2022, 03-08 Regular Formal MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Formal Meeting
Tuesday, March 8,2022
Mayor Haley called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held virtually via Zoom, and also
in City Hall Council Chambers with Council and staff attending in person.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Pam Haley, Mayor John.Hohman, City Manager
Rod Higgins, Deputy Mayor Erik Lamb,Deputy City Manager
Tim Hattenburg,Councilmember Bill Helbig, Community &Public Works Dir.
Laura Padden, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Ben Wick, Councilmember John BotteIli,Parks,Rec &Facilities Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Christine Bainbridge,City Clerk
INVOCATION: In the absence of a pastor, a few moments of silence were observed.
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 Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed
to approve the agenda.
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS n/a
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS
Councilmember Peetz: said she attended the Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center fundraiser,which was
well attended, that they hope to open the summer of 2024, and so far have $12 million of the needed $36
million; said she went to the Spokane Aquifer Joint Board meeting; attended the Chamber business
connections luncheon;and went to the GSI(Greater Spokane,Incorporated)annual celebration where they
welcomed a new chair.
Councilmember Padden: stated that she attended the Valley Chamber meeting and mentioned their
membership drive with a target to surpass their peak drive,and that they gave a preview of their new website
which will launch April 4e; noted the Liberty Lake Mayor Pro-tern resigned effective the end of February;
said County Commissioner Kuney said about their ARP (American Rescue Plan)funds,that they are set to
release $30 to$40 million in March; said the County has continued concerns about the Avista Stadium and
baseball and how they can raise$25 million for improvements as they can't use ARP money although they
might be able to get State funds; said the Fire Department has been busy; and the Chamber Foundation still
has scholarships available for vocational tech students.
Councilmember Wick: said he also attended the Performing Arts Center fundraiser and there were over 100
people in attendance; said the AWC (Association of Washington Cities) Board of Directors are concerned
with the ever changing legislative issues, mainly with the transportation bills, and with the public works
trust fund dollars, and that although we do not rely on those public works trust funds, many cities do; said
the East Valley High School had a fundraiser for their all-nighter; and that he is looking forward to March
12 when the indoor mask guidelines will change and will not be required in most indoor settings.
Councilmember Woodard: mentioned the legislative meeting about two weeks ago with Representative
Cathy McMorris-Rodgers; said the HCDAC (Housing Community Development Advisory Committee)
and CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) public hearing was held last Thursday and there are
more requests for money from the public service sector,which is being hit hard by inflation.
Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-08-2022 Page 1 of 4
Approved by Council: 03-22-2022
Councilmember Hattenburg: said he also went to the fundraiser for the Theater and it was a high energy
group; attended the Chamber Business Connections where STCU and Avista talked about how well they
treat their employees and of other employees helping with the nonprofit organizations; went to the GSI
Annual celebration and said they are working with local colleges and universities to train workers so they
can remain in the area.
Deputy Mayor Higgins: reported that the Clean Air Agency meeting was in person, and that this year's
winner of the Clean Air Award is Hotstart Thermal, which is now a world-wide business; said regarding
waste combustors one of which is at the waste-to-energy plant;that our regional clean air agency writes the
regulations for that as well as for the state,which means it also deals directly with the EPA which approves
our agency's regulations, which means they write the state regulations; said they just approved the
combustor regulations for the state.
MAYOR'S REPORT
Mayor Haley reported that she attended the performance monitoring meeting for STA (Spokane Transit
Authority) and they approved several things including a savings energy contract, a field facility project,
said they had to adjust the budget because of rising costs; and they approved the U District layover contract
which will be from the Cheney line to WSU which should start in a few months; said they are removing
three below-ground vaults that hold diesel fuel and substituting them with above-ground storage tanks;said
their audit starts next week and they had revenue of approximately$145 million and said sales tax is up for
the year 36.7% and their expenses were under budget.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY:After explaining the process,Mayor Haley invited
public comment.
Ms. Pam Marlow, Spokane Valley: via zoom, said she was approached by neighbors to speak about the
increase in drug activity in their neighborhood, and said maybe they could get more patrols during the day;
said parking seems to be an issue and she asked if it is possible to hold some people accountable who are
breaking the law, and perhaps issue traffic tickets for parking in front of mailboxes; asked where do we
stand on the letter that was to be sent to the owners of Eagle Point about all the increase in time, as the City
Attorney was going to send a letter.
Ms. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley: via zoom; asked for a pause on building until we can get enough
deputies; said she thought the contract read that we should have 88 deputies and we don't have enough
deputies; mentioned seeing a section 9 housing and detox center, but said infrastructure needs to be done
before building; and said she wants a definition of parking and storage on public rights-of-way.
Mr. Lee Cameron, Spokane Valley: said he represents Mirabeau Park Hotel and Restaurant; regarding the
Spokane Indians, said that Mirabeau Park has had a contract with them since 2004 and they produce per
contract over 2,000 room nights per year; said they just signed a new five-year agreement and that figure is
now 2,600 room nights per year; said those figures don't include families or people coining into town for
games and said the team is an important part of economic development; mentioned the change to minor
league baseball and that it benefits the Spokane Valley; that teams used to come in for a night or two and
with the change there will be home games every week.
Mr. John Harding, Spokane Valley: mentioned his concern with the ongoing drug issue throughout the
United States and its impact on young people and how people are dying from a one-time drug use of fentanyl
and he asked Council to consider the concept of a multi-agency task force with the school superintendents.
Mr. Hank Seipe, Spokane Valley: said he owns Trovato Interiors and that it was lit on fire by a transient;
said they have had transients going into their building and threating his wife who is the operator and that
this is a repeat issue; said he understands the housing issues going on and maybe there is a need to work on
a different type of housing like putting them into 12 x 12 rooms instead of apartments, and having them
deal with Chas for their mental health issues; said the issue needs proper management.
Brenda VanderWilde, Spokane Valley: City Clerk Bainbridge acknowledged an e-mail from Ms.
VanderWilde concerning speed of traffic and dead animals in her area/street; Ms. Bainbridge said that a
copy of the e-mail will be forwarded to Councilmembers. There were no further comments.
Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-08-2022 Page 2 of 4
Approved by Council: 03-22-2022
NEW BUSINESS:
I, 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 March 8,2022, Request for Council Action Form: $486,772.73
b.Approval of Payroll for Pay Period.Ending February 28, 2022: $592,394.63
c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 15,2022 Study Session
d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 22, 2022 Formal Format
e. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 24,2022 Special Meeting
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
2. TPA(Tourism Promotion Area)—Cary Driskell,Erik Lamb
Mr. Lamb explained that Council had requested this discussion about where our City stands regarding its
participation in the TPA; he mentioned this topic has an extensive history since 2004. Mr.Driskell added
that most recent is the 2020 re-negotiated Interlocal agreement whereby a termination provision was
included, as well as an increase in the nightly assessment and of the TPA providing quarterly reporting of
collection amounts.He also noted our Resolution in 2021 terminating the TPA interlocal agreement,a copy
of which he noted was delivered by staff in early November. Mr. Driskell state that legally, our City met
all the requirements for no longer participating in that interlocal agreement. Mr. Driskell stated that our
current agreement will remain in effect until the end of this year, and he and Mr. Lamb went over the
options and outcomes of those options, including that if the City does nothing further and a new TPA is not
formed,the assessment by Spokane Valley hoteliers will cease to be collected on December 31, 2022. Mr,
Driskell and Mr. Lamb also mentioned revenues historically received and allocated with the regional TPA,
including having funds allocated for annual grant awards, such as the $50,000 allocated for their grant
program in 2022. During Council discussion, Councilmember Wick said the issue is how to get more
marketing about things to do in Spokane Valley, such as the volleyball tournaments in Browns Park.
Mr. Lamb said that timing is an issue, and if there is a desire to form a Spokane Valley only TPA,and not
have a gap in collections,then we would need to provide notice to the State Department of Revenue at least
75 days in advance of the end of the quarter; and if that is the preferred option, we would also need to
provide adequate time for the hoteliers to formulate the petition and get sufficient signatures from
participating hoteliers. There was further Council discussion including mention from Councilmember Peetz
about miscommunications and/or misunderstandings regarding uses for the TPA and the LTAC (Lodging
Tax Advisory Committee)funds in that the TPA funds can only be used for marketing and not for capital.
Councilmember Padden asked about reaction from hoteliers about us terminating the agreement, and Mr.
Lamb said he heard from one hotelier who expressed some opposition. Mr. Hohman noted that the main
feedback was through the Chamber who heard that some of the hoteliers were concerned about reaching
that 60%threshold,and that some of the hoteliers didn't see any benefit from the TPA,which,Mr.Hohman
stated, is why we are talking about this as collections have been over $700,000 and most of that goes
downtown so there isn't a lot of direct benefit coming back; he also noted there isn't a lot of information or
focus on Spokane Valley in the Visitor's Guide,so maybe we should have a brochure that highlights events
and amenities here. Councilmember Wick stated that Liberty Lake has their own TPA and that this would
be an opportunity to give our community the same kind of benefit they have and help promote city events.
Councilmember Woodard said he wants to see a TPA and thinks we would be way ahead to do our own;
with Councilmember Hattenburg mentioning the benefit of local control and flexibility. Mr. Hohman said
staff will proceed in the manner Council desires. Mayor Haley asked for consensus to have our local area
form its own TPA and there was unanimous consensus to stay the course. Mr. Lamb said staff will start
talks with the hoteliers on how this works and opportunities for what their local funds could be used for,
and said staff will meet with them to explain how to form the TPA so they can draft the petition.
Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 03-08-2022 Page 3 of 4
Approved by Council: 03-22-2022
3. Public Safety Update—Morgan Koudelka, Erik Lamb
Deputy City Manager Lamb explained that 2022 will be busy with a lot of big items coming up; said staff
felt it would be beneficial to come forward and give an update of what staff will be bringing forth more in
depth at future meetings, as noted in the Request for Council Action form. Through his PowerPoint, Mr.
Lamb briefly talked about the public safety budget; mentioned some our law enforcement agreements,
including an agreement for the White Elephant property, adding that staff just received the analysis of the
building,so that will be coming forward with options for that property.Mr.Koudelka talked about dispatch
costs and that we want to make sure our dispatch costs don't include fire. Mr. Koudelka mentioned the
detention services, including the collective bargaining agreement,the Blake decision and its impact on our
costs, as well as impacts to us on electronic home monitoring and supervised release. Discussion on other
services and contract administration such as the courts and animal control were also topics mentioned for
further discussion. Other topics brought up by Council included SCOPE, neighborhood watch programs
and how to get citizens more active, courts including therapeutic courts,the intricacies of 911, abandoned
vehicles, and the various aspects of parking. Mr. Lamb stated that a discussion on parking will be given to
Council next week. It was also confirmed that Council wanted to hear more about the workings of SCOPE.
4. Advance Agenda—Mayor Haley
Councilmember Wick mentioned having a conversation with the County to discuss the future of Avista
Stadium and a majority of Councilmembers agreed to place that item on the Advance Agenda.
Councilmember Woodard suggested having the Milwaukee right-of-way, Appleway Trail, and an
entertainment tax on the Spokane Indians gate also included in that discussion, in the event Council decided
to contribute to help with that $22 million; and said otherwise, he would not care to include that on the
Advance Agenda. Mayor Haley added that she would like to know what the owners of the Spokane Indians
are planning and how much they are planning to invest; and there was consensus to do so. Mr. Hohman
said this will be added to the advance agenda and staff will coordinate with the County for such a report. It
was also agreed to include someone from Avista and/or Brett Sports to be part of that discussion.In response
to Deputy Mayor Higgins' remarks about Mr. Seipe's comments tonight, Mr.Hohman said he will follow
up with Mr. Seipe directly. Mayor Haley said she would like an agenda item about Greenacres Park, as it
is her understanding that the park is not completed. There was Council consensus to also add that to the
Advance Agenda.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS:
City Manager Hohman gave a brief update on some of the bills going through the legislature;said the ADU
(Accessory Dwelling Unit,House Bill 1660)which would have required jurisdictions to allow one attached
and one detached ADU on all lots of 4,500 square feet or more in single-family zones, died;and that Senate
Bill 5155 concerning pre judgment interest also has not moved forward; said the transportation package is
still being discussed about including $5 million to go to Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board
(FMSIB) so we could apply for funds for our grade separation projects. Mr. Hohman also noted that
members of the Governance Manual Committee have voiced a desire to have a meeting so staff will get
that scheduled.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:46 p.m.
CAl‘t''---
ATT S . Pam Haley,Mayor
hristine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 03-08-2022 Page 4 of 4
Approved by Council: 03-22-2022
SIGN-IN SHEET
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY
YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES
THIS IS GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY
Yon may sign in to speak but it is not necessary,as the Mayor will afford the public the opportunity to speak.
NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE
PLEASE PRINT WILL SPEAK ABOUT
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Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure.
From: Brenda <bvanderwilde@aol.com>
Sent: Tuesday, March 8, 2022 3:44 PM
To: Council Meeling Public Comment<councilmeetingpubliccomment@spokanevalley.org>
Subject: Meeting for today, 03/08/22
[EXTERNAL]This email originated outside the City of Spokane Valley.Always use caution when opening attachments or clicking
Iinks.
Dear City Council,
The topic is speed of traffic resulting in dead animals. My name is Brenda VanderWilde,my city of residence is Spokane Valley,
WA.
My comment:
I live just off of 8th Avenue one mile west of Edgecliff Park and the Dishman Hills area. This portion of 8th is a straight-away
with no stops near enough to affect the traffic's speed. Speeding on this part of 8th is a constant problem. I have requested the
police to monitor it but I don't know if they have been able to or not. This street is not like 29th where I have been part of the
traffic when it slows down to let birds cross the street. The traffic here ignores the quail,deer,and unfortunately,the pets,as
well as the moose which have gotten lost here. I have personally picked up more dead animals than I could honestly count and
the moose which died behind my house and too far from the road to be picked up smelled very bad for approximately 4
months. There were two moose which both died behind my house. The smell was horrendous. The coyotes generally eat the
deer,but that also has happened.
Is there something that can be done to alleviate this problem?
Thank you, -
Brenda VanderWilde, CCR #3424
bvanderwilde@aol.com