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2020, 02-04 Study Session MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Study Session Format Tuesday,February 4,2020 Mayor Wick called the meeting to order at 6 pm Ben Wick,Mayor Mark Calhoun City Manager Brandi Peetz,Deputy Mayor John Hohman,Deputy City Manager Pam Haley, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Tim Hattenburg, Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney Rod Higgins, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Linda Thompson, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Rec Director Arne Woodard, Councilmember Bill Helbig, City Engineer Lori Barlow, Senior Planner Adam Jackson,Planning/Grants Engineer Mark Werner,Police Chief Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Councilmember Thompson, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the 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 Agenda. a. Approval of claim vouchers on Feb 4,2020 Request for Council Action Form Total: $3,061,512.23 b.Approval of payroll for pay period ending January 15,2020: $404,764.24 c. Approval of January 14,2020 Council Meeting Minutes,Regular Formal Format d. Approval of January 21,2020 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format It was moved by Councilmember Hattenburg, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. 2.First Reading Ordinance 20-001 CTA 2019-0003, Signage Amendment—Lori Barlow It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to advance Ordinance No. 20-001 to a second reading as proposed. After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, Senior Planner Barlow explained about the current aesthetic corridor sign regulations and the proposed amendment, and that if adopted, the amendment would correct the text that currently prohibits wall signs.Mayor Wick invited public comment; no comments were offered. Councilmember Thompson asked about sandwich signs and Ms.Barlow explained that this only deals with wall signs and that separate sign regulations deal with temporary signs such as sandwich signs. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 3.First Reading Ordinance 20-002 Enabling Ordinance, Collection of Sales&Use Tax—Cary Driskell After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to advance Ordinance 20-002 to a second reading as proposed. City Attorney Driskell explained the purpose of this ordinance and again emphasized that this would be a tax refund and not a new or increased tax; he noted the sales tax would be tied to the 2019 sales and use tax revenue amount generated in Spokane Valley which is estimated at$178,000 annually. Mr. Driskell also mentioned that Spokane County has already approved a local qualifying tax for purposes of collecting the second .0073% and so, if we do nothing further, Spokane Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 1 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020 County will collect the second .0073% for use on a regional basis for qualifying affordable and supportive housing purposes;he mentioned that a bill has been introduced which contains technical corrections and which would also extend the timeframe for an enabling ordinance;and if passed and signed by the Governor,it would extend this to December 1st Deputy Mayor Peetz asked if we don't move toward qualifying for a second .0073% of states sales and use tax,would there be any interest in talking to the County if they collect that on our behalf, and to see if they'd be interested in working with us since it is our sales tax money. Mr. Driskell said that there have been very preliminary discussions about what role Spokane Valley would have, but staff wanted to make sure Council adopts this first half before engaging in additional discussions. Mr. Calhoun noted that if we don't impose the tax, it would not be the County collecting in our behalf, with Mr. Driskell adding if that were the case, it would be worth asking the County if they were interested in further discussion. Mayor Wick invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 4. Motion Consideration: Authorizing Applying for INFRA Grant: Bigelow Gulch/Sullivan Corridor — Adam Jackson It was moved by Councilmember Peetz and seconded to authorize the City Manager or designee to finalize and submit an INFRA Grant application for the Sullivan Road and Bigelow Gulch Improvement Project. Mr. Jackson explained about the opportunity to apply for the grant and of our partnering with Spokane County with their Bigelow Gulch project,which is a freight corridor connecting the north Spokane corridor;that this would allow the County to complete their Bigelow Gulch project, and allow the City to leverage the progress they made,and help us fix the problem that will occur as soon as the County's project is complete,as our Trent and Sullivan interchange will suffer when that connection is made. Mr. Jackson noted the INFRA program makes $900 million available nationwide;that small projects are more competitive as there are fewer funds and many projects; but the big projects which this would be, are not necessarily less competitive, but there is more opportunity as there are more funds.Mr.Jackson said this project would have a minimum of$25 million based on the program requirements;that we have entered into an agreement with Spokane County and have worked with the consultant to develop the INFRA grant; and said that this application window is only 44 days.For our share of the joint project, Mr. Jackson said we have $500,000 set aside in the budget for what will amount to an estimated$25 million Trent interchange;therefore he explained,we are leveraging all the efforts in federal and nonfederal funds the County is putting forward, to hopefully elevate the Sullivan and Trent interchange project to receive funding. Councilmember Thompson asked if we have support from the County on this application, and Mr. Jackson replied we do; that he is the lead on the City's side of the project, and the County has their team working on this as well and they are sharing in the cost of the consultant in applying; and said we are working together to submit the request to stakeholders for their support. Councilmember Woodard asked if we have started getting support letters from the industrial park, schools districts and elsewhere, and Mr. Jackson said he is beginning to get that information together but those letters have not been issued yet;and once Council passes this motion, he said he would start tomorrow to ask for support letters. Mayor Wick asked about an amount for future budgets and Mr.Jackson explained that more money is always better;that the mission is to leverage the federal dollar against non-federal dollars; he also mentioned that when we reach an agreement and sign with the USDOT, the timeclock starts ticking and within 18 months, we must have designed the project, acquired the needed right-of-way, and started construction. He further explained that the best way to leverage this application is to take out the INFRA dollars from our engineering and right-of-way phases of the Trent interchange,which amounts to$4 million,and keeping in mind we have $500,000 of that$4 million; so if we were to take $3.5 million or$4 million out of the INFRA request and move it to a nonfederal unsecured fund, that would drop the amount we'd ask for INFRA, it would also allow us not to be constrained by the federal contracts on the design or right-of-way dollars; that if we weren't using those federal funds, we could start with the nonfederal funds or non-USDOT dollars,and start the design then,which would allow us to progress with the project so by the time we have finished the design and started the right-of-way, it would be more Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 2 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020 reasonable to start the USDOT contract clock then and therefore,more practical to get that construction done within the 18 months' timeline. To clarify,Mr. Jackson stated that when he drafted the Request for Council Action(RCA)form,he was using the 2015 Sullivan Road Corridor study to help shape this request;and said there is a line in the RCA that states that a part of this scope would be active transportation elements along the Sullivan Corridor;he said that entails in the study, a shared use path of the River up to Trent, and includes lighting and STA improvements;he said those were written as based on the study,it was a great opportunity to include multi-modal elements to a traffic- heavy project; however, getting deeper into the study's elements, those will be removed from the request because to provide a shared use path for that stretch would require quite a bit of right-of-way acquisition and road reconfiguration, which is not practical here and it is tied to other corridor improvements. Mayor Wick invited public comment;no comments were offered.Mayor Wick said he heard from SRTC(Spokane Regional Transportation Council)that this project is their only focus and he asked Mr. Jackson if he is aware of anyone else applying for INFRA. Mr. Jackson said the only thing he heard was that the City of Spokane hinted they were considering projects.Mayor Wick asked if it would be more beneficial to call this a Bigelow Gulch phase rather than include Sullivan in the title.Mr.Jackson explained that the name suggests that Bigelow is the lead as it is titled Bigelow Sullivan, instead of Sullivan Bigelow; he said the application will be written with an emphasis that this is a rural project in almost all cases except there will be a box where we would have to check that there are urban elements; he said this will be written as if it is a rural project because it serves a rural community that is accessing the interstate system. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Wick invited public comments.No comments were offered. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 5. City Hall Update—John Hohman Deputy City Manager Hohman introduced our outside attorney on this issue Mr. Shane McFetridge, and City Attorney Cary Driskell.Mr.Hohman said tonight staff will give an update on the reconstruction of the City Hall wall work,which he noted has already begun;he said a lot has happened since the last update on September 24;and Mr.Hohman gave a summary of what has transpired since Council approved a bid award on May 3,2016,to Meridian Construction for the City Hall construction;including the odd signs of cracking and stress on the back wall, and the City filing a claim February 21, 2019 against Meridian Construction for work pursuant to the contract and looking toward resolution on getting the repairs done. Mr. Hohman noted that the City's experts' analysis showed that improper soil compaction and improper foundation construction by Meridian and its subcontractor Piersol Construction,is the cause of the issues.Mr.Hohman stressed that the deficient work is only exhibited in the east Council chamber wall,the curved wall behind where they are sitting, is not present anywhere else in the structure,and that the experts feel it is safe for us to be in this room, adding that if that were not the case, none of us would be in this room tonight; he also noted that after work recently done on the wall to stabilize the foundation and to allow us to analyze the situation, that the building appears to be stabilized and is no longer sinking in that area. During the installation of the micropiles to stabilize the foundation, Mr. Hohman said there were some additional stresses noted in the drywall predominately over the table where they are currently sitting, and behind the council chamber above Council, which was another concern. Mr. Hohman said staff brought in an additional expert, Mr. Robb Dibble from Dibble Engineering in Seattle, whose evaluation resulted in a prepared investigation plan. Mr. Hohman said all this has been occurring while also coordinating with Meridian Construction and their insurance company,who has taken on the lead role in evaluating any repair and resulting reimbursements to the City for all costs. Mr. Hohman again stated that per our contract, Meridian is responsible for these repairs, and we will seek 100%reimbursement from them. Mr. Hohman then explained the work that has been and will be done in the next few days to the curved wall;he said that once the wall is opened,we will know better,the required scope of work. Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 3 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020 Mr. McFetridge said he has nothing to add as Mr. Hohman gave a great overview of where we are and where we hope to be by February 18; said this process will allow us to get a full picture structurally of what's going on with the wall, and that we have a plan in place so when we are finished,we really will be finished. Mayor Wick asked about the cost and Mr. Hohman said that Council authorized a budget amendment last fall of$500,000,which included about$100,000 for legal fees;and that we will pay as we go,and expect to have at some point,a settlement with Meridian's insurance company and we will recover all costs. 6. Potential Grant: City Safety Program—Adam Jackson Mr. Jackson explained about the potential grant opportunity through the Washington State Department of Transportation's call for projects focusing on engineering countermeasures and strategies that help reduce fatal and serious injury crashes through the City Safety Program(CSP),which grant will award$25 million statewide;and that the applications are due March 6,2020.Mr.Jackson noted that eligible funding requests must include projects that have been identified in the City's Plan, and that staff intends to develop applications for all eligible projects included in the table shown in his Request for Council Action. There were no objections that staff return to Council for a motion consideration at the February 18,2020,Council meeting. 7.Public Noticing Procedures—Lori Barlow,Erik Lamb Ms.Barlow went over the highlights of the different types of permits and associated noticing requirements, after which there was brief discussion about the noticing requirements for who gets notice, and within how far from the project site. Deputy City Attorney Lamb said staff believe the noticing requirements are working as intended,as there will always be someone who said they should have received notice but didn't; and that in most if not all of those instances, the person complaining was informed or heard about the hearing or project and attended the hearing or meeting in question;which begs the question of how far out is far enough to send notices.Ms.Barlow pointed out that although the last slide compares our regulations to other cities, the comparison isn't complete as there are different requirements in different cities, for different application types. There was also some discussion on costs relative to noticing and Mr. Lamb explained that our Code doesn't set out who bears the cost for the additional mailings outside the required 400 feet of the project,but the City bears the cost in those situations where there is a likelihood of significant impacts and where more public input is necessary. 8. Police Department Quarterly Report—Chief Werner After Chief Werner gave the highlights of his fourth quarter 2019 report, Mayor Wick asked what is our crime rate and whether there is a uniform definition to make that determination. Chief Werner said a study is conducted at the end of the year that does comparisons by jurisdictions as to particular crimes, and said he will see if we can get that report to Council. 9.Advance Agenda—Mark Werner Mayor Wick mentioned the City Safety Program and T-bone and head-on collisions, and said that report reminded him about the decision Council made in the past about the Sullivan and Wellesley intersection where Council chose a signal instead of a roundabout,and said he'd like to look at that again and see if that decision has been finalized.Mr.Calhoun said if Council is interested,staff could do an administrative report possibly February 18 or 25.Deputy Mayor Peetz said she too is interested in that topic as there was a heavy debate and that new information has come out since then that some people who had voiced an opinion of a signal or a roundabout had changed their minds;that perhaps this would be something to save us money in the long run since a signal requires more maintenance. Mr. Calhoun said staff's admin report will include the status of the project as well,and since that Council decision occurred in 2018,he assumes that there has been a great deal of design work on that project. Councilmember Higgins said at that time, there was discussion from East Valley School District concerning the idea of a roundabout which would take up a lot of space they felt they didn't have,and therefore,we need their input. Mr. Calhoun agreed that should also Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 4 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020 be included in the next discussion. Four Councilmembers raised their hand to indicate they would like this topic pursued. Councilmember Thompson mentioned that when Council was in Olympia they spoke to Representative Riccelli who asked this Council to consider lending support for House Bill 1590 which addresses Councilmanic authority for sales tax increase for affordable housing;she said this is a short session so time is a factor. Mr. Calhoun said he and Mr. Driskell have discussed this and Mr. Driskell will address this during the City Manager Comments. Mayor Wick said Spokane County put in a capital budget request to the State of about $700,000 for the Saltese Flats Interruptive Center;he said he mentioned we also have submitted a capital budget request,but he wanted to share this with Council to see if we want to give them a letter of support or just an acknowledgement. Mr. Calhoun noted that our capital budget request is $413,000 for our Sullivan Park water line. Mayor Wick said he spoke with Representative Cathy McMorris Rodgers about federal projects and our Pines project; he mentioned the delays with the CRISI grant through the FRA program; that the FRA has different definitions of some of the requirements which has delayed some of our contracts; and that it has slowed down the design project;he said he voiced some of these concerns with Representative Rodgers to see if she could help; he said a typical federal solution is if you get grant money from two different entities they'll usually transfer you over so you have jurisdictional control under one, whether that is federal highways or Federal Railroad Administration; but the FRA hasn't wanted to yield that over to highways; so her office recommended we send information to her addressing and outlining the issues we are experiencing so she can forward it to congressional staff for their review and assistance. Mr. Calhoun said engineering staff is in the process of drafting such a letter for Council's review and if Council concurs, for the Mayor's signature, and that we plan to get that to Council as soon as possible. 10.Information Only The (a) Department Monthly Reports; and (b) Department Quarterly Reports were for information only and were not reported or discussed. 11. Council Check in—Mayor Wick Deputy Mayor Peetz mentioned Chief Weiner's quarterly report and last week's employee appreciation banquet, said she offered congratulations to Spokane Valley citizens and officers who received awards. Councilmember Thompson mentioned last week's trip to Olympia and said our lobbyist Gordon Thomas Honeywell is doing a great job on our behalf; said she stayed to testify on Senate Bill 6536 which is a bill that state mandates that we allow multiple structures on residential zoned properties; said she is concerned about this as it takes away local control; said it would be a mandate that we would have to put on housing types like duplexes, tri-plexus, etc. with close proximity to transit, but that it didn't require any parking, and those who advocated for it were all from the west side of the state and said they all take transit and no one takes cars; said she testified that we have developed housing provisions through public policy that allows us to shape regulations that work for our citizens and that we are strongly opposed to the state mandates that take away our public input. 12. City Manager Comments—Mark Calhoun At Mr. Calhoun's request,City Attorney Driskell gave a brief recap on House Bill 1590,which he said was introduced but not passed last year, and which is carried over into the short session. He said that this bill would allow a city to raise the sales tax by.01%by council action,referred to as councilmanic,rather than putting the issue on a ballot for citizen's vote. Mr. Driskell noted that 3rd District Representative Riccelli from Spokane requested our Council take a position in support of the bill; that although this is something we would likely not use,we could still lend our city's support to the bill, or as an alternative,we could ask Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 5 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020 our lobbyist Gordon Thomas Honeywell to sign in, in support of the bill. There was general Council consensus to go with that option rather than a letter of support. Mr. Calhoun noted that next week's Council meeting will be the annual winter workshop and that this year it will be held in the second floor conference room, from 8:30 a.m. to about 2:30 p.m., and the meeting is open to the public; and since Council will be holding the workshop, the evening February 11 Council meeting has been cancelled. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:51 p.m. LJ,P ATT T: Ben Wick,Mayor Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Meeting Minutes:02-04-2020 Page 6 of 6 Approved by Council:02-25-2020