2020, 10-13 Regular Formal Format MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING
FORMAL FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall
Spokane Valley,Washington
October 13, 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 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
Connor Lange,Planner
Jenny Nickerson, Building Official
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present.
APPROVAL OF AMENDED AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and
unanimously agreed to approve the amended agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Councilmember Woodard: reported that he attended the HCDAC (Housing Community Development
Advisory Committee)meeting dealing with HUD(Housing and Urban Development),CDBG(Community
Development B lock Grant),and Covid-19 dollars and said they have up to five years to disburse and account
for the money,that they had$1.25 million and then received another$2.5 million;said they also held public
hearings for renewal of the CDBG five-year plan.
Councilmember Haley: said she attended STA(Spokane Transit Authority)board meetings most of which
discussed their annual Strategic Plan and 2021 budget;said they proposed some edits to the Plan to improve
the customer experience such as the idea of putting the bus pass on individual cell phones; and said there
was discussion about some amendments to the para-transit contract as ridership is down due to Covid.
Councilmember Higgins: reported that the Clean Air Board reported a smooth transition to the new
executive director.
Councilmember Thompson: mentioned working with the NLC (National League of Cities) on upcoming
webinars regarding re-imagining public safety; and that the AWC (Association of Washington Cities) and
NLC are working on their respective legislative agendas.
Deputy Mayor Peetz: mentioned the AWC Legislative Priorities meeting adopted that committee's
recommendations with one amended change dealing with independent prosecutions and said there was
discussion about whether it needed to be state or private, with the majority wanting it to be private,then it
was changed to endorse support; she also mentioned the top AWC 2021 City Legislative priorities, which
can be viewed on the AWC website.
MAYOR'S REPORT
Mayor Wick said that he has been interviewing applicants for the vacated Planning Commission position;
said he went to a series of cub scout meetings to help them with their civic service badge; attended the
AWC Large City Transportation listening session which included meeting with the ten largest cities
concerning transportation leadership, and said he emphasized our projects and what we would like to see
Regular Formal Council Meeting: 10-13-2020 Page 1 of 3
Approved by Council: 10-27-2020
the state put together for transportation; said the Regional Homelessness Steering committee had
discussions concerning several shelters and social distancing requirements; said the COVID response team
has changed from meeting weekly to semi-weekly as things seem to be in a holding pattern;concerning the
regional transportation council,said the tribes had asked municipalities to appoint a member and come back
and talk about how to add the tribes to the board; said he met with the Health District, and the Lodging Tax
Advisory Committee meeting will be held this week. He also mentioned Representative Cathy McMorris
Rodgers will be in town and would like to:meet with us, perhaps Thursday for about thirty minutes; and if
a quorum or more Councilmembers want to meet, then a special meeting will be held, which would be via
Zoom. It was apparent most Councilmembers preferred to hold the special meeting and it was mentioned
that details will be forthcoming.
PROCLAMATION: n/a
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY F11: Mayor Wick explained the process for giving
public comment, and City Clerk Bainbridge said one person signed up to speak. Mr. John Wilkinson.,
Spokane Valley: spoke about an e-mail he previously sent to Council concerning his property and that he
wants to put up a fence to help reduce noise, but with our Code's setback regulations in 22.70,this makes
it extremely problematic and suggested there might be a gap in this section of the code around signalized
intersections and setbacks. Mayor Wick said someone will be in contact with him regarding this issue.
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 Oct. 13, 2020,Request for Council Action Form Total: $3,860,002.75
b, Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending September 30, 2020: $534,096.17
G.Approval of September 15, 2020 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format
d. Approval of September 22, 2020 Council Meeting Minutes,Formal Format
e. Approval of September 29,2020 Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session Format
f. Approval of Resolution 20-014 Declaring Desmet Property as Surplus
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Second Reading Ordinance 20-012 Cable Code Amendment—Cary Driskell
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the Ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded
to approve Ordinance 20-012 amending chapter 3.65 SVMC relating to cable television franchises. Mr.
Driskell gave a brief recap of this amendment, and said there have been no changes since Council heard the
administrative report. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous.
Opposed: none. Motion carried
3. First Reading Ordinance 20-013 Nonconforming Use CTA 2020-0003 —Lori Barlow,Jenny Nickerson
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the Ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded
to advance Ordinance 20-013 to a second reading as proposed. Building official Nickerson briefly
explained about residential uses in nonresidential zones and of the zoning classification. There were no
public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried.
4. First Reading Ordinance 20-014 Street Vacation STV 2020-0001 —Connor Lange
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the Ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded
to advance Ordinance #20-014 to a second reading at the October 27, 2020 Council meeting. Mr. Lange
went through his PowerPoint presentation explaining the street vacation. There were no public comments.
Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed.' none. Motion carried
5. First Reading Ordinance 20-015 TDS Cable Franchise—Cary Driskell
City Clerk Bainbridge read the title of Ordinance 20-015. City Attorney Driskell said once adopted, this
will be consistent with the new cable code. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz and seconded to suspend
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Approved by Council: 10-27-2020
the rules and adopt the ordinance tonight. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation; in favor:
unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY 1-21: Mayor Wick said the same rules apply to this
public comment opportunity as with the first. There was one person who signed up to speak: Ms. Barb
Howard, Spokane Valley: said she noted in the claim vouchers something about a work crew, and said she
assumes that is the Sheriffs Office people who work on picking up garbage, and she asked why those costs
are not included in the contract; she also mentioned the idea of taking bids for law enforcement from other
places such as Liberty Lake or the City of Spokane and said she feels we are not getting what we are paying
for.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
6. 2021 Preliminary Budget—Mark Calhoun
As required by RCW 35A.33.050,City Manager Calhoun,via his PowerPoint,submitted the proposed 2021
preliminary budget; he stated that this focus will be more on concept than numbers and that tonight
represents the fourth time to review and discuss the proposed 2021 budget; and that once the budget is
adopted, Council will have had eight separate occasions including three public hearings to discuss this
budget; he noted the draft tonight is the first draft and this will change as staff works toward finalization.
He encouraged Council and others to read his budget message on page 1 as well as that of the Finance
Director on subsequent pages. Mr. Calhoun stated that our City continues to be in excellent financial
condition with strong reserves and responsibly managed operations and related costs, even in the midst of
a recession.After Mr.Calhoun's presentation,there was brief discussion about the concerns with pavement
preservation fund #311 and the estimated annual shortfall of $4 million. Councilmember Thompson
mentioned the idea of a utility tax or other means to keep the city streets in good shape, and about actively
pursuing a plan and engaging the community such as with a pavement preservation citizen committee.
7.Advance Agenda—Mayor Wick
Councilmember Woodard mentioned he will be zooming in for next week's Council meeting.
Councilmember Thompson asked to hear more about the fence situation and regulations mentioned during
tonight's public comments.City Manager Calhoun said that staff will contact the man and let Council know
the outcome.Mr.Driskell also noted that Mr.Wilkinson called him earlier and they talked and that he spoke
with Building Official Nickerson and that staff is working on this issue.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
City Manager Calhoun noted there will be a virtual open house tomorrow at 6 p.m. for the development of
park property; said the purpose of the open house is to gather suggestions from citizens to create a master
plan for the future development of the former horse arena portion of Valley Mission Park; and he noted an
email address for those interested in attending this Zoom meeting. Mr. Calhoun also mentioned the
windstorm taking place now, and he asked if citizens see downed trees across roads or in parks or see
downed power lines,to please call Crime Check at 456-2233, or if an emergency,to call 911. Mr. Calhoun
said he spoke with the City's Street Superintendent who has a crew on-call tonight, and that if needed, we
will get assistance from the Geiger crew tomorrow.
It was moved by Councilmember Woodard, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:41 p.m.
(j)
A Ben Wick, Mayor
Christine Bainbridge, rty Clerk
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Approved by Council: 10-27-2020