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2007, 01-27 Special Retreat Meeting MinutesAttendance: Councilmembers Diana Wilhite, Mayor Steve Taylor, Deputy Mayor Dick Denenny, Councilmember Mike DeVleming, Councilmember Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Rich Munson, Councilmember Gary Schimmels, Councilmember Others: None January 27, 2007 MINUTES SPECIAL RETREAT MEETING SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL CenterPlace 2 " Floor Conference Room 2426 N Discovery Place Spokane Valley, Washington 9:00 a.m. — 3:00 p.m. Staff Nina Regor, Deputy City Manager Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Marina Sukup, Community Development Dir. Ken Thompson, Finance Director Mike Connelly, City Attorney Cary Driskell, Deputy City Attorney Mike Jackson, Parks & Recreation Director Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Carrie Acosta, Deputy City Clerk/HR Assistant Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk Mayor Wilhite opened the meeting at approximately 9:10 a.m. and thanked everyone for coming. 1. Communications Program — Mayor Wilhite Mayor Wilhite asked if we are meeting our expectations to provide communications to the community, followed by Ms. Regor stating that we have started the message of the month or week, but asked if Council wants to move into more proactive realms; is that the direction council wants and/or are their other ideas. Public Information Officer Branch said that the issue is how to get the word out; she mentioned she is working on a flyer but does not yet have a distribution list; there is an e -mail program within Office Suites but we are not able to implement that, so she is exploring e -mail list programs that are self - sustaining regarding subscriptions, which would eliminate the need for staff to maintain the list; that she hopes to have such a program in place once a suitable one is located; that there are the Comcast interviews for Local Edition which are broadcast between fifteen and twenty times a month; and she has also started gathering e -mail addresses of those interested in receiving our publications. In response to Councilmember Gothmann's questions asking for clarification on the message of the month /week and Comcast interviews, Ms. Branch explained that previously Council said they wanted some pro - active communication efforts, so Ms. Branch put together some "talking points" which are available to any councilmember to put together programs on a particular topic each month, and that she has received some responses from Mayor Wilhite, Deputy Mayor Taylor, and Councilmember Munson who indicated their willingness to go out and speak on those topics. Councilmember DeVleming mentioned that he has not seen the flyer either and Ms. Branch said she will place some in our front reception area and make sure Council gets copies. Mayor Wilhite added that this could prove resourceful for Mr. Gothmann on his Chamber of Commerce Board position, as he was asked to make a presentation at each meeting as an update on City topics, and Ms. Wilhite suggested having flyers available at the Chamber as well. Mr. Gothmann said the Board meets the fourth Wednesday at 7:00 a.m. Councilmember Munson said that the flyer is a good mechanism, but we need to be more aggressive, and he suggested contacting the service clubs in the Valley and have Councilmembers get on those clubs' Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 1 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 schedules for speaking engagements; adding that most clubs schedule up to a month in advance. Concerning media releases, broadcasts, etc. Ms. Branch mentioned that there are numerous tasks involved regarding communication outreach and good exposure, and she alone has that responsibility. Councilmember Munson suggested staff compile a list and send a letter to the clubs; and that once the clubs know we're available, they'll likely contact us. Attorney Connelly stated that the City of Spokane uses their directors to do presentations to different clubs if their councilmembers are not available. Ms. Regor said that council expressed the idea at previous retreats, of getting more information to clubs, and that staff will generate a list of area service clubs' meeting schedules, and of their desire to receive our public service announcements and /or messages of the week/month. The idea of media outreach to television and radio was also mentioned, and Ms. Branch said that productions are very time consuming and are expensive to produce. A way to act more overtly would be for us to set the media agenda, rather than have the media always asking the questions. Ms. Branch said that research shows that the most effective means to disseminate messages, is one -on -one; and she asked Councilmembers to let her know which clubs they belong to or regularly attend; and to remember that she is only one person, so scheduling presentations or talks need more planning time than a week or two; and to also let her know if any councilmember is looking at large priorities or projects, and she can put extra effort into those priorities. Other discussion included conceptual ideas such as promoting what a city center might look like; the street masterplan and the concept of having every street mapped out with a maintenance schedule, including impacts and funding; taking a layered approach in our revitalization plan; a vision for a community center; that these conceptual ideas could also be used as topics for future conversations with the community; that tax proposal or bond issue concepts should not be promoted without prior discussion with legal; and that some of these conceptual topics as well as other topics might be included in the Mayor's State of the City address. Councilmember DeVleming said that his number one priority is the street master plan as that will affect every person in the City for many years. Further discussion included mention of budget impacts for all these issues; that some municipalities hire groups to do their press releases; how to handle the perception of negative or difficult items such as the Appleway right -of -way or our contract with the Sheriff's Office; that there is never enough balance on the positive issues; speaking to successes rather than responding to media questions; the idea of targeting three major topics for concentration this year; and having councilmembers or staff as a contact person 24 hours a day /seven days a week, or having emergency phone contacts. Ms. Regor said staff will work with service clubs to generate a list of topics and will look at the work year to see what those clubs might be interested in discussing; that staff will work on formulating a contact list; will work with Councilmembers to determine each councilmember's level of availability concerning meeting with clubs; and that staff will also work to get the campaign rolling on the street masterplan. Other topical issues mentioned for media contact included annexation, policies of the Growth Management Act, and the City Center plan and financing. The size of the current e -mail list was discussed along with the idea of hiring temporary staff for a few days to make contact with community leaders. Public Information Officer Branch said that the current list is not large but she will ask permission to include the Community Development's e -mail list and invite entities and individuals on that list to subscribe to her e -mail. Ms. Branch added that whenever she publishes a press or media release, that information is also posted on our website to give people a chance to read the issues and subscribe; and that most people interested are residents rather than businesses. Councilmember DeVleming expressed his interest in expanding the list to get more members of the business community on the distribution list; which generated discussion about not inundating people with too many requests to join the list distribution. It was also suggested we work toward being more interactive with community leaders in all aspects of the city, including leaders of SCOPE (Sheriff Community Oriented Policing Effort). Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 2 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 Discussion moved to informing and educating the public to make them aware of and understand the topics and the importance of the topics from the City's perspective; for such topics as the contract with the Sheriff's Office to explain the broad -based concept about why we have a designated police chief; the Milwaukee right -of -way, Sprague / Appleway Revitalization, Barker Road Project, some of our values on how the City is set up and constructed; and of the idea of having members of council write editorials. It was also mentioned that our Public Information Officer has only been in existence for approximately one and a half years, and of the possibility of re- visiting her role and/or getting her assistance. As an aside, Councilmember Gothmann mentioned that members of SCOPE are in the process of hiring a coordinator, and that Rick Scott has applied; that Mr. Gothmann is concerned that SCOPE is so removed from our city administratively, that we need a liaison, because when members of SCOPE have concerns, they express their concerns to the Sheriff, and that he would volunteer to be such a liaison. It was mentioned that is one of the reasons we have an independent police chief, and perhaps we should schedule a meeting with the leadership of SCOPE. Councilmember Gothmann said that members of SCOPE are trying to get more communication among the stations; that they are usually independently operated, but they now seek a coordinator who can talk to all SCOPE stations to discuss their program; that there was a County SCOPE board and they are trying to re- activate it; and now would be a good time to have a liaison with the Spokane Valley SCOPE station. City Attorney Connell said that our relationship with SCOPE needs further defining, as there are things they do that we don't totally agree with, and some areas where we might take a more cautious view concerning such things as Fourth Amendment Search and Seizures, parking on rights -of -way, and that those officers are not trained to deal with several of those issues. Mayor Wilhite called for a break at 10:20 a.m., and reconvened the meeting at 10:30 a.m. 2. Review 2007 Council Goals Deputy City Manager Regor explained that the purpose of this agenda item is to check with Council to see if any clarification is needed for any 2007 goal. #3 goal: Mayor Wilhite suggested the verbiage be more consistent with what we are currently using, i.e., "Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan." #2 goal: Councilmember Munson asked about the status of this goal, and Mayor Wilhite stated that fiber is being added to CenterPlace. Ms. Regor explained that staff seeks council direction concerning this goal as it was broadly stated in 2006, and then moved as a 2007 goal. Finance Director Thompson said he feels this goal means different things to different people; that perhaps a good place to start would be by scheduling meetings with the Mayor and interest groups like hospitals, colleges, school districts, fiber companies, and the EDC to discuss what is currently available, and what is missing or needed. The question of mapping the fiber was addressed and it appears some entities are reluctant to map the fiber. Mayor Wilhite said she spoke with Robin Toth from the Economic Development Council (EDC) who was involved in the "hot zone" in Spokane; who indicated there is some infrastructure mapping in place. Councilmember Munson suggested we contact Comcast, Columbia Fiber and One -Eighty and let them know what we have in mind and ask for their assistance, as it would mean more business for them as it helps us; and he suggested there is also a need to talk with purveyors to see if they are willing to assist, such as AT &T, Quest, and fiber providers. Mayor Wilhite said that she and Robin Toth spoke of this issue and discussed how to get all the aspects together, and it appears it is a matter of putting groups together, setting a date, and trying to get them to map it all out; adding that hospitals and public institutions including the Spokane Community Colleges, will need access as well. With improved telecommunications infrastructure, Mr. Thompson suggested there could be other classes offered at CenterPlace which would use or teach the use of electronic records for example. Mr. Thompson said he has a list of people to contact to determine their needs to see how to bring a plan together of what is Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 3 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 needed in the valley. Mr. Thompson said that he has a one or two -page list of interview questions, and as we meet with these people, we ask what do they have, want and envision needing; and he stated that staff should have some preliminary data during the third quarter. #1 goal: Councilmember Denenny said that there is a flurry of activity occurring in next thirty to sixty days with the main issue of governance, which includes oversight /monitoring including how to create a broader tax base, and how to determine how funds will be collected or allocated, and that a report could be given in March or May as an update. It was suggested adding that topic to the advance agenda. Councilmember Denenny said that possibly there needs to be a change in legislation in order to broaden the tax collection area, likely a legislation action would be by the State rather than via the ballot; that the collection of funds is now restricted to those on sewer; that a governance group needs to form; and that the Department of Ecology has buyoff on the Environmental Protection Agency to use the format they came up with last year and an agreement to allow us to get the permit. After further brief discussion concerning whether to move this goal to 2008, it was decided to keep this as a 2007 goal and if necessary it could be moved later as an 08 goal. #7 goal: when asked if we were on track for this goal, Community Development Director Sukup said that there are some things relative to the Sprague /Appleway revitalization plan that tie in with the Comp plan; and we will have to deal with some things that Mr. Miles (SRTC Transportation Manger) objects to; that there were over - optimist projections of State and Federal revenues over the next twenty years for transportation planning; that we will have to re -toll that; and that we need to make sure any changes to the Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan will be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. Concerning rapid transit; Councilmember Munson said that they are working on coming up with the cost of going forward with preliminary engineering and land analysis and the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and report that to the SRTC Board. Councilmember Schimmels added that the report should some forth in about two weeks. Public Works Director Kersten said concerning the EIS, there was some disagreement on what it would cost for rapid transit /light rail; and if they don't finish it, all that work was wasted. Councilmember Munson said the STA group says it will cost five million dollars to finish the EIS and preliminary engineering; and that the consensus on light rail is, if the people voted no, then the answer should be no; but there are other factors to consider as any funds expanded by SRTC must be approved by the Federal Transportation Agency; and they said if that request for funding is denied, the project will never get funded. Ms. Sukup added that the EIS includes bus rapid transit and not just light rail. After further discussion on what message Councilmember Schimmels should take to the SRTC, it was Council consensus to give the message to Councilmember Schimmels that any talk or discussion of funding will be "no" until we hear a different public advisory vote. Community Development Sukup mentioned proceedings with our Shorelines Masterplan, and it was noted that topic will be discussed during next Tuesday's council meeting. 3. Updated Financial Forecast Finance Director Thompson gave an overview of Program Statement #1, explaining that most of our operations are paid from the general fund; and that as we adopt our business plan, those costs are likely to increase as we determine if other needs are warranted such as additional staff; that the cost for the consultant to help with the City Center is not yet included as we do not know exact figures. He also mentioned that we are trying to wean the street funds away from the support of the general fund, as the chart indicates those funds no longer show up from 2008 onward. He mentioned we see general fund expenses increasing approximately 8% annually where they were formerly 6 %; but that the difference is in cost of living allocations, 100% increase in retirement costs, and about 15 -20% increase in medical costs. Mr. Thompson said that this budget is based on no growth of staff, but that is likely to change. The deficit on page one, he explained, has been moved to 2012. Finance Director Thompson explained Program Statement #2 and that concerning the operating side of the street fund, the deficit still shows up in 2009. He said that the consultant's report coming in on the street masterplan will likely have an impact Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 4 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 on the list of capital projects and operating costs for street maintenance, and could even recommend more staff. It was mentioned that the topic of funding options could be a possible topic for the June retreat. Concerning Problem Statement #3, Mr. Thompson said 2007 looks pretty good and those figures should be very close to actual figures; but beyond 2007 it is impossible to tell what will happen exactly and those figures are an estimate; although he feels fairly secure in the figures for the parks projects as the Parks and Recreation Masterplan has those projects listed, but that the consultant's report on the street masterplan could change this scenario also. There was a break for lunch at 12:00; and the meeting resumed at 12:30 p.m. 4. Council 2008 Goals The following ideas were discussed as potential goals with further discussion to be scheduled for the June retreat: 1. On -line permitting and on -line tracking of our development process. The realization of this goal would allow developers to type in a code and be able to see the status of their project, including what is approved, not approved, and pending. Ms. Regor said the County's system his some road blocks with their efforts to get on -line, and she is not sure if the problem is a design or a system issue. 2. Record and data security. Attorney Connelly said we are entering thousands of bits of data with no control over the content. Ms. Sukup said that regarding the PLUS system, that system becomes our own in a couple years, that we pay the County now to do backup and maintenance on it, and added that the system is capable of tracking the development process now. She said the question is how often does it get updated, adding that Mary Kate Martin is looking at milestones and will likely come to council later with a report. 3. Further refinement of the information dissemination process, with the possibility of having a Public Information Officer Assistant, and the need for Council to get out more in the public; that there is a need to develop a program that will get Councilmembers more in the community and in front of people. 4. Bond Financing. Discussion turned to budget issues, particularly with the need to do something about the future of the street fund. Councilmember Gothmann suggested we develop scenarios for alternatives and perform adequate research to find possible solutions. It was mentioned that after the completion of the road study, we should have a better idea of what is needed to complete funding. The question of a bond came up and of the strategy and necessary time frame to place any bond on the ballot. Attorney Connelly said that we would need at least a year to plan, and a year to sell and pass a bond issue, and it would be possible to have a measure on the November 2008 ballot if we started planning now. Further discussion ensued about the timing and the need to get this done prior to the deficit year, versus waiting until November of 2008 or even March of 2009 for a ballot measure. Attorney Connelly said he will research the needed time frame for passing a bond. Public Information Officer Branch added that the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) has information on who handles the communication and other aspects of placing a bond measure on the ballot; and she could contact them to ask if they could come to a study session to discuss time frames. Councilmember Munson mentioned the possibility of a need for a bond issue for the City Center. Deputy City Manager Regor said this would also be a good topic for the June retreat. 5. Contracts. Councilmember DeVleming asked about exploring the contracting issue and whether to have contracts in- house, through private agencies, through other means; or to continue our contracting position with the County, not knowing what contracting position the County will keep in the future. Ms. Regor said we are receiving several different messages on our road maintenance contracts; and other contract intents are not clear; but that this will be explored further as part of the business plan. Deputy Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 5 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 Mayor Taylor said he would also like to hear more about regional governance and the County wanting to change their form of governance, e.g. to have regional governance on police, road maintenance, sewer, animal control, etc. Public Works Director Kersten said we have transferred most of our engineering contracted work to the private sector and that has been working well, but if we decide there is a permanent need, it would likely be less expensive to come in- house. Parks and Recreation Director Jackson said the overall service with Senske is very good; and that the contract with the Y for pool operations is running smoothly. Councilmember Munson said pool improvements is another topic for an opportunity for public communications, and perhaps it could be used as the message for the month of May. 6. Spokane Valley Community Development Block Grant Program. Deputy Mayor Taylor suggested we do the groundwork ahead of time and start the entitlement process perhaps in 2009. Ms. Regor said Community Development has factored that in their business plan and is doing an analysis of having our entitlement program. 7. Our own City Hall. Councilmember Denenny asked about the timeline of having our own city hall and of the alternatives. Ms. Regor said there is funding in the budget to conduct a space study to determine our needs; and we are setting funds aside for a facility; that she is uncertain of when a decision will be made, adding that we have a contract for the current facility with WEB Properties until 2010. Ms. Regor said she estimates it will take four years to plan and build a city hall, and with the Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan, we will be further along by the end of the year which could help in making the difficult determination of how far we are from the actual decision. Ms. Regor added that the goal is to have five million dollars in that fund by the end of this year. 8. Electronic Documents. In response to Councilmember Gothmann's questions about this process, Ms. Regor explained that there is approximately $250,000 in the budget toward that goal, which is actually a revised 2006 goal (Explore and Implement a Records Management System). Along with electronic documents and records management, the topic of televised council meetings was broached, as well as paperless council packets. Discussion included the idea that televised council meetings tend to revise meetings into council interviews; that citizens often ask for televised meetings as a way to further involve our citizenry; that there are many cities which have web casts; the use of radio rather than television; and of the citizen's actual access to such. It was determined that this will be a topic to add to the June retreat discussion as a potential 2008 goal, and that staff will research this topic, along with the idea of paperless agendas and computer writing boards, and have this discussed at future council study sessions and /or the June retreat. The meeting stopped for a short break at 1:30 p.m., and resumed at 1:40 p.m. 5. Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats (S.W.O.T.) Deputy City Manager Regor explained that this process was used in 2003, and felt it would now be a good time to update the list. Below is the list generated and the number of votes for each item: Strengths 1. Street System (quality of asphalt): 5 votes 2. Contracting: 3 votes 3. Community's Economic Diversity (balance of commercial, industrial, etc.): 3 votes 4. Financially Sound: 2 votes 5. Capital facilities in good shape: 2 votes 6. Vision for the future: 1 vote 7. Acting on the vision: 1 vote 8. Lean Organization: 1 vote Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 6 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 9. Geographically well located: 1 vote 10. Low utility rates: 1 vote 11. We are a City: 1 vote 12. Diverse backgrounds /opinions represented on Council 13. No historical baggage (newness of City) 14. Customer - oriented government 15. Area's Natural Beauty 16. Cadre of interesting, involved citizens 17. Environmentally good shape (i.e., few if any natural disasters) 18. Strong executive leadership and staff Weaknesses 1. Long term financial stability: 6 votes 2. Lack of infrastructure funding: 5 votes 3. Lack of coordination among jurisdictions: 4 votes 4. Lack of credibility, respect and consideration among decision makers at regional and state level: 2 votes 5. Lack of cohesiveness and community identity: 1 vote 6. Lack of state and local economic development tools: 1 vote 7. Lack of affordable housing: 1 vote 8. Lack of higher education resources in Spokane Valley: 1 vote 9. Not really learning what citizens want 10. Re- contracting: lack of certain amount of control in some areas 11. Not identified in the region as a "real" City 12. Lack of adequate transportation for inter - country and inter -state Opportunities 1. Ability to revitalize Sprague /Appleway Corridor: 4 votes 2. Opportunity to stabilize street funding: 4 votes 3. Annexation potential: 3 votes 4. Increased regional cooperation: 3 votes 5. Ability to create a City core: 2 votes 6. Enhance public safety through return of crime check: 2 votes 7. Building a City from scratch: 1 vote 8. Opportunity in mass transit for a good, comprehensive system: 1 vote 9. Ability to involve more citizens in cultural /civic programs: 1 vote 10. Continued growth (population) 11. Land still available (commercial, industrial, etc.) 12. Ability to involve more citizens 13. Ability to reduce crime through increased cooperation with SCOPE 14. Additional higher education opportunities /facilities 15. Aging of our society Threats 1. Wastewater costs (unsettled /increasing): 6 votes 2. Escalating costs of government: 6 votes 3. Anti - growth /isolationist attitude: 3 votes 4. Uniformed decisions /feedback in region: 3 votes 5. Unfunded mandates: 2 votes 6. Balkanization of regional entities: 1 vote 7. Parochialism 8. Changing demographics (aging of population; empty- nesters staying) Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Page 7 of 8 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 There was brief mention of the situation with Pratt Elementary School; and staff will do some research and report back to council. 6. BRAINSTORMING: Police Chief: it was mentioned that we have been presented with three candidates for police chief; that the issue of autonomy has not been cleared up and that despite at least three meetings with the Sheriff, there is no change. Ms. Regor said that staff will move forward based on the existing contract, that staff will report to Council on the status of conversations with the Sheriff's Office; that staff will be looking for council guidance; that they have interviewed one candidate, another candidate does not meet the education requirements, and the third candidate has not yet been interviewed. Discussion included the importance of autonomy; what kind of contract do we want; forming our own police department; history of other municipalities with similar situations and that they form their own police department after failed attempts otherwise; the idea of a metropolitan police department; the affect on citizens and level of service whether it remains as is or changes; autonomy as one reason the city incorporated; the unwillingness of the current sheriff not to budge in contract negotiations; suing to enforce the contract, negotiate the contract, or start our own police department including the need for a civil service commission; that the start -up contract worked well but was dependent upon personalities; and that the Spokane County model is a political model, which means we don't necessarily get the best person and that concept runs contrary to our form of professional environment. Attorney Connelly mentioned that the autonomy is a roadblock issue, and we need to remember that the police budget is one - fourth of our budget; and that it is one of the two largest responsibilities to our citizens; and that perhaps if the Sheriff's Office can't provide the services in the way in which we define them, then there is no longer an arrangement with them. After further discussion of ideas and affects of having our own police department, Ms. Regor said she will discuss this with City Manager Mercier to determine when to bring this topic forward on a council agenda. Lobbyist: Ms. Regor said staff discussed identifying priorities with the lobbyist, with high priority items coming to council prior to the lobbyist taking any action; medium priority items to be discussed with Mr. Mercier in consultation with Mayor Wilhite and Deputy Mayor Taylor; and lower impact items being those which only have a tangential impact. Deputy Mayor Taylor said he liked that model, especially keeping in mind how fast issues move. June Retreat: It was mentioned that Councilmember Munson will not be able to attend a June 9 retreat, and the dates of June 2 or June 16 where discussed. Ms. Regor will also check with Mr. Mercier's schedule. There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 3:10 p.m. ATTE Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Minutes Retreat January 27, 2007 Approved by Council: 02 -06 -07 Diana Wilhite, Mayor ( aU d G,it,t(, Page 8 of 8