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2024, 02-13 Special MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Special Meeting Wednesday, February 13, 2024 Mayor Haley called the meeting to order at 9:45 a.m. The meeting was held in person by Council and staff in Council Chambers, and also remotely via Zoom meeting. Altendanee: Councilmernbers Pam Haley, Mayor Tim Hattenburg, Deputy Mayor Rod Higgins, Councilmember Laura Padden, Councilmember Al Merkel, Councilmember Ben Wick, Councilmember - Absent Jessica Yaeger, Councilmember ROLL CALL: All Councilmembers were present. Staff John Hohman, City Manager Erik Lamb, Deputy City Manager Chelsie Taylor, Finance Director Kelly Konkright, City Attorney John Bottelli, Parks & Rec Director Mire Basinger, Parks & Rec Director John Whitehead, Human Resources Director Tony Beattie, Sr. Deputy City Attorney Jill Smith, Communications Manager Virginia Clough, Legislative Policy Coordinator Adam Jackson, Engineering Manager Jenny Nickerson, Building Official Dave Ellis, Police Chief Deanna Horton, Administrative Assistant Justan Kinsel, IT Specialist Marei Patterson, City Cleric WELCOME: Mayor Haley provided a welcoming statement and introduced Andrew Ballard of Marketing Solutions as the facilitator of the retreat for the day. SWOT ANALYSIS: Council and staff began the process of reviewing the agenda and the ground rules for the meeting and building a consensus as a group for the process. Mr. Ballard reviewed the roles and responsibilities for all and asked that everyone participate and not dominate the conversation. The first objective was a 2035 Vision exercise that was a three -step process: 1. brainstorm about the future 2035; 2. consolidate brainstorm list, no judging during the brainstorm time; and 3. chose and rewrite statement and it should be concise when completed. Staff and Council moved through a "dot" exercise and placed dots on what they felt were the most valuable statements and finally framed the final vision statement. The final statement: "City of opportunities where people thrive and businesses prosper." The next process involved a Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis. The group first covered the weaknesses to include: decentralized city- we don't have a downtown, contract city - less control, relatively low tax - less resources to work with, lack of diversification and relatively low tax, restricted by GMA (that is a threat- not internally), capacity issues with city staff, business diversification is not forward facing, underfunded infrastructure, unfunded capital improvement program, and citizens expect more communication. The next step was to identify the strengths: relatively low taxes, financially solvent, attentive to citizens needs, excellent permitting process, friendly & talented staff, culture of continued improvements, solid infrastructure, maximizing and leveraging resources, partnership with Spokane County, contract city, involved and caring citizens and caring and engaged community members. The following step was to identify the opportunities: younger demographic of community members, education and work force development, transitional economy leads to opportunities, annexations, regional partnerships, expandable urban growth area, close proximity to airport, grant funding, and business environment in Spokane. Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 02-13-2024 .Page 1 of 2 Approved by Council: 06-25-2024 , I , he group took a break for lunch and reconvened at 1:00prn to continue the SWOT review, The final step in the SWOT process was to identify t1ireats: GMA restrictions, political climate, preemption of local control, differing local policies, economic downturn, lack of affordable housing, homelessness, lack of detention facilities, drug and mental health crisis, workforce hiring & retention, cybC1-SCCUritY threats & Al (technology concerns & Al), and political climate - state, local and federal. The group conducted another dot voting exercise to narrow down and prioritize the SWOT items. Council began the process to come up with the 2026 council priority goals.The group started off with brainstorming all ideas, then consolidating and prioritizing the ideas, and finally framing up the top goals into quality and priorities. Council reviewed and defined the goal priorities to ultimately come up with the following: Public Safety, Pavement Preservation, Economic Development, Homelessness and Housing, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Communications. The Council reviewed public safety and prioritized the areas, to focus on and carve up with the following: Police, Detention, Pre-trial/Post Detention, Police Campus, Courts, and Prosecuting Services. WRAP UP: The group determined the next Steps Would be to evaluate the SWOT to ensure it is in line with the budget goals and to rewrite the budget goals to become more concise statements, Mayor Haley provided closing remarks and thanked Mr. Ballard for his tinie and assistance with the retreaL It was move6l hy Dejmly Mayor .[Iattenhurg,sea oncled ane.1 untmimously crqreecl to ctd jozwn. The meeting adjourned at 3:25p.rn, ATFES,r� ) a'k , �, TmKri ,�L/]K 1 V-, ", Marci Ntlerson, City Clerk Pain Maley, Mayoy,"l Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 02-13-2024 Approved by Council: Page 2 of 2 City of Spokane Valley 2024 Budget Council Budget Goals and Fiscal Policies Council Budget Goals: 1. Public Safety: • Public safety is the City's highest priority which begins with providing superior police services to protect lives, property, and to maintain a safe and welcoming community. The City's law enforcement agreement with Spokane County shall be carefully managed and improved as needed to maintain the levels of service desired by the City Council. The City shall also strive to ensure that the Spokane Valley Police Precinct is maintained and improved to meet the needs of our Police Department. • In addition to providing robust police services, the City will prioritize all stages of the criminal justice process to provide for the safety of our residents. This includes the ongoing administration and examination of areas for improvement of critical components of the public safety system, including booking, prosecution services, court services, jail operations, and post -detention services. 2. Pavement Preservation: • Maintain and sustain a safe and resilient transportation infrastructure using cost effective means and methods that consider the long-term needs of the network. The City shall strive to provide sufficient funding to ensure the preservation of our infrastructure. 3. Transportation and Infrastructure: • Strengthen and improve transportation infrastructure to safely connect the community by incorporating new and innovative technologies to improve the quality of life for all users while supporting a diverse and robust economy. 4. Economic Development: • Actively support our existing businesses and industries by identifying retention and expansion opportunities to facilitate employment growth and a stable -tax base. Collaborate with local, state, and national partners to identify resources to support the City's economic development initiatives. • Grow local tourism through asset development and targeted destination marketing to support hotels and retail establishments. 5. Homeless and Housing: • Develop a housing and homeless program that integrates the activities of service providers to retain residents in housing, provide a path forward for those experiencing homelessness, and support the creation of additional affordable workforce housing units within the City. 6. Communications: « Increase community interactions, share information, and obtain feedback and provide awareness on all the aspects that make Spokane Valley a great place to live, work, and play.