2019, 12-17 Study Session MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL MEETING
STUDY SESSION
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley, Washington
December 17, 2019
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Rod Higgins, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager
Pam Haley,Deputy Mayor John Hallinan, Deputy City Manager
Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Linda Thompson, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks &Recreation Director
Sam Wood, Councilmember Bill Helbig, City Engineer
Arne Woodard,Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Admin. Analyst
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Mayor Higgins called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
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 amended agenda.
ACTION ITEMS:
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 Azenda.
a. Approval of claim vouchers on Dec 17, 2019 Request for Council Action Form Total: $3,750,508.19
b. Approval of November 26, 2019 Council Meeting Minutes, Formal Format
c. Approval of December 9,2019 Special Council Meeting Minutes
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the consent agenda.
2. Second Reading Ordinance 19-021 Amending Procurement Code—Erik Lamb
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded
to approve Ordinance No. 19-021 adopting public works and purchasing amendments. Deputy City
Attorney Lamb explained that this amendment makes three sets of changes: to our public works code
regarding recently passed legislation, to use MRSC to provide roster services, and to modify the City
Manager's contract authority from $250,000 to $350,000 to align with the current small works roster
amount.Mayor Higgins invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation:in favor:
unanimous. Opposed:none. Motion carried.
3. Proposed Resolution 19-019 Amending Fees for 2020--Chelsie Taylor
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to approve Resolution 19-019 repealing and replacing
Resolution 18-010, and approving the Master Fee Schedule for 2020. Finance Director Taylor explained
the changes as noted in her Request for Council Action form, and said that there have been no changes to
this draft since the December 10 administrative report. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no
comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried
Council Study Session: 12-17-2019 Page 1 of 3
Approved by Council:01-14-2020
4. Motion Consideration: Storm Drain Cleaning Service Contract—2020 Option Year 2—John Hohman
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley and seconded to authorize the City Manager to finalize and execute
the 2020 contract renewal to AAA Sweeping in an amount not to exceed $202,587,50 for storm drain
cleaning services. Deputy City Manager Hohman explained that vactoring is storm drain cleaning; and that
this would be the second extension of four planned extensions; he said the 1.8% cost escalation is based on
the Consumer Price Index; and he also noted that on Exhibit A, the far right column should be `2020' rate
rather than `2019' rate. Mayor Higgins invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by
acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried.
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
5.Homelessness Related Topics--Morgan Koudelka, Erik Lamb
Mr. Koudelka explained that the purpose of tonight's report is to tell what staff have been up to related to
the homelessness issue; he said that over the past few months staff have been delving into changes and he
noted the case of Boise v. Martin as an example; said staff saw what other cities have done such as rushing
in too quickly to correct a problem which in some cases only made it worse,and then they were confronted
with the time and resources consumed by dealing with those self-inflicted problems;he said staff and others
have been reaching out to all the homeless social services, departments, and advocates, and learning as
much as possible to see if they can all work together to address these issues, and he mentioned some of the
numerous participants as shown on his PowerPoint slide. Mr.Koudelka also acknowledged Jewels Helping
Hands, and said their assistance has been invaluable as they advocate for the homeless community and
understand some of the difficulties; said they have provided such things as showers, transportation, and
property storage and said we feel fortunate to have them as a resource;he also acknowledged the assistance
and work of the Sheriff's Office and Frontier Behavior who have worked together to acquire a grant. Mr.
Koudelka said staff wants to make sure we have taken the steps that address this which have positive
outcomes for the community, and the first step was the adoption of the ordinance on camping regulations,
which helps protect some of the properties and gave structure to move forward.He mentioned the proposed
next steps,Phase 1 outreach where we will use these teams to start interacting with homeless individuals to
understand the circumstances and determine if we have existing services that meet their needs, and to
connect them to resources such as shelter; he said it is understood that camping in the parks is not a
compatible use and creates conflicts and even exacerbates conflict within the community; he said the idea
is to collect a summary report of who is homeless, how did they get there, and what are their needs, and
then bring the data to Council for Council and staff to work to determine a long-reaching plan and thereby
make a difference by the best use of our current resources.
Mr. Koudelka also reported that the HCDAC (Spokane County Housing & Community Development
Advisory Committee)recently recommended full funding for expanded outreach services and the Board of
County Commissioners(BoCC)have placed that issue on their consent agenda for Wednesday; he said the
Housing and Community Development Department proposed to the HCDAC to remove from the list of
proposals,the City of Spokane's request for funding a new shelter to have that request considered separately
by the BoCC; he said the proposal was presented to the BoCC, which meeting Mr. Koudelka said he
attended, and where he was asked to share the City of Spokane Valley's perspective. Mr. Koudelka
explained at that meeting that we would like to ensure that gains were being made on the investment, and
if the rest of the County other than Spokane was putting up a third of the costs,that we would want to know
that bed space was available for our needs as well as Spokane's.Mr.Koudelka said he stated at that meeting,
that Spokane was asking for a five-year commitment, but that such a commitment goes beyond what we
and our Council are prepared to determine as we have just begun the process. He noted that Spokane is
asking for$750,000 for eighteen months of operational funding which would be provided from the current
recording fees balance; that Spokane is also putting up$750,000 as are private partners. He noted Spokane
also asked for a five-year commitment;that the commitment by the BoCC would be$500,000 per year,and
if they committed to the five years,that would be$2.5 million; he said the shelter is designed to handle 60
people at a time for up to 90 days of consistent 24-hour shelter; and that the second phase would assist
Council Study Session: 12-17-2019 Page 2 of 3
Approved by Council:01-14-2020
individuals achieve stability, progress and permanent housing, and that the project does include
performance measures and standards. Mr. Koudelka said staff is asking Council for feedback and any
guidance, and to trust staff and allow staff to move forward with this plan and demonstrate we are ready to
implement this; after which, staff would come back to Council with additional information.
Concerning the Boise v. Martin case, Deputy City Attorney Lamb said that case states that we cannot
criminalize the status of being homeless; he said the U.S. Supreme Court has determined not to accept
review, so we will continue to operate under Boise v. Martin; he said our regulations as they are comply
with that decision. There was some discussion about the plan mentioned by Mr. Koudellca and the 90 days
of consistent 24-hour shelter. Mr. Koudelka stated that a lot of these individuals are struggling with
numerous issues and they need extended help; he said for someone struggling to survive, priorities like
keeping appointments or making progress on employment or help with addictions or education or job
training fall on the wayside, as survival is the only priority. Mr. Koudelka added that there is a need to
identify those people who want to get some help, and those who do not; he mentioned the reporting system
that uses 2-1-1 operated by Frontier that shows bed space each night,but said the timing has proven difficult
to work with so this new shelter will make that easier as it will be constant. Mr.Koudelka asked Council if
they have any serious concerns about the plan to move forward,or may staff get started and move forward.
All members of Council raised their hands in support of staff moving forward.
6. Advance Agenda—Mayor Higgins
There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda.
7. Council Comments—Mayor Higgins
Several members of Council extended holiday wishes to all.
8. City Manager Comments---Mark Calhoun
City Manager Calhoun noted the next two regularly scheduled Council meetings, December 24 and
December 31, ae cancelled so the next meeting will be January 7, 2020; he noted the holiday schedule of
City Hall and said that all events scheduled at CenterPlace will be held as scheduled.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn into executive session
for approximately ten minutes to discuss pending litigation, and that no action will be taken upon return to
open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 6:46 p.m. At 6:54 p.m.,Mayor Higgins declared
Council out of executive session at which time it was immediately moved by Deputy Mayor Haley, seconded
and unanimously agreed to adjourn.
ATT `cam~
Ben Wick, Mayor,
_ L.
r ZristineBainbridge, City Clerk
Council Study Session: 12-17-2019 Page 3 of 3
Approved by Council:01-14-2020