2022, 08-16 Study Session MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Study Session Meeting
Tuesday, August 16, 2022
Mayor Haley called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. The meeting was held in person by Council and staff in
Council Chambers, and also remotely via Zoom meeting.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Pam Haley, Mayor John Hohman, City Manager
Rod Higgins,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Tim Haftenburg, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director
Laura Padden, Councilmember Tony Beattie, Sr. Deputy City Attorney
Brandi Peetz, Councilmember John BotteIli, Parks,Rec & Facilities Director
Ben Wick, Councilmember Dave Ellis,Police Chief
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Bill Helbig, Community & Public Works Dir.
Lori Barlow, Senior Planner
John Whitehead,Human Resources Director
Mike Basinger, Economic Development Director
Jeff Kleingartner,Public Information Officer
Carrie Koudelka, Deputy City Clerk
ROLL CALL: Deputy City Clerk called roll; all Councilmembers were present.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA:It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded, and unanimously agreed
to approve the agenda.
ACTION ITEMS:
1. Resolution 22-015 RCO Grant, Greenacres Park Phase 2—Cary Driskell
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to approve Resolution 22-015. City Attorney Driskell
explained that Council previously approved this RCO (Washington State Recreation & Conservation
Office) Grant in 2019 but since that time, the RCO requested some minor, non-substantive language
changes in the resolution to match their template verbatim. There were no public comments. Vote by
acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed: none. Motion carried.
2. Motion Consideration: Council Goals and Priorities for Use of Lodging Tax—Chelsie Taylor
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to approve the Council goals and priorities for the
use of lodging tax revenues as written. Finance Director Taylor said that when the administrative report
came before Council on July 19, 2022, Council proposed changes to the second goal and, since that time,
staff made modifications to the fourth goal to better reflect changes to the City's participation in the County
Tourism Promotion Area (TPS). The goals have been updated to reflect those changes as shown in the
packet materials. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed:
none. Motion carried.
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
3. Street Vacation Right-of-Way,Mission Avenue to Park Road (STV-2022-0001)—Lori Barlow
Senior Planner Barlow said the City-initiated street vacation is for an unimproved L-shaped alleyway from
Mission Avenue to Park Road, located west of the intersection of Park and Mission. She said the alleyway
was dedicated in 1949 by the Park Road Plat and has remained unimproved. In April 2022, Council passed
a resolution to initiate the street vacation and set the public hearing. The Planning Commission conducted
the public hearing July 19, 2022, and voted 6 to 1 in approval of the vacation. Ms. Barlow led Council
Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:08-16-2022 Page 1 of 2
Approved by Council: 08-23-2022
through the slide presentation and detailed the noticing requirements, process, and the comments received
from the public and other agencies. It was consensus of Council to move forward with the street vacation.
4. Street Vacation Housekeeping Amendments—Cary Driskell
City Attorney Driskell informed Council that periodically staff review the Municipal Code language for
possible changes to the language that better reflect how staff operates as the City evolves,and those changes
are detailed in the proposed resolution. It was consensus of Council to move forward with the resolution.
5. Council 2023 Budget Goals John Hohman,Chelsie Taylor
City Manager Hohman said that at the June 14, 2022, budget workshop, the 2023 Council Budget Goals
were discussed and he invited Council to discuss and make modifications to the draft goals as he read
through them. Councilmember Wick suggested inserting "Bridging the Valley" into goal #1.
Councilmember Padden suggested switching the order of the goals by moving the public safety goals #8
and #9 up the list to better reflect the priorities of the City. Councilmembers Woodard and Hattenburg
agreed that moving goals #8 and #9 up to #6 and #7 and bumping the latter two down better reflect the
City's priorities. Councilmember Wick mentioned that the RCO grant for Greenacres Park is not included
on the list; City Manager Hohman said he will add that project to the list and make the other suggested
changes and bring back before Council.
6. Gang Task Force—Chief Ellis
Chief Ellis provided an update on gang enforcement efforts including the history of the task force, trends,
and police response strategies.
7.Advance Agenda—Mayor Haley
There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda.
11. Council Comments—Mayor Haley
No comments from Councilmembers.
12. City Manager Comments--John Hohman
Mr. Hohman said he and staff are excited for the large Washington State Department of Transportation
RAISE grant awarded to the City and reminded Council that we were also awarded a large federal TIGER
grant for the Barker bridge project. He said it is rare for a city of our size to receive awards of this nature
within this short time frame and he referred Council to the draft letter to Secretary Buttigieg thanking him
and his staff for their assistance throughout the process. It was consensus of Council to send the letter to
Secretary Buttigieg, and to send similar letters of thanks to our delegates as well.
It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded, and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 6:59 p.m.
ATT QPON
ii2ar5:to'41 Pam Haley,Mayor
hristine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:08-16-2022 Page 2 of 2
Approved by Council: 08-23-2022
�rr or CITY COUNCIL
SpOkafle
Valley 10210 E Sprague Avenue • Spokane Valley WA 99206
Phone: (509)720-5000 ♦Fax: (509)720-5075 ♦ www.spokanevalley.org
August 16, 2022
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
1200 New Jersey Avenue SE
Washington,D.C. 20590
Dear Secretary Buttigieg:
On behalf of the City of Spokane Valley,I would like to thank you for the Rebuilding American
Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE)award for our Pines Road/BNSF Grade Separation
project. $21,689,221 from USDOT will ensure a safe and reliable alternative to the existing at-grade
crossing,while reducing congestion at nearby intersections and noise pollution resulting from the existing
rail crossing. Safety and traffic flow are of the utmost importance to our city, and we appreciate that the
Biden-Harris Administration recognizes the value of projects such as this one.
The project will replace the highway-rail at-grade crossing of Pines Road (State Route 27) and the BNSF
Railway tracks with a new Pines Road underpass. By separating the freight rail from vehicle, bike and
pedestrian traffic,this will help improve supply chain movement, decreasing delays, and will improve
safety and mobility for all roadway users, including transit and nonmotorized users, traveling throughout
the project area. The project will also replace the intersection of two state highways, with a multi-lane
roundabout, and construct a separated shared use path under the railroad crossing and an adjacent shared
use path around the new roundabout intersection.Lastly,the city will construct a new trailhead and
parking lot facility, equipped with restrooms, electric vehicle charging, and non-motorized access to the
adjacent Centennial Trail and Spokane River.
Once again,many thanks to you and your staff for the assistance in getting our application through this
process and for rewarding projects that enhance community safety and resiliency. We are thrilled about
this opportunity to provide innovative solutions to local problems and appreciate programs like the
RAISE grant that provide the necessary funding to do so. We look forward to working with DOT on
future projects in Eastern Washington.
Sincerely,
Pam Haley, Mayor
On Behalf of the City of Spokane Valley Council
Cc: Amit Bose,Administrator,Federal Railroad Administration
Jennifer Mitchell, Deputy Administrator,Federal Railroad Administration
Michael Lestingi,Executive Director,Federal Railroad Administration
Bernardo Bustamante,Federal Railroad Administration