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2023, 05-16 Study Session MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Study Session Tuesday,May 16,2023 Mayor Haley called the meeting to order at 6 p.m. The meeting was held in person by Council and staff in the Great Room at CenterPlace, 2426 N Discoveiy Place, Spokane Valley, 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 Tony Beattie, Sr. Deputy City Attorney Brandi Peetz, Councilmember Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Laura Padden, Councilmember Sean Walter,Assistant Police Chief Ben Wick, Councilmember John Bottelli,Parks &Rec Director Arne Woodard, Councilmember Mike Basinger, Economic Dev.Director John Whitehead, Human resources Director Others in attendance: Emily Estes-Cross, Public Information Officer Kelly Konkright,Attorney Jenny Nickerson,Building Official Virginia Clough,Legislative Policy Coordinator Chad Knodel, 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 Mayor Haley explained the process, she invited public comments. Ms. Barb Howard, Spokane Valley [via zoom': asked if there could be a way to separate out from other crime check items,the abandoned cars in order to get them tagged and towed. Mr-. Matthew Matthews, Spokane Valley: spoke of a neighborhood problem that has been ongoing since about 2018,with disturbances during the night due to police and fire activity to address criminal issues and drug od's; said he would like to see the new ordinance be very clear about what the Police and Fire Departments can do to make sure the area will be cleaned up. Ms.Margo Keeney, Spokane Valley: said the residence in question is 13212 E.Heroy,which is her concern and the address referenced by the previous speaker; said the home owner is in jail and there are or have been three sets of squatters in the home;said there is garbage,broken down vehicles constantly being tagged and towed; drugs going in and out of the house; seems there is a police presence there constantly yet it seems nothing can be done; said she realizes this will go to a hearing in June and she is hopeful the property will go to auction and be foreclosed. City Clerk Bainbridge stated that written comments concerning this same residence have been submitted by a Ms. Olivia Jacobus; and that the Clerk will send the comments to Councilmembers. There were no further public comments. ACTION ITEMS: 1.First Reading Ordinance 23-010, Chronic Nuisance—Erik Lamb,.Jenny Nickerson After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to advance Ordinance 23-010 to a second reading at a fixture Council meeting.Deputy City Manager Lamb explained that the purpose of this ordinance is to broaden the scope of what constitutes a chronic nuisance in order to abate chronic nuisance properties more efficiently, as among other things, it adds a shorter time period option, and expands the definition of nuisance.There was Council discussion concerning provisions for drug properties, a quicker time period, the process for the property going into receivership, and of changing the criteria of having four criminal activities down to one. Deputy Mayor Higgins said taken as a single instance,this might seem harsh, but what we are faced with isn't a single incidence; that there are a Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:05-16-2023 Page 1 of 3 Approved by Council: 06-06-2023 number of complaints before arriving at this, and said he feels this regulation is long overdue. Building Official Nickerson added that our Code Enforcement staff have been having regular meetings with the Police Department.Mayor Haley invited public comment;no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed: none. Motion carried. 2. Motion Consideration: ARPA Allocations—Erik Lamb, Chelsie Taylor It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins and seconded to approve the proposals in substantially the form submitted and as identified in the attached worksheet in the amounts as shown, and to authorize the City Manager to negotiate and finalize contracts for such awards for City Council approval. [Amounts shown on the worksheet include: (1)Family Promise of Spokane $1,095,078; (2) Volunteers of America Eastern WA $500,000; (3) Reclaim Project Recovery $1,460,000; (4) Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners $471,729; and (5) Habitat for Humanity-Spokane $471,728.] Mr. Lamb went over the background of the ARPA funding as noted on his Request for Council Action form; said given the available funding and the requests,he presented the top five ranked proposals;and after he briefly explained about the projects,added that as the City continues to develop its Spokane Valley Homeless Action Plan,we will continue to engage all of the respondents to see how their services may fit within the needs of the City to provide assistance to those in need within our community. Mayor Haley invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: unanimous. Opposed:none. Motion carried. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 3. 2023 Budget Amendment—Chelsie Taylor Finance Director Taylor went through the information contained in her Request for Council Action form, explaining the need for a proposed 2023 budget amendment; and that a public hearing is scheduled next week, as well as the first reading of the proposed ordinance. There was general Council consensus to move forward as proposed. 4. Drug Possession and Use—Tony Beattie, Erik Lamb Deputy City Manager Lamb explained that during the regular legislative session, the legislators did not adopt a permanent fix to the making knowing possession of a controlled substance a crime punishable as a simple misdemeanor, but they did make a temporary 'fix' which would no longer be in effect July 1., 2023. However, he explained that prior to our meeting tonight, we have been informed that a bipartisan effort was passed,which the Governor signed just before our meeting tonight.Therefore,Mr.Lamb stated, we are pre-empted from adopting and enforcing our own ordinance and as such, an ordinance is not appropriate or necessary. 5. 2024 Council Budget Goal Priorities—John Holunan City Manager Hohman said that at the May 9, 2023, Council meeting, he provided an overview of the current priority projects, and that per Council consensus, Councilmembers added several items to the list, as shown in his Request for Council Action; and he asked that Councilmembers return the sheets on or before May 30 so that the priorities can be discussed further at the June 13 budget workshop. Mr. Hohman further suggested Council use the 1, 2, 3 rankings, and not put any restrictions on the ranking, but merely indicate what each Councilmember thinks is important. 6. GSI D.C. Fly-In Recap—Virginia Clough Legislative Policy Coordinator Clough gave a brief re-cap of the Greater Spokane, Inc. (GSI) April 25-28 D.C. fly-in event she and Councilmember Peetz attended. 7. Regional Homeless Update—Erik Lamb Mr.Lamb introduced Mr.Gavin Cooley, former City of Spokane Chief Financial officer,who is part of the volunteer group leading the effort for a regional homeless collaboration. Mr. Lamb said as part of the joint statement,the volunteer group and entities identified a 90-day "due diligence" period for elected officials and staff of the local governmental entities to meet regularly and study how such a regional collaborative approach might be organized and how it could work; and said we are almost two-thirds of the way through that period. Mr. Cooley then spoke about opportunities for collaboration, the idea of having flexibility on Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:05-16-2023 Page 2 of 3 Approved by Council:06-06-2023 how this all comes together, and of settling on a public development authority as most dollars are public so having a municipal corporation leading this is critical, as opposed to using a non-profit. Mr. Hohman interjected that during last week's regional meeting, our electeds were confused as to the financial expectations of the regional process, and he asked that Mr. Cooley could perhaps provide some clarity concerning the CDBG (Community Development Block Grant) and HHAA (Homeless Housing and Assistance Act)funds.Mr.Cooley said there are lots of various funds from various parts and he is not ready to go into detail as they are trying to track down jurisdictions and talk about programs; said this is all still in the conversation phase, that it is very sensitive, but maybe in another week or two he will be able to provide further information. Mr. Hohman added that our Council is weighing whether to be its own entitlement, so any information could be pertinent in making such a decision. Mayor Haley stated that it seems all the money is being poured into chronic homeless; spending a lot of money where chances are slim in helping people; said there needs to be some responsibility on barriers; some people want to stay on the street, but it seems we are trying to help those who don't want help while others fall into the cracks; said millions have been spent on Camp HOPE and we don't know where many of those people are; some found housing then abandoned it; said she wants to see we are helping people who want it, need it and appreciate it as the dollars are limited. Mayor Haley said she looks forward to hearing from Mr. Cooley again in a few weeks to talk about the financial pieces. 8.Advance Agenda—Mayor Haley Councilmember Wick said he would like to hear a report about what happens when people call 9-1-1 as we are hearing of people being put on hold, and of delays in response. There was Council consensus to add that to the Advance Agenda. COUNCIL COMMENTS Deputy Mayor Higgins said that a Governance Manual Committee is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. Monday;that the meeting is not open to the public but wanted the public to know that the Manual deals with a lot of business that needs to be addressed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Concerning the Regional Opioid Abatement settlement, Deputy City Manager Lamb explained that there have been two settlements so far and we opted into both;that we received a small amount of about$10,000; that one requirement of the settlement is our region must create a regional Opioid Abatement Council and that Spokane County is offering to draft a proposed agreement; said he continues working with Spokane County regarding the creation of the Regional Opioid Abatement Council and as soon as we have something tangible, staff will bring that forward to Council; said that also the preferred deadline of creating such structure is June 1,2023, but that is not necessarily an absolute deadline; and said he will forward Council a copy of the letter from Spokane County. City Manager Hohman said he has been working with Mike Sparber concerning the County's jail proposal, and that we will have Mr. Sparber present to Council soon as this will be on the November ballot; said he also received a letter from the County Engineer that the County is looking to get out of the traffic signal maintenance provider service and is looking to transfer that to us;adding that we are 80%of their workload; said he appreciates the County's willingness to work with us on this and that Director Helbig will have more information on this later. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:04 p.m. ..-.?A ,E) ' fa- t'jf . Pam Haley,M } / - iristine Bainbridge, City Cler Council Meeting Minutes,Study Session:05.-16-2023 Page 3 of 3 Approved.by Council:06-06-2023 PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN-IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, May 16, 2023 6:00 p.m. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY THIS IS FOR GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENTS 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 PRINT OF CONCERN YOU YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE PLEASE PRIi�T WILL SPEAK ABOUT 6\-150 AvoisoLy\a_ k-koe_ 9 in Please mote that once if fOrrrrrrtiou is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. Chris Bainbridge From: Olivia Jacobus <ojacobus2016@gmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, May 16, 2023 3:58 PM To: Council Meeting Public Comment Subject: City Council Meeting Comments - 5.16.2023 Attachments: Olivia Jacobus - Spokane Valley City Council Comment 5.16.2023.docx [EXTERNAL] This email originated outside the City of Spokane Valley.Always use caution when opening attachments or clicking links. Hello, please see the attached for my comment for the meeting today 5.16.2023. • Date of the meeting which you are providing comment 5/16/2023 • Agenda Item Topic Nuisance Homes • Your First and Last Name Olivia Jacobus • City of Residence Spokane Valley • Your Comment See attached Thank you, Olivia i I am writing this comment regarding a nuisance home in my neighborhood in Spokane Valley. The house in particular is directly across from my own. I have lived in my home for four years. During that time I have witnessed the home across the street raided by police officers on multiple occasions,broken down vehicle's abandoned (many of which have leaked fluids onto the road), altercations between individuals in the home (which have made their way on to my property), and their dogs escaping regularly to chase after pedestrians or coming to mine or my neighbor's yard to bark at our dogs. The dogs are also left outside for hours on end barking both in the hot and cold weather and are not provided any shade or warmth as needed. My husband witnessed two of the dogs hit and dragged across the yard by an individual in the house. In summer of 2020,while working from home, I was startled by a young girl that was banging on my front door. She had fled from an older male at the home and seemed extremely distressed and panicked. I tried to offer aid and call the police, but she took off before I could get any information from her. There have also been several stolen vehicles brought and left at the home as well. 1 know of at least two neighbors who sold their homes in part due to this particular house.With the barrage of people coming and going at all hours of the night,you never know what is going to happen. As a parent of my own two small children, I am concerned for their safety, and wellbeing.While I think we as citizens deserve privacy in our own homes, once the happenings within our homes negatively affects those around us to the extent this home has, it is the duty of the city to step in and take action to resolve these concerns. Thank you