer to arrest him if he had done something wrong; that the officer told him he wasn't doing anything wrong but was just checking to see who the person was as he hadn't seen him around before and was driving a car that was a little beat up. Councilmember Woodard said the man said he has had no other problems. Councilmember Woodard said that he has asked these questions to Hispanic, Vietnamese, Filipinos and other people he knows well and that there just isn't a problem here in Spokane Valley, and that he doesn't know if we want to create a problem; that he thinks that part of what has been happening is that there is no problem and one is being made to make it seem like we have one; that to meet with members of the NAACP and the Congresswoman would be a precursor to doing anything else we have, because unless there is a problem, why would we be working to find a solution to something we don't have; and he too mentioned the Council's resolution that speaks to inclusion of all; and that we have a fabulous community; said we have a lot of ethnic groups that feel comfortable here; that Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-23-2019 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council: 08-13-2019 they love the neighborhoods they live in and a lot of them live in very nice neighborhoods; said they are interspersed; that he doesn't know of any one spot in the valley that is purely Hispanic or purely another ethnic group; said all this doesn't mean that we can't look but said that he doesn't think that at this point anything rises to an alert level. Councilmember Thompson said she isn't saying there is an alert level, but that she thinks there needs to be a deeper understanding of what equity is, as it isn't just the color of someone's skin as there are a lot of other equity issues; said she would just like to take a look at this; that she can reach out for her own use to see how she can work more with the NAACP to promote equity for all people; that this isn't saying there is an issue or that we have a problem, but by calling it out, it is embracing the issue to make sure there is equity for all; she said there is discrimination at our schools and there is fear especially among our youth of color; so there are issues we could bring to the forefront and help make it a better community for all; and she again mentioned that the date has not yet been set for the meeting with members of the NAACP; and that she could do some research and prepare for that meeting on her own. 8. Department Reports Department Reports were for information only and were not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Mr. Calhoun had no additional remarks. 9. EXECUTIVE SESSION: IRCW 42.30.110(1)(b)l: Acquisition of Real Estate It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn into executive session for approximately thirty minutes to discuss acquisition of real estate and that no action will be taken upon return to open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 7:12 p.m. At 7;41 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. A Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-23-2019 Approved by Council: 08-13-2019 Page 5 of 5 SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, July 23, 2019 6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS SIGN -IN SHEET YOUR SPEAKING TIlVIE WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES This sign -in sheet is for malting 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 motion to approve an ordinance or resolution) when appropriate, the Mayor will ash r co ants on those items once that item is reached on the agenda. 71CHNU NIPH ui It YUU WINII w uianc uvut; UUMMcliw. NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE PLEASE PRINT WILL SPEAK ABOUT 01 Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.