2020, 02-25 Regular Meeting MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
FORMAL FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley, Washington
February 25, 2020
Mayor Wick called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Ben Wick, Mayor Mark Calhoun, City Manager
Brandi Peetz, Deputy Mayor John Hohman, Deputy City Manager
Pam Haley, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Tim Hattenburg, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Rod Higgins, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney
Linda Thompson, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks &Recreation Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Bill Helbig, City Engineer
Gloria Mantz, Engineering Manager
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor Mark Walker of Spokane Valley Nazarene Church gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff, and the audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to
approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS n/a
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS
Councilmember Woodard: no report
Councilmember Hattenburg: said he attended the County Sheriffs Office Recognition night/awards and he
highlighted several officers and citizens who were awarded; said he went to the AWC (Association of
Washington Cities) conference where he presented our capital project budget request for the Sullivan Park
Water Line to the 4th'District Legislators and other legislators and reported that this week we were informed
that the senate budget included $130,000 for that project; said he sits on the STA (Spokane Transit
Authority)board and announced they are debt free and have received a$53 million federal grant for a new
city line,which he said will affect everyone; and that he attended several Chamber of Commerce meetings,
including the monthly Government Action meeting.
Deputy Mayor Peetz: reported that she attended several Visit Spokane board meetings and she extended
congratulations to that Board's new chair; she spoke about Visit Spokane's budget compared to other cities;
said she heard a presentation from the Manager of Nordstrom about some stores opening; said the PFD
(Public Facilities District) gave a presentation about the sportsplex which should be completed about
August of 2021 and said that will be a $50 million economic impact; she reported on statistics for the
Spokane Airport of how they have grown; said they gave a presentation about the downtown stadium; said
she also attended the SRLJC, which is the Spokane Regional Law and Justice Council and they are doing
an intact and release pilot project which has a 14% success rate for the month; she mentioned another pilot
project about having night court; said she attended Spokane's State of the City Address; and said she went
to the SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council) 101 class where they discussed the basics of
transportation.
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 02-25-2020 Page 1 of 5
Approved by Council: 03-10-2020
Councilmember Haley: said she also attended the STA board meeting and mentioned a changed route but
that it will continue to have service to Partners and the Chaz clinic; said she went to the Continuum of Care
meeting and was surprised at how many homeless students there are making it through high school; said
while there is a system to place juveniles, that really doesn't work for these kids, and said there is needed
work to find these youth homes.
Councilmember Higgins: no report
Councilmember Thompson: said she is on the AWC Board of Directors and they are working on the federal
legislative priorities,and she named those priorities including supporting the homeless services and shelters
in cities; said they are asking the federal government to invest directly in cities; said she will be headed to
Washington, D.C. in a few weeks to attend the NLC (National League of Cities) conference; again
expressed her concern with the water issue in a mobile home park that still doesn't have clean water and
said she spoke with the individual who manages that water district; mentioned the Commute Smart NW
Luncheon awards and of the recognition of City employee Chris Thompson for her work with Smart
Commute; and said that she attended the funeral for Claudette Mills who was president of the Edgecliff
SCOPE for many years.
MAYOR'S REPORT
Mayor Wick said he attended Spokane's State of the City address where again he heard some inference that
we don't participate in the homelessness issue, adding that we do and that many of our funds including
funds from CDBG(Community Development Block Grants) are filtered through the County and allocated
for various projects; he also mentioned our physical as well as monetary participation in the Continuum of
Care; said he has been working with Spokane County Commissioner Kuney concerning a project to
spotlight Spokane County to disseminate information on the various things we do in Spokane Valley;
mentioned meeting with members of the Spokane Indians baseball team; spoke about GSI (Greater
Spokane, Inc.) about their function; mentioned the SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council) big
report on an electrification project with Avista doing a study with grants to work on supporting electric
vehicles, and said he was elected chair for that Council; spoke of INFRA (infrastructure for rebuilding
America) grants and collaboration with Spokane County, as well as our collaboration with them on their
Bigelow Gulch Project and our Sullivan Road Project; and also mentioned our City's State of the City
address to be held March 27 at CenterPlace.
PROCLAMATION n/a
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. 25, 2020, Request for Council Action Form Total: $3,790,415.71
b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending January 31, 2020: $609,111.91
c. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending February 15, 2020: $386,831.16
d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 4, 2020, Special Meeting
e. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 4, 2020, Study Session Meeting
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Motion Consideration: Street Sweeping Contract—John Hohman
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to award the 2020 street sweeping services to AAA
Sweeping, LLC for an initial contract amount not to exceed$560,000 and authorize the City Manager to
finalize and execute a contract for the services. Mr.Hohman gave a brief explanation of the street sweeping
and that AAA is the sole provider; also that this service is very equipment intensive and again mentioned
there is only one contractor in this region of sufficient size to handle our needs; said the current contract
expired in 2019 and this was again re-bid with only one bid proposal; he added that $560,000 will enable
us to cover the entire city. Mayor Wick invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by
acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried.
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 02-25-2020 Page 2 of 5
Approved by Council: 03-10-2020
PUBLIC COMMENTS: After explaining the process, Mayor Wick invited public comment.
Ms.Kathryn Cote, Spokane Valley: she spoke concerning the Barker Sprague intersection and the proposed
roundabout; said if that goes in she'll have no access to her front yard and limited access on the Sprague
side; said she won't be able to back out to get into the west lane; and if a fire truck or ambulance needed to
get to her, there would be limited access; said this is a safety issue and she asked about moving the
roundabout a little more to the west to free up some of her property; said a roundabout would be taking
quite a bit off her front property; said she e-mailed Council her concerns; said she has no confidence in
engineers, and she'd like them to come out and walk the property with her.
Ms. Barbara Howard, Spokane Valley: said Councilmember Thompson had brought up the issue with the
water at the mobile home park; said there are others out there with septic tanks and she said we must protect
the aquifer; said if you want to go after that trailer court, the City or Council lost the last time; she also
mentioned a program for releasing people from jail, and she rhetorically asked why would we need $500
million for a new jail.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
3. Justice Task Force Wrap-up—Cary Driskell; Maggie Yates, Spokane Regional Law& Justice Dept.
City Attorney Driskell introduced Ms. Maggie Yates, the Spokane Regional Law & Justice Coordinator
who headed up the efforts on this task force that convened last spring; he said that he and Councilmember
Haley also represented the City on that task force,they had a charge to look at issues regarding a potential
jail, as well as ancillary related justice systems;he added that part of the issue has also been a lack of clear
information on jail operations.
Ms. Yates talked about some of the things the Regional Office of Law& Justice handle, such as grant and
locally funded initiatives, the Spokane Regional Law & Justice Council, and the Justice Task Force.
Concerning the Justice Task Force,she went over the process of data gathering and analysis and of the three
committees working on those issues, which then develop recommendations to the Board of County
Commissioners. She went over their guiding principles,then the targeted recommendations to improve the
system including redesigning of the summons, expanding peer support,supervised release,electronic home
monitoring, and investing in community based resources. Ms. Yates also explained the target populations
on the various aspects of the justice system on such items as failure to appear and failure to comply, and
she expanded on those associated recommendations to improve the process, along with assumed results.
Ms. Yates also spoke concerning jail population projections, and compared the targeted recommendations
with the forecast; and lastly, she went over some of the other Spokane County jail populations to be
considered for alternatives. Council thanked Ms. Yates for her information.
4. Radio Controlled Car Club License Agreement—Mike Stone
Parks&Recreation Director Stone gave some background of the Radio Control Car Club's use of their race
track at Sullivan Park and of our agreement for that use;mentioned we are looking for a two-year agreement
with another two-year renewal. There was Council consensus to place this license agreement on the March
10 consent agenda.
5. Indiana Avenue Preservation Project Update—Erica Amsden, Gloria Mantz
After Ms. Mantz introduced the project, Ms. Amsden explained about the existing conditions and project
design, and said the road is in bad shape;she talked about the traffic island revisions and about the Mall not
wanting a change during the holiday season and she explained they are looking for yet another traffic island
change;she continued explaining the project's design as well as temporary traffic control and closures; said
the landscape medians are an issue as well as timing, and said that closing those areas as shown, shortens
the project; that if the areas were not closed, it would extend the project several weeks and they are trying
to get it completed before school starts in August. Ms.Amsden mentioned revisions will be done to closure
area 1, and in closure area 3 the work will only be done at night; she also noted that staff spoke with Mr.
Hanson and he had no objections to the closures.
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 02-25-2020 Page 3 of 5
Approved by Council: 03-10-2020
6. Sprague/Barker Intersection Improvement Project—Erica Amsden, Gloria Mantz
After Ms. Mantz introduced the project, Ms. Amsden went through the PowerPoint explaining the project
design options, with option A a traffic signal, and option B a roundabout; she mentioned that nothing has
been finalized in this project and this is just a concept. Ms. Amsden also noted that Central Valley School
District favors the roundabout for this location,but at the public meeting,the majority of comments favored
a signal. Concerning the previous public comment of Ms. Cote,Engineering Manager Mantz said she will
respond to her concerns. Ms. Mantz also noted that the single lane roundabout is the far superior option for
this location; and said staff seeks Council consensus to bring forward a recommendation for a single lane
roundabout so the project design can begin,followed by seeking NEPA(National Environmental Protection
Act)approval,obligation of the funds,and moving forward with the project. Councilmember Woodard said
he would prefer the roundabout,but that Mrs. Cote has some serious issues and concerns and asked if there
is any way to move it a few feet to the west and north in order to relieve a lot of stress on Mrs. Coty's
property. Ms.Mantz said staff is not dismissing her concerns and that staff will definitely work with her on
this issue.After further brief discussion, including mention that each roundabout is unique and this one will
not be located between two schools, there was consensus to move forward and bring a motion to Council
for the roundabout. Mayor Wick said he trusts staff will figure out a solution.
7.Adams Sidewalk Project Update—Glenn Ritter, Gloria Mantz
Staff went through the PowerPoint presentation explaining about the project location, existing conditions,
project design, public outreach, traffic control, estimate budget and tentative schedule. Councilmember
Woodard asked about looking to see if there are any other gaps in the sidewalk, and Mr. Ritter said that a
few areas have been identified that need repair.It was noted the project has a tentative bid opening of March
20,with project completion expected early August.
8. Ella and Conklin Sidewalk Project Update—Glenn Ritter, Gloria Mantz
Mr. Ritter explained about the two small sidewalk projects showing each project's location, existing
conditions,project design,public outreach,temporary traffic control and budget and funding, as well as the
tentative schedule from bid advertisement to projected completion.
9.North Sullivan Intelligent Transportation System Project Update—Glenn Ritter, Gloria Mantz
After Ms. Mantz introduced the project, Senior Engineer Ritter explained the project location, existing
conditions, design, public outreach, temporary traffic control, budget, and tentative schedule from bid
advertisement to projected completion.
10. Washington State Department of Transportation(WSDOT)Land Acquisition—Cary Driskell
City Attorney Driskell explained about potential land acquisition of property currently owned by WSDOT
just north of the river, east of Flora, and south of the Union Pacific tracks and pointed out the property in
red on the overhead map; said the property consists of 45 or 46 acres, and if purchased, would be used for
park purposes. Mr. Driskell said WSDOT surplused the property; they had an appraisal performed a few
years ago and the purchase price of$2,091,600 was established by appraisal; said sewer and water were put
on the property in 2017. Mr. Driskell said he has had several discussions with WSDOT; that the property
is largely in a natural state with extensive coniferous trees along the westerly and southerly boundaries; he
noted the Parks Master Plan identified this as a good potential for park purposes; and if there is interest
from Council,he is seeking consensus to continue negotiations with WSDOT;he noted staff is also seeking
authorization from the Washington State Recreation Conservation Office (RCO)to apply for a grant of up
to$1 million to repay the City for acquisition costs;he noted the RCO authorization for retroactive payment
must come prior to a final decision to acquire the land and that the RCO may ultimately decline to award a
grant for these purposes, in which case he explained, the City would bear the entire cost of purchase.
Councilmember Peetz asked if any other parties are interested in this property and Mr. Driskell said there
are several, including someone interested in putting in an apartment complex,and Central Pre-Mix wanting
to put in another gravel pit by the river. Several Councilmembers said they feel this is an excellent
opportunity and there were no objections to staff moving forward.
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 02-25-2020 Page 4 of 5
Approved by Council: 03-10-2020
11. Federal Legislative Agenda—Mark Calhoun, John Hohman
Mr. Calhoun said that he and Deputy City Manager Hohman has begun discussions on staff recommended
updates to the Federal Legislative Agenda; said the concept for this was identified in 2018 in preparation
for the 2019 budget. He noted the agenda has been condensed to a one-page introduction, followed by a
one-page (double-sided) sheet requesting policy changes to federal capital project funding and technical
requirements, then a double-sided handout for each project. Mr. Calhoun suggested the need to focus on
fewer items and asked Council to consider only including the policy items, and the Pines and Sullivan
projects.After Mr.Hohman went over the information in the handouts,and said that as suggested,the name
will change to Bigelow Sullivan in keeping with the title of the INFRA grant application which he noted
was due today; he said staff will make sure each flyer shows the project request and not the city request.
Mr.Hohman said staff feels we are not quite ready to have the Barker Road Corridor project come forward,
but to focus on the other two projects. Councilmember Haley said that in her STA trips to Washington,
D.C., for each grant it was noted they want to see the information on the front to show the amount of the
local match,and the economic development impact.Mr. Calhoun noted that we have been focusing on this
federal legislative agenda in the hopes to have information for Councilmember Thompson as she goes to
Washington, D.C. in March; he also noted that GSI (Greater Spokane, Inc.) has asked us to give them a
copy of our federal legislative agenda tomorrow; he said staff will make the revisions tomorrow and this
will come back next week for Council adoption consideration. Mr.Hohman also noted in working with our
federal lobbyist, the intent was to look at transportation items. There were no objections to the
recommended changes, including expanding the information on the front page, and to bring this back next
week for a motion consideration.
12. Advance Agenda- Mayor Wick
There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda.
INFORMATION ONLY
The(13)Department Monthly Reports, and the(14)Administration Quarterly Report were for information
only and were not reported or discussed.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
Mr.Calhoun said staff and some members of Council will be taking a trip to Washington,D.C.likely during
May concerning the federal legislative agenda, and said he assumes the decision of who among Council
will be going, will be up to the Mayor, and said that can be discussed more next week. He also noted that
the INFRA grant was turned in today for the combined Bigelow Gulch project; that in conjunction with
AWC,we were again awarded the Well City award for the tenth consecutive year, and that this gives us a
2% discount on health insurance premiums. Mr. Calhoun stated that Chief Werner is retiring June 30 and
that his second in command Matt Lyons will be retiring May 31, and to prepare for their departure, he and
Sheriff Knezovich have been looking at a succession plan; that by contract the Sheriff recommends three
people for the chief position and then the appointment is done by the City Manager. Mr. Calhoun said the
interview process is complete and he announced that he chose undersheriff Dave Ellis with an effective
date of July 1, 2020 as our new police chief.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 9:02 p.m.
ta,"
A e Ben Wick,Mayor
Al
ristine Bainbridge,City Clerk
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 02-25-2020 Page 5 of 5
Approved by Council: 03-10-2020
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, February 25, 2020
6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
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