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2020, 07-28 Regular Formal MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING FORMAL FORMAT Spokane Valley City Hall Spokane Valley, Washington July 28, 2020 Mayor Wick called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held remotely via ZOOM meeting. Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Ben Wick,Mayor John Hohman, Deputy City Manager Brandi Peetz, Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney Pam Haley, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Tim Hattenburg Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Attorney Rod Higgins, Councilmember Connor Lange, Planner Linda Thompson, Councilmember Carrie Koudelka,Deputy City Clerk Arne Woodard, Councilmember ROLL CALL: Deputy City Clerk Koudelka called the roll; all Councilmembers were present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the amended agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS - MultiCare Hospital Update on COVID-19 Impact on Hospitals: Mayor Wick introduced Dr. David O'Brien, Sr. Vice President and Chief Executive for MultiCare Eastern Region; and Gregg Repetti, President of MultiCare Deaconess and Valley Hospitals to update Council on the impacts that local hospitals arc facing due to the pandemic. Dr. O'Brien said that they have been following the increase in COVID-19 cases in the region and that currently the number of hospitalizations due to the virus are between twelve and thirteen per day where typically that number is around five to eight new hospitalizations per day. He said they predict within a couple of weeks that the number will be up in twenties due to the number of positive cases they have been tracking.He said there is also concern that staff and patients in nursing homes are being impacted by the virus.He said that it has been scientifically shown that social distancing, proper hygiene and wearing masks reduce the spread of the virus and flatten the curve. Mr. Repetti said Valley hospital is getting two to four new patients daily and that nationally, the largest group testing positive is the 25- to 30-year old age bracket. He said the A-symptomatic patients can easily spread the virus to others and the average stay for patients is ten to fourteen days. He said that wearing masks is very important. They are conducting optional COVID-19 testing for surgical procedures at the discretion of both the surgeons and patients, and that most of the elective COVID-19 tests are sent to the University of Washington with a turnaround time of seventy-two hours. He said the positive cases of COVID-19 have increased significantly in Kootenai County and they have seen a rise in the number of cases in their staff.Mr.Repetti said the medical staff is concerned that people are not coining into hospitals for other care and he said they are taking a number of precautions, including limiting the number of visitors to one adult per patient, screening patients at the door and discouraging visitors, as well as cleaning the facilities. He said they do not want people to avoid seeking essential care and added that they are nearly back to their normal number of surgical procedures and it is safe to see patients. In response to Deputy Mayor Peetz's question about two strains of the virus, he confirmed there has been a minor change in the DNA of the virus and the current strain infecting Florida and others may be of a different strain. He said either way,both are infective and both have been shown that incident rates can be leveled out using masking and social distancing practices. Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-28-2020 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-25-2020 COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Councilmember Woodard: nothing to report. Councilmember Haley: said that at the Continuum of Care board meeting they discussed the new shelter. She said Spokane Housing Authority(STA)is the contractor, remodeling has begun and it should be ready on schedule.She also said that at the STA board meeting they discussed the new per-month Vanpool pricing that she said is more affordable and easier to understand. She said that between 2021 and 2026,STA expects to lose $103 million and there will be some route delays; and that STA received a clean audit for 2019. Councilmember Thompson: said that at the Board of Health Policy Committee they talked about adopting regional health equity response to educate and implement policies for better access to treatment. Councilmember Higgins: said the Clean Air executive director moved to Wisconsin so they are searching for a replacement.He said they are now in the preliminary review and they expect someone on board within ninety days. Councilmember Hattenburg: said that the STA Recovery plan is a six-year plan and he said that STA provided over$20,000 in Meals on Wheels using paratransit. Deputy Mayor Peetz: said that at the Coffee with Congress meeting, Senator Maria Cantwell spoke about the ten percent tariff on wheat and the impact to farmers, as well as broadband activity and federal unemployment. She said the Valley Chamber's 21st annual golf tournament is August 6th, and they are relocating their office from Liberty Lake to Spokane Valley in the former bank by Valley Tech. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Wick reported that Central Valley School District's plan for returning to school in the fall is a hybrid approach. He said they received 4,000 responses to their survey of parents and that thirty percent of those responses said they were not comfortable with the schools reopening. He said the hotels and motels were at fifty percent occupancy for the month of June and the occupancy in Spokane Valley was higher than the average in downtown Spokane, and higher than the average in the state. He said July is looking better than June for occupancy and the average daily rate. PROCLAMATION: n/a GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: Barb Howard, Spokane Valley, read an email from Bob West to Robert Lutz"I will try to remember when someone else enters a complaint to check the name that they entered for follow up. I did enter it in an investigation portion on the last screen but didn't change it on the demographic page. My daughter's name is Brandi Peetz. Yes, we know Chuck Hafner. He is helping Brandi with her campaign. I asked Brandi and the other candidates if they would like to meet with you sometime and they were eager to meet with you and if you can squeeze it in your schedule. I'm not sure what your schedule is like and when you work.The candidates said Wednesday night would work for them. I know its short notice but if it doesn't work we can go to plan B.I appreciate you reaching out to Brandi and the other candidates to gather more information in order to relay to the Valley voters. I can't believe this Council is thinking on taking this on either. I am hoping only that two that follow the current councilmembers believe that this is a good idea. Number One if it is not a decision that this Council should be voting on because it's not within their scope. If they did vote on it and it passed,we would be looking at a major lawsuit.Brandi's opponent Cabe [sic] Collier and his wife Gill are pushing this because they do not vaccinate their children. Gill Collier is a nurse at Deaconess I am told. I miss seeing you and everyone once in a while but like I did before. Brandi's cell (not disclosed)she works and is not always able to answer her phone and will get back to you."Ms.Howard stated she thinks this is electioneering and she said she doesn't think Bob Lutz should be involved in politics and that three of the candidates are sitting on the Council. 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 28,2020, Request for Council Action Form Total: $2,380,539.80 Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-28-2020 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-25-2020 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending July 15, 2020: $391,097.33 c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 7,2020 Study Session Format d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 14, 2020 Regular Formal Format e.Approval of Splashdown Contract Amendment It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. NEW BUSINESS: 2. Resolution 20-012 Setting Public Hearing for Street Vacation STV 2020-0001 —Connor Lange It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to approve Resolution 20-012, setting August 27, 2020, as the date for a public hearing before the Planning Commission on street vacation application STY-2020- 0001. Planner Lange said the proposal is a privately-initiated vacation of a portion of Desmet Court as shown in the packet materials. He said the first step is to schedule the public hearing to be held by the Planning Commission. The proposal is to vacate the cul-de-sac and move it to a new location. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried 3. Motion Consideration: Council Goals &Priorities for Use of Lodging Taxes—Chelsie Taylor It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to approve the Council goals and priorities for the use of lodging tax revenues as written. Finance Director Taylor said at the meeting on July le, Council discussed how lodging tax funds could be used and Council chose not to make any modifications to the goals and priorities for the 2021 awards. She said final approval of the LTAC recommendations will come before Council December 8, 2020, for award. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 4. Motion Consideration: Tourism Promotion Area Appointment—Mayor Wick Mayor Wick said he received and reviewed two applications for appointment to the TPA and he recommended Jody Sander who has served in the role since Spokane Valley incorporated as a city. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to confirm the Mayoral appointment of Jody Sander to the Tourism Promotion Area Commission for a three-year term beginning immediately upon appointment, and expiring April 30, 2023. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: n/a ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 5. Tourism Promotion Area Update—Erik Lamb Deputy City Attorney Lamb went over the information provided on the RCA. He said the authority to charge an additional assessment expires in 2027. The original interlocal agreement with Spokane County was signed in 2004, includes Spokane and Spokane Valley, and has five classification zones. The TPA created the Spokane Hotel and Motel Commission and approval authority lies with the County Commissioners. He said it is managed by Visit Spokane, by contract, and they prepare the annual budget for the TPA which gets approved by the Board of County Commissioners(BoCC).He said that prior to the pandemic,the TPA budgeted$3.7 million for 2020 and in recent years their budget was around$2.9 million. He said their budget will likely be impacted by the pandemic. Mr. Lamb said that in 2020, funds were awarded to Crave and Winterfest in Spokane Valley by the BoCC.He said the current interlocal agreement is perpetual and we are Iimited to make changes to the agreement provided the other parties all agree to the changes. He said Council can consider items they would like included in the new agreement. 5a. CARES Grant Program Contract Administration—Chelsie Taylor, Erik Lamb Deputy City Attorney Lamb said the City was awarded $2.9 million in CARES funds to use for costs associated with the pandemic. He said the Small Business and Non-profit Program was allocated $1.3 million and includes$904,498 for small businesses and$75,000 for phase 4 hospitality businesses. Council agreed on criteria of eighteen or fewer employees and grant awards up to$7,158 per entity.He said Spokane County has a similar program.with Greater Spokane Inc. (GSI), and, he said, we can piggyback on the Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-28-2020 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-25-2020 program the Valley Chamber has with Spokane County's Small Business/Non-profit grant program to more efficiently distribute funds to the community, hopefully by the end of August. He said the County has a contract with GSI and GSI is working with the Spokane Valley Chamber and subcontracting with Innovia to provide software that will house the database of applicants and distribute the funds. He said the County can utilize the database and it went live yesterday for applications. There will be a two-week application evaluation period and then they will begin electronic disbursements through Innovia. He said those applicants that are not awarded funds by the County could be reviewed by Spokane Valley for disbursement of funds from our grant monies beginning August 10th, with a review period of ten to fourteen days and disbursement of funds in September. He said he does not think that if applicants have received prior CARES Act funds that that would make them ineligible for more CARES funds from Spokane Valley. He said criteria to be included in the application process are detailed on the RCA and staff is still working on criteria for phase 4 hospitality. Mr. Lamb said the cost to have an outside entity administer the program is estimated to be 4.5 -6 percent, which would be $59,226 or up to $78,968 if it includes a media campaign. He said that Economic Development staff said they could likely put out our media campaign. He said that we do not yet have a scope for the contract,but staff is looking for consensus to move forward with the Spokane Valley Chamber to finalize the agreement and to come back to Council next week at a special meeting to approve the contract. Finance Directory Taylor said everything is moving and changing very fast and staff is working to get a program together to benefit the community. Council discussed criteria to include in the applications and there was consensus that the applicants should be limited to those with 501c3 status,that their minimum gross revenue be $10,000, that they are selected by a lottery system, and that the City's Economic Development department do our media campaign. 6. Advance Agenda—Mayor Wick Councilmember Thompson said she would like to discuss the terms used to describe officers of Spokane Valley Police Department, referred to as deputies rather than officers to distinguish them from Spokane police officers. City Attorney Driskell said staff have been talking with Chief Ellis and will involve Sheriff Knezovich to come up with language that conveys that Spokane Valley is a separate entity that relies on Spokane County deputies.He said he expects to have something put together in near future. INFORMATION ONLY: The department reports were not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Deputy City Manager Hohman reminded Council of the budget workshop on August 4th from 8:30 am to approximately 2:30 pm and that it will be a different format from the Zoom meetings in that it will be a webinar format with instructions to join in the agenda packet for that meeting. He said the 6:00 pm Council meeting for that evening has been canceled, but there is a possibility of bringing forward the contract with Spokane Valley Chamber, as discussed earlier, at a special meeting on August 4'i' at 3:00 p.m. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:46 p.m. ul A • : Ben Wick,Mayor C iristine Bainbridgb,City Clerk Regular Formal Council Meeting: 07-28-2020 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-25-2020