2021, 02-16 Study SessionMDNUT£S
City of' Spokane Valley
C({I Council Kegu|u, Meeting
S(udvSCosionFormat
Tuesday, February 16,2021
Mayor Wick called the meeting \oorder n1approximately 6 pm. Thc mcciingnuo hoN in City Hall with
Council, staff and the public participating via Zoom meeting.
AftenoItince
Cnunoi|mcmhom
Bell Wick, Mayor
8nundi Pcctz`Deputy Mayor
Cary Urioko|iCity Attorney
Pam Uo|cy`Cnunci|mcmhor
Tim UnUcnbuqg,CumIoi|membcr
Rod Digginx,Coonoi|momber
Linda Thompson, Cnm/ci\memhor
Arne Woodard, [nunoi|mcmhor
SNO'
Mark Cu|houn`City Manager
John Bohmmn,Dcpo\yCity Manager
Bill Udbig,City Engineer
Erik Lamb, Dcpu{yCity Attorney
Caitlin Pn/o1y` /\Uon/ey
]uncmyC|urk` SoninrTrofDo Engineer
Carric Koudelka, Deputy City Clerk
ROLL CALL- Deputy City Clerk Koud6ka unUnd the roll; all Couuoilmumbon were present ho
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was ���DelmlYUiYorB��Yec,oixleticttiJuii(ii7ii)m/tvl)�(igi`ee(,I, excel)l
ACTION ITEMS:
|. Motion Consideration: hduynrx| Appointments o[Couxci|mcmberx to Boun|o dL Commi{keoo—Muyor Wick
|tv/onn/ovc/1vl)epo(yMcnm/'yec[zuxdxoco/,Ju(l/ocoofi/n//6cHt/ro/xilq8no/n/x,ex/xof Arne 0/mo/bnz//n
the //(/}A(", continuing his current /e/'///u/,deq/h'//I4n/,Jo,e /' 202/. l///do 7ho//yaon /o /hol/(2}Jx'//hu
/erx/ begi /,h\g /y)o/, /yy/ohv/o/e/,/ o//ct cV/irh�g on December 3/. 202/' uoul 7h// /6mo//b/trg to the //c'l/h
/)/x/r/c/ Dwou/x'ith o /ero/ beqh//,h\g xp'x/ /yY/oi1//o/e/// onU/exyfiri(g on December J/, 202/. Barb Howard,
Spokane YuUey` qocxdoned Council as to hon the decision was made for tile appointment y6001ionu and their
respective terms. Cn/ocilx/co/bor f1tilAo/b/oX/oi/a/ the Zoom x/ee///\g uY /yyvzn/xu1tm/r 6iO3 /z///. Vote 6v
NON -ACTION ITEMS:
2. Flashing Beacons and School 3ignu�e—Bill Uu\big, ]cormyOn,k
City Engineer Hc|higand Senior Traffic Engineer Clark gave an ooduho on school zonound pedestrian beacons
throogboo\the City, ioc|udingthe types ofdevices, typical enhancements mid the device so|oc\iox pooucux. Mr.
Clark said that beacons are designed for speed control and thu,care ntotal of40 hcuoonx at 18 schools, 32
Rectangular Rapid Flashing Beacons ul 14ovooxvu|ks, and one Pedestrian Hybrid Beacon (HAWK) located oil
Piucy/8R27ynuthofSprague &venuc.
l Abandoned Vehicles/ Parking in the ROW — Bill He|hig, jerrcmy Clark, Caitlin Prun\y
City Engineer Hc|bi&began the slide show presentation and introduced Attorney Pu/n{yk` uodoteCounci| nn
how the City muniuipo| code and state |u* dof-nn jxnkvehideo. Senior Traffic Engineer C)urkdiscussed the
regulations for on -street parking, no -parking zones and the state and local parking codes. City AKornuyDviakd|
said Dnm all enforcement yim/dpoinL uuruodo is written in ouch o way as it is no\ombiguouu and it dovetails
very closely with state law and provides consistency ill enforcement by law enforcement and towing companies.
4. Advanoc&Acndo—MyynrVVick
Coonci|mombor U/ompxon asked for a presentation from Crime Check to follow up on the comment
COUllCilmember Woodard made abOUt Crime Clieck not responding. Consensus infin,or.
Cvo1161Mu6",)MinvIC, 3mVyScs,ion: 02-16-2021 pogc|v[2
Approved byCuuxci|:C8*2-2O2|
Mayor Wick asked ifCnunoi|woxN like |osign a |uiCro[supponhvmthe City ofSpokane toou,delegates
asking for more pandemic response and fuoding[ornorcommuni(y. Conxomxx /n 6nnr if the letter is changed
to be monc rcgi000UY fbuuocd. Hc U/an mulhmncd that the U8 Conference ofMuyoo has a pledge condemning
anti-Semitism across the nation and ho asked i[Cnonoi| "/muN ouppod putting together o pvoJumohoo that
advocates inCIUSi011. ("017SMSUS infimor. Mayor Wick said lie will draft the proclaniation.
5. Counoi| Comnnultn:
None.
6.O{vMam.
�ler Comments:
Mr. Cu|houninkoduccdCity Attorney DrixkcU(odiscomathe letter from the City ofSpokane with regard to the
implementation of 20 percent suvvor ub|i(y tax. Mr. DrixkoU said the City of Spokane is trying to idoxhFv
additional rcvcnuc options in(] one is to oouexo o scv/u'ud|jt9 tax Oil the wastewater facility owned by Spokane
Coonty and hc said 80 percent o[the cuStomeo u[that facility are 0nm Spokane Valley, either residential or
commercial bunioexoox. He said that we previously sent u |cUnr signed by Mayor Wick expressing the City`s
concerns and thouAbt\be issue went away boL hc said hc recently learned that Spokane is gi|) looking to move
horv/urd with the tax, The attorneys arc uuocndy working to dc1cnninu wurophm/u, and he said ho thinks we
ShoxN send u \o8or to the City of Spokane and to Spokane County identifying our concerns with {ho whole
concept. A8crdiuuosxinn by Com161,M,. Driukd| said lie will draft more strongly worded letter and request
iu[bnnuhnn bom both the City of Spokane and Spokane County as to the discussions that took p|aoo. when
Spokane plans to implement the tax, and state clearly that Spokane Valley City COLHICil Will not SUPp011 the tax
inm/yfbxhion.Mr.Cu)houncxid\huyvviUropoUhoukh`Coonci|oxiufhnnu(ionbuoomuuuvai|ub|c
Mr Calhoun said that the Febumry23,202\ Couxoi\meeting has been cancelled and the next meeting will bo
hoNMarch 2,2O2|.
It was momd�Del/lY Mam'yeemmrm(led(nut mti/ lom�jomn. The meeting udjnumedut
7:]4 pm.
ATTEST:
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Ben Wick, Mayor
Cvvnci|NcminuK8inoeS�Study Session: O2'\b-2UZ| Page Zn[2
February 15, 2021
Cathy McMorris Rodgers
Representative, District 5
United States House of Representatives
1035 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congresswoman,
Together, we are writing to ask for your support in advocating for direct, flexible financial
assistance to our region. It has never been more important that our representatives understand the
'on -the -ground' need for emergency assistance to stem the crippling effects of the pandemic
response on our local economy and provide relief to our struggling businesses and those they
employ.
Direct aid to the local governments in our region is desperately needed in the near future. Our
ability to continue delivering critical services to our constituents has been deeply impacted by
rising costs of service and decreasing revenues due to the temporary shutdown of our economy
for public health reasons. Spokane's regional economy has been especially damaged due to our
large hospitality and medical workforce — the employees whose jobs can't be done by simply
setting up a home office.
While we did receive funds under the CARES Act, it was not adequate to remedy the impact,
and many of our governments prioritized distributing aid directly to impacted individuals,
businesses, and non-profit organizations. It is essential we receive direct, flexible aid to the local
governments in the Spokane region as the most efficient and immediate way to help those most
impacted by the shutdowns that have been occurring now for over a year.
In the last few weeks, our region has seen the hard work of residents pay off — our COVID-19
case counts are trending downward, the Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena mass vaccination site
is helping thousands of residents get the life-saving vaccine, and people continue to wear masks
and limit gatherings. Despite the weariness, we're doing our part. There is a light at the end of
what has been a very long tunnel, but while we move forward safely past the virus, we are facing
another long road ahead — economic recovery. Without direct aid for local governments in our
region, the struggle will only continue.
As our Congresswoman, we appreciate all you have done and continue to do for the people of
Eastern Washington. This once -in -a -lifetime crisis will take the collective efforts of us all and a
strong local -federal partnership to overcome the hardship our region continues to endure.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
<Signature Block>
Nadine Woodward
Mayor
Spokane County
Breean Beggs
Spokane City Council President
Spokane Valley
CICITY OF
pokane
Valley
MIEJOILIJ
February 16, 2021
City Council
City of Spokane
808 West Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99201
10210 East Sprague Avenue • Spokane Valley WA 99206
509.720.5000 • Fax: 509.720.5075 • cityhall@spokanevatley.org
IHl 11111111111MM
11 MEM=
IIIMEMENE NOME
Board of County Commissioners
Spokane County
1116 West Broadway Avenue
Spokane, WA 99260
Re: Imposition of 20% sewer utility tax on non-residents by City ofSpokane
Dear City Council and Board of County Commissioners:
I am writing to you on behalf of the Spokane Valley City Council. I previously sent a letter to the
Spokane City Council on October 30, 2020 relating to this issue. At that time, the City of Spokane
Valley expressed a strong objection to what was at that time being discussed by the Spokane
Council of imposing a sewer utility tax on the Spokane County wastewater treatment facility on
North Freya, and we assumed we would be part of any future discussions.
We are now being told there have been behind -the -scenes talks between Spokane and Spokane
County regarding whether this should be imposed and, if so, how you would potentially divide the
proceeds. To be clear, approximately 80% of any pass -through tax burden imposed by Spokane
would be paid by the residents and businesses of Spokane Valley. Despite that, you have
apparently not bothered to include our Council or City Manager in these discussions. We assumed
after our October letter that you would seek to engage us in any discussion you may have on this
issue. We are curious why that has not happened.
As identified in the October 30, 2020 letter, we very strongly object to this plan. Spokane Valley
has a number of its own difficult municipal issues to deal with, not the least of which is an
immediate need to determine how we can close a significant funding gap in our street maintenance
operation. We have also purchased several large properties for parks for the betterment of our
community, and this action would move the goalposts farther away from being able to start those
projects. Spokane's action would make our already difficult tasks much harder.
If you believe your municipal code compels you to impose this tax on wastewater services for
those served by the County because of the specific wording, then there could be a simple fix of the
code to clarify that the language only applies to services provided to your residents or businesses.
The City of Spokane Valley respectfully requests that you dismiss this concept and find revenue
for your municipal expenses within your own boundaries. The timing of this effort appears to
coincide with the Spokane Council's action to adopt a 1/10th of one percent sales tax for affordable
housing/homelessness purposes in the 2021 budget, with implementation delayed until April 30,
2021 to determine if any other revenue source could be identified instead. Again, please do not
look to pass your tax burden onto our citizens and businesses. Spokane leaders speak often of a
desire to have greater regional cooperation and collaboration, but that denotes a mutuality or
agreement that clearly is not present here.
We look forward to hearing from you very soon, and thank you for your consideration.
Very truly yours,
Ben Wick, Mayor
c: Nadine Woodward, Spokane Mayor
Kevin Freeman, Millwood Mayor
Cris Kaminskas, Liberty Lake Mayor
GelTy Gemmill, Spokane County Chief Executive Officer
Spokesman -Review
Valleyo
October 30, 2020
City Council
City of Spokane
808 West Spokane Falls Blvd.
Spokane, WA 99201
10210 East Sprague Avenue • Spokane Valley WA 99206
509.720.5000 • Fax: 509.720.5075 • cityhall@spokanevalley.org
Re: Draft 2021 Budget priority #25 — imposition of 20% sewer utility fax on non-residents
Dear City Council:
I am writing to you on behalf of the Spokane Valley City Council. The Spokane Valley City
Council was recently made aware that the City of Spokane City Council is considering adoption
of a resolution of budget priorities which includes assessing a 20% utility tax on wastewater
collection and treatment at the Spokane County wastewater facility located at 1004 North Freya
in the City of Spokane. This would be passed on to all sewer rate payers in the City of Spokane
Valley. The City of Spokane Valley objects to this proposal in the very strongest terms. As
other jurisdictions are doing, we are exploring our legal options with regard to this proposal.
Aside from the legal aspects of this, what is particularly galling about this is that Spokane Valley
has been discussing for some time how to generate additional revenue to fund existing
deficiencies in our street maintenance operation, which will require us to come up with millions
of additional dollars each year.
One of the most difficult decisions a city council wrestles with is whether to impose new taxes in
order to fund operations. In 2016, our City Council introduced the potential to impose utility
taxes on one or two services up to 6% to address our very serious street maintenance deficiency.
The reaction against this was swift and very negative and, as a result, the City did not implement
the utility tax and we have not been able to find an adequate funding source since that time.
Just recently, our Council has again talked about finding a long-term ftmding source for our own
deficiencies. Any decision by Spokane to move forward with a utility tax on our citizens, who
would receive zero actual benefit in the use of tax revenues used in Spokane but raised in
our City from our citizens and businesses, would significantly impair our ability to fix our
own problems. It is :frankly offensive that Spokane would even contemplate fixing its problems
with money from our citizens and businesses without our citizens having any representational
input on the expenditure of those funds. With our unmet street maintenance delta expanding
each year, this action would cause our City irreparable harm.
We cannot overemphasize the lasting damage this action would have on the working relationship
developed by our respective Councils and staff over the past 17 years, a relationship we have
valued, and which we believe has been mutually beneficial. As such the Spokane Valley City
Council respectfully requests that the City of Spokane City Council remove from its
consideration imposition of utility tax on wastewater collection and treatment applicable to the
facility on Freya Street and owned by Spokane County.
Please let us know at your earliest opportunity your intended course of action with regard to this
issue. We look forward to hearing from you very soon, and thank you for your consideration.
Very truly yours,
Ben Wick, Mayor
c: Nadine Woodward, Spokane Mayor
Board of County Commissioners, Spokane County
Kevin Freeman, Millwood Mayor
Shane Brickner, Liberty Lake Mayor
Gerry Gemmill, Spokane County Chief Executive Officer