2023, 01-03 Study Session minutes MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Study Session Meeting
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
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 Erik Lamb,Deputy City Manager
Tom Hattenburg, Councilmember Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Tony Beattie, Sr. Deputy City Attorney
Laura Padden, Councilmember Bill Helbig, Community &Public Works Dir.
Ben Wick, Councilmember Jerremy Clark,Traffic Engineering Manager
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Dave Ellis,Police Chief
John Bottelli, Parks &Rec Director
Gloria Mantz, City Engineer
Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Mike Basinger,Economic Dev. Director
Eric Robison, Housing&Homeless Coordinator
Emily Estes-Cross, Public Information Officer
John Whitehead,Human Resources Manager
Chad KnodeI, IT Manager
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all Councilmembers were present
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded, and unanimously agreed
to approve the agenda.
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After explaining the process,Mayor Haley invited
public comment.
Ms. Jennifer Wilcox, Spokane Valley [via zoom]: said she appreciates the work Council and staff have
done regarding the homeless and housing, and appreciates Eric Robison and the outreach team; said she
has been following these issues for several years and that Mr.Robison is doing a great job in helping people
and businesses address the concerns.
Mr. Dan Allison, Spokane Valley: spoke about shopping carts stacking up at various areas, including
intersections; said that many carts are from Wal-Mart but that he thought they were going to put stops on
the carts so the cart couldn't leave the area, like Rosauer's has done; said he called the Homeless Director
twice in the last week but hasn't heard back; said something needs to be done.
Mr. John Harding, Spokane Valley: mentioned his concern with a rash of incidents in the northwest and all
over the United States with attacks on our infrastructure; said there were over 100 attacks in the US over
last year and he urged Council to look into an emergency preparedness plan and to be pro-active; also
mentioned the Fire Department and response times for them as well as the ambulance companies.
ACTION ITEM:
1. Mayoral Appointments Tourism Promotion Area Commission—Mayor Haley, Mike Basinger
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to confirm the following Mayoral appointments to
the Spokane Valley TPA Commission: (1)Midscale: Sarai Fesler, Residence Inn for a two-year term; (2)
Midscale:Amanda Alcamo, Oxford Suites for a two-year term; (3) Midscale: Grant Guinn, Tru by Hilton
Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:01-03-23 Page 1 of 3
Approved by Council:0 I-24-23
for a three-year term; (4) Upper Midscale: Bernadette Crain,Hampton Inn,for a three-year term; and(5)
Full Service:Lee Cameron,Mirabeau Park Hotel,for a three-year term;all terms begin upon appointment.
Mr. Basinger said this is our City's first tourism promotion commission; that he had some conversations
with Mr. Guinn of Tru by Hilton; said everything is as it should be but we may be adjusting some of those
scales in the future.Mayor Haley invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation:
in favor: unanimous; opposed: none. Motion carried.
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
2. Spokane Conservation District Drainage Easement—Bill Helbig
Director Helbig introduced Ms. Vicki Carter, Director of the Spokane Conservation District. Ms. Carter
gave a briefing on the District and what they do; said they have a new facility on 8th and Havana and she
encouraged all to come visit. Director Helbig then explained the background of this drainage easement
acquisition and that staff have been working over the last several years to identify and acquire property
rights for some city facilities that are needed, and one is the drainage system; said that two Spokane
Conservation District parcels are affected; he mentioned the 2022 appraisal, acquisition cost, easement
terms, and that staff is seeking Council consensus to have this brought back at a future meeting for action
to finalize and execute the easement. As further background, City Manager Hohman said that these were
platted lots that didn't have infrastructure in place at the time they were platted back in the early 1900's;
that a developer came in and did a lot of work, but his company went under and he skipped the Country
and that is the timeframe this started happening; that the property went to foreclosure, and we have been
slowly trying to clean it up. Mr. Helbig said the pipeline is in good condition and we will have easements
on all systems that collect public water. There was Council consensus to move this forward for a future
motion consideration.
3. Master Speed Limit Amendments—Jerremv Clark
Mr. Clark said that one of his roles is to establish and adjust speed limits; and he gave some background on
the proposed changes to the Master Speed Limit Schedule. Councilmember Wick asked about the new Oak
School and Mr. Clark said the school is currently on two separate roadways, but he will verify. There was
Council consensus to move this forward for a future motion consideration.
4. Interlocal Agreement for Data Processing Services—Morgan Koudellca, Erik Lamb
Mr. Lamb explained that the purpose of this amended agreement is to add back some very specific GIS
(geographic information system) services. Mr. Koudelka then explained about us moving GIS services in-
house, and that we recently learned that the Spokane County GIS department has been adding enhanced
information to GIS mapping layers to assist emergency services' response to calls for service; that the
enhanced services include such things as providing building locations and numbers, apartment locations,
driveway and gate access locations,to allow emergency services to quickly access the property or structure
associated with the call. Mr. Koudelka said that in 2019, Spokane County GIS began invoicing Spokane
Regional Emergency Communications (SREC) for this specialized GIS service and that recently SREC
indicated that this service relates to development activity of individual jurisdictions and that SREC should
not be responsible for this service; and that SREC determined that they were not willing to pay the County
to carry out this specialized GIS service. However,Mr.Koudelka explained,to prevent interruption of this
vital piece of information being provided to emergency services, staff recommends adding this service to
the interlocal agreement for data processing services provided by Spokane County; he noted the cost is
relatively small at approximately$1,000 to$1,200 per month;and if approved by Council,staff will explore
cost recovery options through partnerships with the fire districts or by passing costs through to permit fees.
There was Council consensus to move this forward for a future motion consideration.
5. Homelessness Update—Eric Robison
Mr.Robison stated that tonight's goal is to provide information, and via his PowerPoint gave some data on
the homelessness/unstable housing including some key findings from a housing instability survey as well
Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session:01-03-23 Page 2 of 3
Approved by Council:01-24-23
as findings from the Outreach Team's data collection. Mr. Robinson also briefly talked about the area
shelter system, the Department of Commerce funding and Camp Hope, with data showing as of early
December that the camp had just under 200 individuals compared with over 600 during the summer. He
also talked about exploring a regional approach, three primary goals of our Action Plan, and identified
critical needs in the plan. Mr. Robinson discussed our agreement and associated costs with Hope House,
and that our cost for two beds would be nearly four times the rate per bed that we paid in 2022,and that we
will contract for one respite bed in 2023. He explained that a respite bed cost includes three meals a day,
case management, substance use professional on-site, bus passes, medical and tele-medicine and all other
ancillary costs. Mr. Lamb said that staff will be asking for guidance in the future on how to prioritize our
limited funds as our PIan doesn't address that at this point.There was some discussion about not duplicating
resources, focus on prevention,what seemed to have worked in Houston,that we don't want to incentivize
people to be homeless, and that rules and regulations must be included. Mr. Hohman added that as staff
works on finalizing the Action Plan, we will need to come up with reasonable goals for Council's review;
said the environment here is difficult as we deal with Iegislative issues such as drug possession, building
costs, and other legislative issues on our legislative agenda, which he noted we will be advocating for as
the session starts next week. Mr. Hohman said this will come before Council again soon and that one of the
issues to examine will be a regional plan.
6. Annexation Update—Mike Basinger
Mr.Basinger went through his PowerPoint briefly explaining the various annexation methods,and mention
of next steps,such as identifying development potential in annexation areas,analyzing the fiscal and service
impacts of annexation,and capital infrastructure assessment. He stated staff will perform some preliminary
analysis to look at current land uses, then move to a financial analysis to see if the areas in question would
pay for themselves;that he will come back with a detailed analysis, and he asked what would Council like
as its focus. Mr.Hohman said that as Mr. Basinger works through the analysis,it is possible there are areas
within the exiting UGA that should not be there and that perhaps a trade could be made; said staff has
identified an area to the south for consideration, as well as some areas adjacent to SR 27, and that staff will
give a closer look at potential areas. Councilmember Wick said he prefers looking at areas heavily
dependent on the ability for being developed, and not residential since residential areas would be cash
absorbers. Mr. Basinger said that more preliminary information will be forthcoming.
7. Advance Agenda—Mayor Haley
There were no suggested changes to the Advance Agenda.
COUNCIL COMMENTS
There were no further Council comments.
CITY MANAGER COMMENTS
Mr. Hohman said that the federal omnibus package passed the House and the Senate; that we have two
projects in for Congressionally directed spending: $2.65 million for the design of Sullivan/Trent; and $5
million for the Pines GSP so we now have sufficient funds to get that moving.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 7:34 p.m.
AI`
• •
Pam Haley,Mayor
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:01-03-23 Page 3 of 3
Approved by Council:01-24-23
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SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday, January 3, 2023
6:00 p.m. Regular Meeting
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