Loading...
2021, 03-09 Special MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Special Meeting Tuesday,March 9,2021 Mayor Wick called the meeting to order at approximately 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 Cary Driskell, City Attorney Tim Hattenburg Councilmember Erik Lamb,Deputy City Attorney Rod Higgins, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor,Finance Director Linda Thompson,Councilmember John Bottelli,Parks and Recreation Director Arne Woodard,Councilmember John Whitehead,Human Resources Manager Dave Ellis,Police Chief Morgan Koudelka, Sr.Administrative Analyst Jenny Nickerson,Building Official Mike Basinger,Economic Dev. Manager Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk 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: reported that he attended two HCDAC(Housing and Community Development Advisory Committee) meetings, one of which was a public hearing held viz zoom, for the normal CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) allocations; said it mostly went well; the other was a special meeting where they discussed the allocation of$1.5 million of HHAA(Homeless Housing and Assistance Act)funds for the Bridge Housing Project to the Salvation Army as they were the only entity to apply. He noted the Bridge Housing Project is simply the name of the project and not an actual bridge. He also went over some of the services anticipated with the extended stay facility. Councilmember Higgins: said the next meeting of the Clean Air Agency will be out on the West Plains which is where they are moving; said there was interest in their current facility so that sale might be accomplished without submitting to a realtor. Councilmember Haley: reported on the STA (Spokane Transit Authority) meetings and said she saw the new bus for the Central City Line, which bus is battery/electric and is purple; said she also attended the Continuum of Care meeting where they talked about the young adult shelter which is still going forward, adding that the grant won't expire s they previously thought, and that the challenge is to get people into permanent housing,but what is available is very expensive. Councilmember Hattenburg: mentioned the AWC(Association of Washington Cities)Action Days held in February where it was mentioned that state-wide, 62% of cities will have a shortfall of between five and fifteen percent of revenue in two to three years,but that we are not one of those,as we don't have a shortfall; said he heard of some talk about the possible discontinued use of the canine units, and mentioned the memorial wall also includes some of the canine units who were killed in action. He also mentioned the Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-09-2021 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council: 03-23-2021 transportation shortfall, possible gas tax, and that there could be more funds in the Governor's budget for the CARES Act; stated that the Board of Health has provided over 10,000 vaccines and our metrics have improved in all areas; said planning and development for STA specific to Spokane Valley is ongoing and that they hope to have a newer transit center by 2025. Councilmember Thompson: briefly explained some of the sessions that are included in this year's NLC (National League of Cities)conference,which is normally held in Washington, D.C. in March, but which is being held remotely, with priorities including childcare, direct funding to cities, public safety, and domestic violence; she also mentioned she attended the groundbreaking of the Barker Road Grade Separation Project;the GSI(Greater Spokane,Inc.)annual celebration,as well as the Lutheran Community Services Northwest where they talked about from their perspective, what messages can be brought to the community. Deputy Mayor Peetz: mentioned the Chamber has completed their new location and she expects tours in the future; said Central Valley School District announced that the Horizon school is completed; said she attended the GSI celebration and mentioned the $100,000 grant awarded by GSI to SkyOne Aerospace; mentioned a new initiative at the Inlander of a `great dine-out' and will start participating with banks and other agencies to help people get out and go into restaurants; adding that mid-August is restaurant week; and that the Downtown Spokane Partnership meeting included discussion about a possible proposed stadium. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Wick reported that he attended the Chamber's Government Affairs Committee where the mayors presented their priorities and visions for 2021; mentioned our partnership with the County and the receipt of another$9 million which was awarded to SNAP for housing assistance; said he continues meeting with the homelessness group every other week to keep lines of communication open and coordinate efforts on the homeless issue;mentioned the federal package for revitalization of about $7 million; said he attended the Grade Separation Project groundbreaking;mentioned the Amazon facility in Spokane Valley;said the SRTC(Spokane Regional Transportation Council)is conducting interviews for their new executive; and that he has been conducting interviews and scheduling appointments for several committees. PROCLAMATION: n/a GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY 111: There were no public comments. NEW BUSINESS 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. a.Approval of Claim Vouchers on March 9, 2021,Request for Council Action Form: $1,925,498.52 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period Ending February 28,2021: $597,205.16 It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY 121: There were no public comments. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: (shown in the order given) 2.Modification to Infrastructure Priority Solicitation—John Hohman Deputy City Manager Hohman went over the information contained in the Request for Council Action (RCA) about the potential funding opportunity and our five projects;he mentioned that we were informed that Spokane County would like to partner with us on priority projects 2 and 5, i.e. the Spokane Valley River Loop Trail Project and the South Barker Road Corridor Projects; and that the City of Spokane may like to partner with us on the River Loop Trail Project.Mr.Hohman also mentioned the Spokane has some river trail bridges they would like to install and are working to determine how best to get that done. Mr. Hohman brought attention to he corrected RCA with the figure of$22.1 million instead of$28,1 million Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-09-2021 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 03-23-2021 under secured funding for the Bigelow-Sullivan Corridor Project, which corrected RCA was given to Council prior to the meeting. Mr. Hohman said that Mr. Culton of Senator Murray's office said they did not want us to submit new documentation as that would be too confusing; said March 15 is the formal due date for this request. After brief discussion there was Council consensus to proceed with the two regional requests to Senator Murray. 4. Accomplishments Report for Year 2020—Mark Calhoun City Manager Calhoun remarked that he and staff will present an impressive collection of what has been accomplished over the last year, even while in the midst of a pandemic. Mr. Calhoun discussed 2020 Council goals, mentioned the numerous committees Councilmembers are involved with as well as the number of meetings held, and resolutions and ordinances passed; and went over some of the accomplishments of the City Clerk's office. Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka went over several aspects of contract administration and our City's coordination and participation with several entities including the Outreach Team and Spokane Valley Police regarding homelessness and vulnerable populations; mentioned numerous aspects of our public safety contracts as well as his participation in interviews of candidates for Police Chief and Assistant Police Chief; mentioned other contract administration such as the Commute Trip Reduction,solid waste collection contracts,and Cable franchise. Human Resources Manager Whitehead went over his department's accomplishments including the development of the City's Emergency Response Plan; updated the City's Accident Prevention Plan; mentioned the 2020 Well City Award and wellness programs;and his office's management of recruitments and interviewing of applicants for open positions with the City. City Attorney Driskell went over some of the items that his office handled over the year,including assisting with land use issues at the permitting and legislative level, assisting with a multitude of issues relating to homelessness including updated camping regulations; the re-writing of the City's cable code provisions; revising numerous contracts dealing with the use of City facilities resulting from the pandemic; resolving numerous nuisance and code enforcement cases; and his office's assistance in responding to numerous public record requests. Finance Director Taylor discussed her department's work with the City's CARES Act allocations; their completion of the 2019 annual financial report and audit; working with other departments to complete the 2021 budget;the work accomplished by the IT staff including an audit of the City's IT systems, and working through over 1,500 helpdesk tickets. Mr. Hohman discussed the accomplishments of the Community & Public Works Engineering Division, including the various projects of the Capital Improvement Program, the Traffic Operation, Stormwater Utility, Street Maintenance;followed by discussion by Economic Development Manager Basinger of some of the business development, business licenses, planning and grants, marketing, tourism, public relations, and working with our partners, such as GSI and the Chamber. Building Official Nickerson went over the applications received by building and planning and of the ease in doing so online, which is evidenced by the number of permits issued last year, even while in the midst of a pandemic; she also showed a chart of permit evaluations, mentioned some of the major projects; number of land use actions processed, as well as processed code enforcement cases. Police Chief Ellis discussed accomplishments of the patrol division, traffic unit, intelligence-led policing, crime prevention, hiring and recruitment, and activities associated with the precinct, including installation of a generator, and new work stations and carpeting.He added that due to Covid, SCOPE activities for the year were either limited or at a standstill. Parks and Recreation Director Bottelli gave his report on his department including administration and maintenance,CenterPlace Regional Event Center,Recreation and Aquatics, and the Senior Center. City Manager Calhoun extended thanks to Council and staff for all the accomplishments; and Council extended thanks to staff as well. Mayor Wick called for a recess at 7:56 p.m.; he called the meeting back into session at 8:01 p.m. Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-09-2021 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 03-23-2021 3.2021 State Legislative Mid-Session Report—Briahna Murray Lobbyist Ms.Murray of Gordon Thomas Honeywell stated that this is the first time she has provided a mid- session update. She gave a brief background on the 2021 legislative session, which convened January 11. Ms. Murray then went over the operating, capital, and transportation budgets and mentioned those legislative agenda items of Council's which are included in each budget, such as state-shared revenues, revenue shortfalls, $4 million request for the Fairgrounds Expo Center, adding there would likely be some funding for this project but not the entire$4 million;she also addressed bills dealing with local control,and economic development tools. In response to a question from Mayor Wick on which items should Council focus on most,Ms. Murray replied that securing funding for the Pines Road with a transportation revenue package,adding that she doesn't expect funding coming without new revenues.Council thanked her for the information and update. 5.Advance Agenda—Mayor Wick There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda. 6.Park Property Acquisition Adjacent to Sullivan Park—Cary Driskell This item was for information only and was not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: Mr. Calhoun mentioned that street sweeping begins tomorrow in the City; and he brought Council's attention to item 6 in tonight's packet, which will give Council a sense of where we are concerning that issue. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Peetz, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:35 p.m. lr✓ ATT Ben Wick,Mayor i.h Christine Bainbridge, City Cler Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-09-2021 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 03-23-2021 CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY Request for Council Action Meeting Date: March 9, 2021 Department Director Approval: Check all that apply: ❑ consent ❑ old business ❑ new business ❑ public hearing ❑ information IN admin. report ❑ pending legislation ❑ executive session AGENDA ITEM TITLE: Administrative Report— Potential Funding Opportunity— Modified Infrastructure Priority Solicitations GOVERNING LEGISLATION: RCW 35.77.010: Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program PREVIOUS COUNCIL ACTION TAKEN: February 23, 2021- City Council authorized the City Manager to submit the City's priority project list in response to Senator Murray's request. BACKGROUND: Senator Patty Murray's office is requesting project information and funding needs for potential inclusion into possible federal infrastructure funding packages. Project information was requested by Senator Murray's office to be submitted by Friday, February 26, 2021, even though the formal due date is March 15, 2021. On February 26, 2021, staff submitted the approved project list, as shown below in Table 1. Table 1.February 26,2021 Submitted Project Requests Rank Project Name Requested Secured Unsecured Total Project Partnership Funding Funding Funding Cost Pines Road/BNSF 1 Grade Separation $ 19,300,000 $ 9,700,000 $ -- $ 29,000,000 Project 2 Spokane Valley River $ 16,500,000 $ -- $ -- $ 16,500,000 Loop Trail Project 3 Bigelow-Sullivan $ 37,800,000 $ 22,100 000 $ -- $ 59,900,000 Spokane Corridor ProjectCounty 4 Spokane County Fair $ 3,000,000 $ 3,000 000 $ 4,000,000 $ 10,000,000 Spokane & Expo Exhibit Hall WA RequestCounty 5 South Barker Road $ 12 900 000 $ 2,300 000 $ 3,600,000 $ 18,800 000 Corridor Projects ' Impact Fees On March 3, 2021, staff was informed that Spokane County would like to partner with Spokane Valley on priority projects 2 and 5. Further, the City of Spokane may like to partner with Spokane Valley on priority project 2. In consultation with Senator Murray's office, staff has been instructed to keep our initial submittals from February 26 as-is, but also instructed to submit email clarifications regarding the two effected projects. The intent is to identify that the two projects are part of a regional request to achieve a greater impact across multiple agencies. OPTIONS: 1) Proceed with the recommended action, or 2) take other appropriate action. RECOMMENDED ACTION OR MOTION: Staff seeks Council consensus to proceed with two regional requests to Senator Murray. These requests leverage partnerships with the City of Spokane and Spokane County for two of Spokane Valley's priority projects: Spokane Valley River Loop Trail and South Barker Corridor. BUDGET/FINANCIAL IMPACTS: The solicitation does not have a specific matching requirement for the City. STAFF CONTACT: John Hohman, Deputy City Manager ATTACHMENTS: N/A