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2009, 02-10 Regular Meeting MinutesMayor Munson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the 153` meeting. Attendance: Rich Munson, Mayor Rose Dempsey, Councilmember Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Steve Taylor, Councilmember Absent: Dick Denenny, Deputy Mayor Gary Schimmels, Councilmember Diana Wilhite, Councilmember MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Tuesday, February 10, 2009 City Staff: Dave Mercier, City Manager Mike Jackson, Deputy City Manager Mike Connelly, City Attorney Mike Stone, Parks & Rec Director Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir. Ken Thompson, Finance Director Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Micki Harnois, Associate Planner John Whitehead, Human Resources Manager Greg McCormick, Planning Manager Inga Note, Senior Traffic Engineer Lori Barlow, Associate Planner Henry Allen, Development Engineer Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Bill Miller, IT Specialist Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Ben Orchard of Valley Bible Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: At Mayor Munson's Request, Boy Scout Christopher Osborne led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all Councilmembers were present except Deputy Mayor Denenny, and Councilmembers Schimmels and Wilhite. It was moved by Councilmember Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Deputy Mayor Denenny, and Councilmembers Schimmels and Wilhite from tonight's meeting. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Councilmember Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Councilmember Gothmann: reported he did a tour of the Spokane Regional Health District, and he commended them for a job well done; attended an open house at assisted living facility Mission Ridge; attended the Spokane Valley Fire Department Recognition Dinner and mentioned how fortunate we are to have such dedicated people; and attended the Board of Health Budget meeting and Strategy meeting. Councilmember Dempsey: mentioned she attended the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency meeting last Thursday morning where they discussed regulations on controlling odors from the rendering plant. Councilmember Taylor: had no report Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 1 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Munson reported that he participated in a telephone conference meeting regarding climate control, and said as Chair of the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Climate Control Committee, they discussed five bills which will be introduced to the State Legislation, many of which will be costly to cities; and said he feels we should resist those unfunded mandates; that he attended the STA Operations and Administrative Committee meeting where they went over the accomplishments for the year, which showed a 17% increase in ridership; he attended a banquet at Fairchild Air Force Base where the Junior Officers and NCO were awarded for their achievements; and he mentioned the new emergency communications possibilities for our county as a result of the 1 /10 of 1% ballot measure which was approved, to allow all first responders to communicate with each other. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Munson invited general public comment; no comments were offered. 1. CONSENT AGENDA: Consists of items considered routine which are approved as a group. A Councilmember may remove an item from the Consent Agenda to be considered separately. a. Claim Vouchers, Voucher #16531 through #16594; $186,704.99 b. Payroll for pay period ending January 31, 2009: $359,414.09 c. Approval to Ratify GMA Interlocal Agreement as adopted by Steering Committee 11/19/2008 d. Approval of Council Study Session Meeting Minutes of January 20, 2009 e. Approval of Council Special Study Session Meeting Minutes of January 26, 2009 f. Approval of Council Regular Meeting Minutes of January 27, 2009 It was moved by Councilmember Taylor seconded, and unanimously agreed to approve the consent agenda. NEW BUSINESS: 2. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 09 -001 for Street Vacation — Micki Harnois After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Taylor and seconded to advance Ordinance 09 - 001 to a second reading. Associate Planner Harnois explained the proposal for the vacated sections of Tschirley Road, as detailed on her February 10, 2009 Request for Council Action form; said that the areas are no longer required for public use or access; and that the Planning Commission recommended conditional approval as shown in section 5 of the draft ordinance. Ms. Harnois also explained the payments required from Steven Slehofer and Lumber Yard Supply Company, and said they are aware of the amounts; adding further that staff has not received any objections from property owners. Mayor Munson invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 3. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 09 -002 Amending SVMC Title 20 — Lori Barlow After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Taylor and seconded to advance Ordinance 09 -002 to a second reading. Via her PowerPoint presentation, Associate Planner Barlow summarized the proposed significant changes, most of which occur in sections 20.20.20, .30 and .40; and in response to Council question about how the changes might affect developers, Community Development Director McClung explained these changes will add greater overall flexibility. Development Engineer Allen discussed section 20.40.040, Surety in Lieu of Construction limitations, and said that previously a developer could only bond or provide surety for the last five percent of a project which means they had to construct 95% of the project, and that it would be too difficult if one were trying to do a small short plat, they would have to construct all improvements up front, and that these regulations will relax that a little; that street standards have to be completed but sidewalks and approaches could be deferred until later; all of which, he explained relaxes the burden on the developer at the same time guarantying, with a letter of credit, that the project will be done. Mayor Munson invited public comment. Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 2 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 Jack Riley, E 8122 Sprague: said he had questions about monuments that can be removed and not having to be replaced; and Councilmember Gothmann explained that the monuments referred to are surveying and not historical monuments, and Mr. Riley confirmed the historical monument was his concern. Leonard Christian, 10015 E 19 Avenue: questioned why boundary lot adjustments can't be undone to make unbuildable lots, buildable; and Ms. Barlow explained that State Regulations state you cannot use a boundary lot adjustment to create a buildable lot; that the line can shift but one cannot take a sliver of property that is not a lot, and turn it into a buildable lot; which City Attorney Connelly confirmed is the case. Councilmember Gothmann asked about the dimensions and rounding and whether that would be mathematically possible; and Mr. Zimmerman remarked that the measure can some down to the nearest one - thousandth of a foot, and that state law requires rounding down to two places, but the rounding could go down to three places if needed. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. Mr. Mercier said this material has now been presented to Council in depth, that the second reading will make a statement of purpose and give an opportunity for public comment, if Council feels familiar enough with the material, and Councilmembers concurred. 4. Motion Consideration: City Hall Design Services — Neil Kersten It was moved by Councilmember Dempsey and seconded to table this item until the 24`" of February. Vote on the motion to table: In Favor: Councilmember Dempsey and Mayor Munson; Opposed: Councilmembers Gothmann and Taylor. Abstentions: None. Vote resulted in a tie, therefore, the motion failed. It was then moved by Councilmember Gothmann and seconded to approve the schematic design contract for City Hall to Bernardo Will /GGLO in the amount of $377,000. Public Works Director Kersten explained that this is the third touch on this issue for the New City Hall; this would complete about 20% of the total design effort to get the project bid - ready; it would look at all the systems including mechanical, electrical, structural, landscaping, interior design cost estimating, and then have floorplans, building cross - sections, three- dimensional drawings for the building's interior and exterior; and would have brief specifications on all the materials, getting this ready to move into the final phase; and there would be a firm cost estimate based on that information. Mayor Munson invited public comment. Phillip Rudy, 5647 N Fruithill Road: speaking in official capacity as Chair of the Board of the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce, he said that the Executive Committee of the Valley Chamber asks Council to exercise caution when making the decision to contract for these services for the new City Hall. He explained that such a commitment implies city control is imminent of that specific site through ownership, lease or other legal document; and in reviewing the draft, it appears a significant portion of the expenditures are site specific and would be of no value if the site was not used for the specific purpose or if a different site were chosen later; he said Chamber leadership recommends Council establish an ownership or a publicly disclosed unilateral form of control of a site prior to spending these funds for the services described. Councilmember Dempsey said she supports the concept of a city center and a new city hall, but today's financial climate forces her to look at another side of the picture, that revenues are down and unemployment is up; that various municipalities are reeling from numerous financial blows, and she said that now is not the time to spend $377,000 more on dreams; and she said if we have this money to spend, it should be spent locally to help our own community. Councilmember Taylor mentioned that previously he brought up some areas of concern with expenditures regarding LEEDS certification, but that he said he feels it is important to move ahead with these design services; and he asked Mr. Kersten if a site were to change, how much of this work would be transferable. Mr. Kersten replied that it should be designed to the site; that some would be transferable, but without knowing what that future site would be, it would difficult to answer that question; and said that the phasing for this particular contract is about three to four months, and he is not really sure when the work would start; and said we need to know where this is going before we move ahead very far; that we would do some preliminary work, but until that site is firmly established and we know that is where we are going, Mr. Kersten said he would not want to carry Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 3 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 through this phase; but hold off this work until we know for sure we have that site tied down. Councilmember Gothmann asked if we have the option in the contract to hold off work until the site is determined; and Mr. Kersten replied we have that option. Councilmember Gothmann stated further that Dr. Ruby's comments and those of the Valley Chamber are valid, we do not want to get too far down the road without tying down a site, but if most of it can be used, we should be okay. Gary Bernardo, 107 S Howard: Mr. Bernardo explained his company is the principal architect for the project; that Mr. Kersten has requested we give this proposal sort of a "cafeteria style" arrangement, where they work on an hourly basis on certain tasks; that it might be appropriate to approve the contract or a portion of that contract, because there is a fair amount of work they could do to help determine whether this is the correct site; that it might be that one or two or more sites are looked at; and before Council can say which site is the desired site, some amount of the up -front design work might be appropriate to help that decision being made; that Council has the option to spend from no funds, to the maximum amount, and at any point along, Council can re- direct or focus his company's efforts to either site analysis, building analysis, cost benefit analysis, construction costs analysis; and he said this contract gives Council the tool to ask the consultant team to provide information so Council can make an informed decision incrementally as this project moves forward. Councilmember Taylor added that by approving the contract or having a contract in place, we could get going as soon as we have a site tied down without having an administrative lag in trying to get a contract approved. Councilmember Gothmann mentioned that there are funds specifically set aside for this project, and Mr. Mercier confirmed that the money for the contract would come from the civic facilities reserve account; and said he senses that we have a councilor being cautious about proceeding, and other councilmembers may share those concerns about what depths to go to in securing services now; and if that is the case, and that three Councilmembers are absent from tonight's meeting, perhaps this matter should be brought back at a later date; that he realizes that if we are going to acquire a site it would be good to have some dimension of information about the building we want to put on that site; so we need more detail in order to wrap up a site effectively and efficiently, and at the same time, we don't want to over - commit as much of the design is site specific; and when this matter comes back for Council consideration, staff will try to suggest what range of expenditure we feel would be necessary in order to get the degree of information which will best facilitate acquisition of a site. Based on the above discussion, Councilmember Gothmann withdrew his motion and seconder Councilmember Taylor agreed. Councilmember Dempsey then moved, seconded by Mayor Munson, that this be tabled until the February 24`" meeting. Vote by Acclamation to table this item: In Favor Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried, and this matter will be tabled until the February 24`" council meeting. Mayor Munson called for a recess at 7:10 p.m., and reconvened the meeting at 7:23 p.m. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Munson invited general public comment; no comments were offered. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 5. 2008 Accomplishments Report — Mike Jackson Deputy City Manager Jackson explained that each Department head will explain their department's accomplishments relative to Council budget goals; and that this PowerPoint will be placed on our website for anyone to review. Mr. Jackson then gave the highlights of the Executive and Legislative Support Department, and Operations and Administrative Services. Mr. Jackson's review was followed by reviews from Finance Director Thompson, City Attorney Connelly, Police Chief VanLeuven, Community Development Director McClung, Parks and Recreation Director Stone, and Public Works Director Kersten. At the conclusion of all the Department reviews, Mr. Jackson ended by reviewing the 2009 Budget Goals, and the Vision Statement. Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 4 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 6. Speed Limit Changes — Inga Note Traffic Engineer Note explained that upon incorporation, Spokane Valley adopted the speed limits established by Spokane County, and that this proposed draft ordinance would address several issues relating to the adopted speed limits, and as there is no comprehensive document that lists all the speed limits, staff proposes Council consider adopting a master speed limits schedule, which will be available on the City's website; that in reviewing the County's speed limits, there have been some inconsistencies, and she stated she is working with Deputy City Attorney Driskell to draft the resolution and ordinance, and she mentioned the resolution would also give her authorization to modify speed limits during construction periods if necessary. Ms. Note explained the issues contained in her February 10, 2009 Request for Council Action form, and said concerning item #6, that it deals mostly with a residential neighborhood, that she conducted a speed study, and feels 30 mph might be more appropriate; but that there are some other streets which would meet the same criteria, such as 8 24 and Adams, and that she wants to have consistency throughout the city; and will take that step at a future date after more comprehensive analysis. Council concurred; and agreed to move this item forward on the February 24 council agenda. 7. Policing Strategy — Rick VanLeuven Police Chief VanLeuven went through his PowerPoint presentation describing the purpose and intent of bringing the information regarding a false alarm ordinance; explaining the pros and cons, potential solutions, and problems with the current system, which he explained, is not cost efficient. Chief VanLeuven explained about the number of false alarms in 2008; fines, tickets and revenues; that of the 954 false alarms, public schools were responsible for 162; and he mentioned outsourcing with a company called "Crywolf' , which he explained would have no direct cost to us, and the company would send the fine directly to the alarm account payment received in a local bank, and it would remove the courts from the equation, thus saving court time, clerical time, and taxpayer dollars. Mayor Munson said he would like to know the number of residential versus business false alarms, and Chief VanLeuven said he can gather that data for Council; and added that the outsourcing company would take about 25% from the fees, and there would be no up -front costs and we would have nothing to pay. City Manager Mercier said that the objective is to reduce the number of false alarms, free up officers' time to deal with other services, and un -clog the court, and he suggested exploring the ability to piggyback on the City of Spokane's contract; and to come back with specific language for council consideration. Council concurred. Chief VanLeuven also gave an overview of the SECTOR Program, which deals with issuing violations and copies of tickets, and said the proposal is to use electronic transmittals; scan the driver's license and vehicle registration bar codes, the scanner would then provide the necessary options to complete and print the ticket, which would be printed on a thermal printer, thus giving notice of infractions to the driver, and sending the information off instantly. Chief VanLeuven also mentioned the recent events dealing with pharmacy robberies over the last few weeks and said his department is working diligently to make arrests in those cases; and said that also during the last few weeks, they had limited use of SWAT teams to take people into custody. 8. Upcoming Public Works Council Actions — Neil Kersten Public Works Director Kersten explained that this is more of an informal memo to give Council notification of the projects planned for this summer, and projects planned for bid construction along with projects that will only be designed this year; that these projects will require future Council action in the form of bid awards and consultant agreements, and mentioned there will be heavy competition for the upcoming projects. Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 5 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 INFORMATION ONLY: The following items were for information only and were not reported or discussed: City Hall Lease Extension; Water Rights; Fire District Quarterly Report; Letter of Compliments to Staff and Alley Conversion to One -Way. City Manager Mercier asked if Council would agree to put the City Hall Lease Extension item on the February 24 Consent Agenda, and Council agreed. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pending Litigation. It was moved by Mayor Munson and seconded, to adjourn into Executive Session for approximately 30 minutes for the purpose of discussing pending litigation, and that no action is anticipated afterwards. Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:52 p.m. At 9:15 p.m., Mayor Munson declared Council out of Executive Session. It was then moved by Councilmember Taylor, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 9:16 p.m. /L•� �� ' hristine Bainbridge, City Clerk R and Munson, Council Regular Meeting: 02 -10 -2009 Page 6 of 6 Approved by Council: 02 -24 -09 GENERAL SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: February 10, 2009 GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES Sign in if you wish to make public comments. NAME PLEASE PRINT f WLir" i2u TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU WILL SPEAK ABOUT 6 t r 7 i4- L b&Q C s tnu«testt 7 /r N1 t L j ADDRESS TELEPHONE Cj c a-? fa Honorable Mayor, Honorable Members of the Council, Ladies and Gentlemen. My name is Philip L. Rudy. My address is 5647 North Fruithill Road. I am speaking this evening in the official capacity as the Chairman of the Board, Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce. The Executive committee of the Valley Chamber asks you to exercise caution when making the decision to contract for schematic designs services for the new City Hall. Committing a large amount of money for architectural and engineering schematic design services for a City Hall applicable to a specific site is a bold move. That commitment implies city control will be imminent of that specific site through ownership, Lease or other legal document. In reviewing the draft contract entitled "City of Spokane Valley —City Hall Schematic Design Services ", it appears that a significant portion of the expenditures are site specific and would be of no value if the site was not used for your specific purpose or if a different site were chosen in the future. The leadership of the Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce would highly recommend having the Council establish an ownership or a publicly disclosed unilateral form of control of a site before spending money for services described in the proposed contract. In closing, the Valley Chamber asks you to exercise caution on your forward financial commitments in these unique economic times. Thank you for allowing me to speak.