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2022, 11-08 Regular Formal MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Formal Meeting Tuesday, November 8,2022 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: Couneilmembers Staff Pam Haley,Mayor John Hohman, City Manager Rod Higgins, Deputy Mayor Erik Lamb,Deputy City Manager Tim Hattenburg, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney Laura Padden, Councilmember Tony Beattie, Sr.Deputy City Attorney Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Ben Wick, Councilmember Bill Helbig, Community &Public Works Dir. Arne Woodard, Councilmember John Bottelli,Parks,Rec &Facilities Director Gloria Mantz, City Engineer Mike Basinger, Economic Development Dir John Whitehead, Human Resources Director Virginia Clough, Legislative Policy Coordinator Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Darrell Cole of Living Hope Community Church gave the invocation PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE ROLL CALL City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all Councilm embers 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 COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS Councilmember Peetz: said she went to the new bakery on Sprague Avenue, the Breaiixdoo Bakery, and was very impressed; met with the Washington Traffic Safety Commission and said they have a new guidebook for speed enforcement for cities; spoke of an effort to lower the BAC (blood alcohol concentration) limit from .08 to .05 as some other states are also working toward that end. Councilmember Padden: she extended congratulations to Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce CEO Lance Beck and his wife on their new baby; said the Chamber is now fully staffed and membership continues to grow so finances are in great shape; said the Manufacturing Matters project of taking school kids around to manufacturing plants has been very successful; said they also discussed their top legislative agenda items such as safety; that they are asking for a permanent solution to the Blake Decision; and that they would like the emergency powers of the governor revised; and said the Chamber's showcase event will be held December 9 at CenterPlace. Councilmember Hattenburg: reported that he attended the 25th anniversary of Family Promise, which is an organization that provides housing for homeless families; went to the Bakery ribbon cutting, and also the ribbon cutting at Wellesley & Sullivan as Sullivan Road reopens; and that he went to the Spokane Valley Heritage Museum Fundraiser which was very entertaining and interesting. Councilmember Woodard: stated that the Continuum of Care is working to finalize what would be sent to HUD, said the first notice of Point in Time count is coming up early January or February; said that while he was in Arizona he went to a Family Promise there and said that our Family Promise is the model for the entire nation of Family Promise Organizations; said Arizona is having similar success rates as our area Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 11-08-2022 Page 1 of 5 Approved by Council: 11-22-2022 concerning the homeless situation; said he went to the employee luncheon and he thanked staff for their professionalism. Councilmember Wick; said that the Freight Mobility Strategic Investment Board (FMSIB) is proposing a Board name change and that they are also working on how to best engage under-represented communities; said they propose to add three new members; said he attended the Heritage Museum fundraiser at CenterPlace and mentioned the impressive video wall; mentioned the school district's historic flight foundation at Felts Field; said he went to the AWC (Association of Washington Cities) Cities on Tap regional meeting and said the annual AWC conference will be in Spokane this year; and said that Visit Spokane has been having conversations about our City's transition with the TPA. Deputy Mayor Higgins: reported that he also attended the Bakery ribbon cutting;mentioned that the Clean Air Board and the Aging and Long Term Care Board have both been affected by inflation; said the Clean Air Board has been hearing about some difficulties with legalized marijuana; that there are not as many growers and processes as there once were and that the Board had been charging them an annual registration fee, but that it costs more to collect then the fee actually costs so the Board decided to do away with the rates; said the problem is trying to collect from people who aren't going to pay and said if citizens care to comment, he suggested going on-line to their Board or coming to the next meeting; said they conducted a study and they haven't raised some charges since 2010 so they are playing catch-up; and said he also went to the Museum's fundraiser. MAYOR'S REPORT Mayor Haley said she also attended the Bakery ribbon cutting and highly recommends their cookie ice- cream sundae; mentioned there was discussion at the STA meeting about cost effectiveness, and said that our cost is the lowest in the state per ride, and also the lowest for paratransit; and reminded everyone that free passes are still available for November. PROCLAMATIONS: (1)Small Business Saturday; (2) Veterans Day Mayor Haley read each proclamation. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY [1l: After Mayor Haley explained the process, she invited public comment. Mr.John Harding,Spokane Valley: said veterans have been historically mistreated and he hopes people appreciate their service; said he has a problem with being able to frequently discuss items and of an inability to communicate with council; said he wants the ability to communicate with Council however possible, and noted there are some people in our community who might be helpful with certain topics. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Project(s) Submittal -- Eric Robison Mayor Haley opened the public hearing at 6:38 p.m. Housing & Homeless Coordinator Robison went through his PowerPoint explaining about the two proposed projects. He also noted that Spokane Housing Ventures is asking that we send a letter of support to Spokane County and all Councilmembers indicated they support sending the letter. Mayor Haley invited public comment; no comments were offered and Mayor Haley closed the public hearing at 6:46 p.m. 2. Motion Consideration: Approval of CDBG 2023 Project(s) Submittal--Eric Robison It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to approve supporting Spokane Housing Venture's 4'r'Avenue proposal as the first option for CDBG finds during the 2023 program, and the Progress Road project as the second option. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed. none. Motion carried. 3. PUBLIC HEARING#3: 2023 Budget—Chelsie Taylor Mayor Haley opened the public hearing at 6:47 p.m. After Finance Director Taylor gave an overview of the budget, Mayor Haley invited public comment. Mr. John Harding, Spokane Valley: he did not address the 2023 budget,but spoke about the 1/10 of 1%emergency communication proposition from 2008 to 2018. There were no other public comments and Mayor Haley closed the hearing at 6:51 p.m. Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 11-08-2022 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council: 11-22-2022 NEW BUSINESS: 4. 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 November 8, 2022, Request for Council Action Form: $1,492,976.78 b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period ending October 31,2022: $644,128.20 c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of October 18, 2022, Study Session d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of October 25,2022, Formal Meeting Format It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins,seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda. 5. Second Reading Ordinance 22-022 Amending 2022 Budget—Chelsie Taylor After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to approve Ordinance 22-022 amending Ordinance 21-018 which adopted a budget for the period January 1, 2022 through December,31, 2022, as subsequently amended by Ordinance 22-008. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed.- none. Motion carried. 6. Second Reading Ordinance 22-023 Adopting 2023 Budget Chelsie Taylor After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded, to approve Ordinance 22-023 adopting the 2023 budget. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed: none. Motion carried. 7. Resolution 22-020 Amending Policies for Street Vacation Compensation —Bill Helbig It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to adopt Resolution 22-020 regarding compensation for rights-of-way and other vacations pursuant to RCW 35.79.030. Director Helbig went over the major points of the resolution as noted in the Request for Council Action form, which points he mentioned had been agreed upon by Council consensus during a previous meeting. Mayor Haley invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous; opposed: none. Motion carried. 8. Motion Consideration: Stormwater Utility Rates—Gloria Mantz It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to adopt the Pro-Active Level of Service for the Stormwater Utility and effective January 1, 2023, increase the Stormwater Utility fee to $58/year per ERU with an annual increase consistent with the CPI. City Engineer Mantz explained about the proposed stormwater utility rate increase and that based on previous Council consensus to adopt the Pro-Active level of service, that once approved, effective January 1,2023, the utility fee would increase to $58 per year per ERU with an annual increase consistent with the CPI (consumer price index). Ms. Mantz also noted that next steps would be to incorporate the new fees into the 2023 Master Fee Schedule, and evaluate the Stormwater Master Plan to develop an Implementation Plan and Schedule. Ms. Mantz noted that the City must comply with state regulations and if we are not in compliance, it means impacts to the river and aquifer, has the potential for Ecology to issue civil and criminal actions up to $25,000 per day or more and one-year imprisonment; as well as other penalties for each day in violation. She also noted that the Department of Ecology provided an update of some of the upcoming new requirements, and it appears we would need to enhance our street sweeping program to perhaps sweep a minimum of three times a year; said she anticipates we will need to hire a professional arborist to perform a tree inventory as well. Mayor Haley invited public comment. Mr. John Harding, Spokane Valley: said it seems that the government's first, second and third priority should be public safety and that this isn't public safety; said that with this we would hire three new people, and said he wondered how many police officers could have hired instead; said stormwater runoff doesn't come from citizens' yards but rather comes off concrete and pavement which is generally near some business and questioned why the businesses shouldn't contribute. There were no other public comments. Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 11-08-2022 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council: 11-22-2022 During Council and staff discussion, Councilmember Woodard asked Ms.Mantz how this would affect the commercial side of properties and Ms. Mantz explained that aside from residences, all other developed property is also currently charged $21 for every 3,160 square feet of impervious surface area. Councilmember Woodard stated that water is public safety; because if we don't have water,we don't have any way to maintain health;he said that residents add to the stormwater runoff as rainwater runs off roofing, concrete, and driveways. Councilmember Wick stated that this fee hasn't been raised for several years, and he feels moving to the pro-active is a huge jump,which fee would be collected on property tax bills; said he prefers to go back to the minimum, adding that he has a concern about the automatic CPI increase and is not comfortable with doing that without further review by Council. Councilmember Peetz said she agreed with Councilmember Wick as this is too high of a jump;that she understands we need to be in compliance but people ae already having a hard time keeping up and she favors the minimum now and to re-evaluate later; and that she too would like further review by Council instead of automatic CPI increases. Councilmember Hattenburg mentioned he doesn't want to get further behind and Mr. Hohman noted that it was Council's previous direction to go with the pro-active but this decision is up to Council, adding that he highly recommends not going below the minimum due to associated risks. Mayor Haley stated that by not passing this it would mean we are saying our water isn't worth that; she said that there has been more spending more on other things, and she agrees that water is worth it, it is very important, and this is not a huge amount of money and she supports our single source of water. It was moved by Councilmember Wick and seconded to amend the motion to the minimum level of service for the stormwater fee and to set the fee at $45.00 a year effective January 1, 2023. Mayor Haley invited public comment on the amendment; and no comments were offered.After further Council discussion of the different amounts, Council voted by acclamation (and showing of hands) on the amendment: in favor: Councilmembers Wick and Peetz opposed: Mayor Haley, Deputy Mayor Higgins, and Councilmembers Padden, Hattenburg, and Woodard. The amendment failed. Vote on the original motion: in favor: Mayor Haley, Deputy Mayor Higgins, and Councilmembers Padden, Hattenburg, and Woodard; opposed: Councilmembers Wick and Padden. Motion carried. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY 121: Mayor Haley invited public comment; no public comments were offered. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: 9. Code Text Amendment Stormwater Utility Gloria Mantz City Engineer Mantz explained about the stormwater management regulations, and of the minor code language changes needed for consistency with City processes as shown on the track-change draft; she also noted these proposed regulations would go before the Planning Commission, then return to Council for ordinance amendment consideration; adding that the ordinance must be adopted by February 3, 2023 per the MS4 permit regulations. There were no objections to moving forward as Ms.Mantz proposed. 10.Lodging Tax Advisory Committee(LTAC)Recommendations to Council—Chelsie Taylor, Sarah Farr Accountant/Budget Analyst Farr and Finance Director Taylor went over the background leading to the LTAC recommendations to Council for 2023 budget allocations. Director Taylor reminded Council that options for Council include approving some or all of the listed recipient amounts recommended by the LTAC, not approving any and having the LTAC review its recommendation for further Council action, or propose a change in the use of revenue, which then must be re-submitted to the LTAC for review and comment and the LTAC must be given at least 45 days to review and provide comments prior to final action by Council. Ms. Farr noted that this issue is slated to come before Council December 13 for a motion consideration so no action is needed tonight. Councilmember Woodard said he is a bit disappointed with not funding the capital project at $3 million, but appreciates the $2 million recommendation, and said he would encourage the County to apply again next year for another grant. Councilmember Peetz also noted she appreciates the process and it is very important to have the stadium and questioned if there was any Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 11-08-2022 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council: 11-22-2022 commentary on why the full amount was not considered. Mr. Hohman said it may have had been due to some concern about the number of hotel room nights generated by the games all year long. 11. Advance Agenda-Mayor Haley There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS City Manager Hohman mentioned the previous letter from Mayor Woodward asking our Mayor to sign and forward back, concerning frustration with crime; and said that Councilmember Padden had no issues with the letter, and he asked if Council has any objections to this letter, and there were no objections raised. Mr. Hohman also noted that earlier today he signed an agreement with an accounting firm to handle distribution of ARPA funds, and that staff is hoping to issue an RFP (request for proposal) in early December. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 7:58 p.m. A E isaf:,4; Pam Haley,M r Christine Bainbridge, City Cle - Council Meeting Minutes,Formal: 11-08-2022 Page 5 of 5 Approved by Council: 11-22-2022 SIGN-IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, November 8, 2022 6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting PUBLIC HEARING Community Development Block Grant Project ( s ) Submital YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES You may sign in to speak but it is not necessary, as the Mayor will afford the public the opportunity to speak. NAME YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE PLEASE PRINT R Sf-(ELL-eU dtA e Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. Spokane County Mayor's Frustrated with Rise in Crime and Violence October 7, 2022 Members of the 3rd,4`", 6`",XX legislative districts, The below signed eastern Washington mayors are united in our ongoing plea to help us address the rise in crime and violence in our communities. State-led initiatives, as well-intended as they may have been, have helped create unintended consequences in our region, and we call on our legislators to now help fix it.The state action has contributed to an environment where criminals know accountability has weakened and victims are not given the considerations they deserve. Our community of residents, businesses, and visitors—the victims of these crimes—are frustrated and action needs to be taken. We are calling on you and your colleagues to address the following policies: 1. Pursuits: RCW 10.116.060 has created an environment where criminals simply speed away from police when officers attempt to pull them over because they know and understand that police cannot pursue them. Law enforcement across the state and in our own communities can attest to this based on repeated experience and feedback. The reality is law-abiding citizens that do the right thing by pulling over are the only ones stopping. We understand that pursuits are inherently dangerous to the parties involved and the community, however, this law has not reduced the danger, but instead allowed the criminal element to avoid accountability. We are asking that officers be authorized to pursue those fleeing from law enforcement when the necessity to apprehend the suspect outweighs the potential danger to the community. 2. Drugs: From 2020—2021, our communities in Spokane County have seen a dramatic 285% increase in drug overdose deaths.The destructive path of housing and employment instability, property crime, and violence is unacceptable. Most of the crimes our communities experience directly stem from illicit drug use/abuse. SB 5476 has essentially decriminalized the possession of drugs and reduced the criminal penalties from a felony to a misdemeanor in the rare instances where possession laws can be enforced. Further, the legislature created a system of referrals that does not communicate individual contacts with officers across police departments, and only recently added funding to our recovery services. We see significant concerns with this legislation, and with allowing our citizens to poison themselves and others, free of incentive to seek treatment and accountability for victimizing others. Although we understand and sympathize with the struggles of those with substance abuse issues, we cannot let addiction excuse the victimization of friends, families, and communities with the criminal activity that is inherent in drug use. Intervening with a push-pull accountability approach that includes mandatory treatment is oftentimes a necessary step to help someone who is addicted to mind- altering drugs make life-changing decisions. 3. Police: Our police have been hampered by the perceived lack of support for law enforcement as a result of recent reform legislation. Last session, some much-needed corrections were made, but across the state and in our communities, our police continue to need help. Officers are fatigued and burning out at alarming rates with the consistent narrative of reform that places them at the center of perceived or implied wrong-doing while calls for service continue to increase. We ask that you address this during the legislative session and make a commitment to our law enforcement that keep us safe every day. Our Police are overworked and understaffed, we need more tools—and a much more supportive environment—to help recruit and retain officers on the local level. Our citizens are tired of the crimes they see and experience. We hear about it every single day. Decriminalizing drugs and taking tools from law enforcement has sent the wrong message to the small percentage of criminal element that is negatively impacting the overwhelming majority of law-abiding members of our region. These simple, common-sense fixes will send a message to criminals that we are serious about changing their lawless behaviors. Our families, businesses, and individuals deserve to live in a community they feel safe in, and you can help us get there. Please consider addressing the measures outlined above, and we stand ready to partner in the safety of our communities. Respectfully, Mayors' Signatures.