2009, 11-17 Regular Meeting Minutes MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meeting
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Mayor Munson called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and welcomed everyone to the meeting.
Attendance: City Staff:
Rich Munson, Mayor Dave Mercier, City Manager
Dick Denenny, Deputy Mayor Mike Jackson, Deputy City Manager
Rose Dempsey, Councilmember Mike Connelly, City Attorney
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director
Gary Schimmels, Councilmember Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir.
Diana Wilhite, Councilmember Neil Kersten, Public Works Director
John Hohman, Sr. Development Engineer
Absent Cary Driskell, Deputy City Attorney
Ian Robertson, Councilmember Greg McCormick, Planning Manager
Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Mike Basinger, Senior Planner
Tavis Schmidt, Assistant Planner
Greg Bingaman, IT Specialist
John Whitehead, HR Manager
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Office
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor David Thorin gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Munson led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present except
Councilmember Robertson. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed
to excuse Councilmember Robertson from the meeting.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously
agreed to approve the agenda as presented
INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a
COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Councilmember Wilhite: reported that she attended the National League of Cities (NLC) conference last
week where she participated in workshops concerning park development and transportation issues.
Councilmember Schimmels: said he attended the Solid Waste Advisory Committee meeting a few weeks
ago as well as the Liaison Board Meeting; and that he enjoyed the NLC Conference at San Antonio.
Councilmember Gothmann: explained that he attended a full day SNAP retreat; attended the NLC
conferences which included a workshop on media; listened to nationally known economist William
Freund, chief economist emeritus of the New York Stock Exchange who spoke about the economic
recovery on such topics as short versus long-term debt; attended several tours of solid waste plants and
recycling areas; and went to a leadership luncheon; and he mentioned his own previous research
concerning King County's oversight committee in dealing with contracts, and he suggested this Council
examine that type of committee structure.
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page I of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
Councilmember Dempsey: reported that she attended the Clean Air Meeting which discussed approving a
resolution concerning a lawsuit filed against the agency for an inadvertent violation of the Public Meeting
Act which violation occurred more than two years ago, but which was discovered and remedied,
including a payment of$22,000; attended the County Courthouse's re-dedication of the flag pole during
Veterans' Day; attended the NLC Conference in San Antonio where she attended a workshop about the
need to bring a community together and emphasized the importance of community stories.
Deputy Mayor Denenny: said he attended the Convention Visitor's Bureau meeting where the Director of
the Phoenix and Seattle bureaus gave a talk about their economies; attended the Spokane Transit
Authority (STA) budget process on long-term planning, and said they are anticipating a negative growth
in sales tax next year.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Munson reported that he attended the NLC conference representing
Spokane Valley and the Association of Washington Cities, where he attended several workshops in the
community to see what they're doing, went to the Fort Sam Houston meeting where they discussed a
figure of$4.1 billion to re-do the base; that he looked at neighborhoods which needed revitalization and
he said they came up with some of the same solutions to solve their problems as we did; and that he also
attended the STA meeting today and added that he felt they were being too optimistic concerning the
drop in sales tax revenues. Mayor Munson then read the Proclamation for Hunger and Homelessness •
Awareness Week.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Munson invited general public comments; no comments were offered.
1. 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.
a. Approval of the following claim vouchers:
VOUCHER LIST DATE WNOUCHER NUMBERS: TOTAL AMOUNT
10-26-2009 Beginning 18733, ending 18776 $1,716,657.15
10-28-2009 Beginning 18777, ending 18798 $125,596.37
10-30-2009 Beginning 18799, ending 1029090016 $1,315,201.79
11-06-2009 Beginning 18820, ending 1104090021 $821,152.15
11-06-2009 18874 $9,511.25
GRAND TOTAL $3,988,118.71
b. Approval of Payroll for pay period ending October 30, 2009: $339,861.82
c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of October 20, 2009
d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of October 27, 2009
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded, and unanimously agreed to accept the consent
agenda as presented.
NEW BUSINESS:
2. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 09-031 Residential Lighting—Christina Janssen
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Wilhite and
seconded, to approve ordinance 09-031. Planning Manager McCormick, speaking for Ms. Janssen,
explained that this ordinance adds a new section to residential zoning districts as noted in new section f.
Mayor Munson invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor:
Unanimous. Opposed:None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried.
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 2 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
3. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 09-032, CTA 05-09 Affordable Housing—Mike Basinger
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny and
seconded to approve ordinance 09-032. Senior Planner Basinger explained that this will add a new
section 19.35 which will require the applicant to provide a well-designed project with additional open
space; and he brought Council's attention to the two new definitions for Appendix B. Mr. Basinger said
this change will add flexibility for the apartment complex or development, will promote affordable
housing in the various mentioned zones, and will allow density bonuses in exchange for the inclusion of
affordable housing units within the development; adding that section 17.80 of the Spokane Valley
Municipal Code provides approval criteria for text amendments to the Code; and the criterion stipulates
that the proposed amendments must be consistent with the applicable provisions of the Comprehensive
plan and bear a substantial relation to the public health, safety, welfare, and protection of the
environment. Mr. Basinger also noted that safety is a large factor and the paths in the complex will be
identified through the parking areas, and the useable open space would be visible. Mayor Munson invited
public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:
None. Abstentions:None. Motion carried.
4. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 09-033 Adopting Street Standards—John Hohman
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny and
seconded, to advance ordinance 09-033 to a second reading. Senior Engineer Hohman went through his
PowerPoint presentation explaining the proposed changes and also noting the areas where no changes
were proposed; and added that since the last meeting, Public Works Director Kersten asked for a minor
modification to section 1.43 Senior Capital Projects Engineer, in order to clarify when modifications are
required in the design. Concerning developing uniform standards with the County, Mr. Hohman said the
County's standards are now on-line for review; that he gave copies of our plan to the City of Spokane and
Spokane County and the comment he got back is that they are more interested in the chapters dealing with
specifics such as curb type and lane width, adding that he believes this Standard could be a template for a
regional manual. Mayor Munson invited public comments.
Bob Boyle, Hanson Industries, Inc. 15807 E. Indiana Avenue: Mr. Boyle said he has been working
closely with Mr. Hohman on this very technical document; that the process is much easier then it was
several years ago; that they support the language change from the version approved by the Planning
Commission regarding connectivity between lots created by binding site plans; and he would like the City
to reconsider the new requirement that limits only one access or driveway per lot on an arterial street; and
he handed a letter dated November 17 to the Clerk for later distribution to Councilmembers.
Spokane County Utilities Director Bruce Rawls gave the City Clerk a handout for later Council
dissemination, entitled: "Comments to the City of Spokane Valley regarding Proposed Road Standards"
dated November 17, 2009; and he mentioned his concern of the recommended three inches of asphalt for
new construction rather than the two inches, and of the recommended six inches of gravel instead of the
four; which he explained would have a dramatic impact on last two years of the sewer program; he said
there are about sixteen miles of sewer lines planned for the next year, followed by another eight miles the
following year; and just today, he considered this and determined they don't have the revenues to do the
extra; and if these standards are adopted and applied to sewer projects, someone will have to come up
with funds or they could ask that the sewer programs be exempted from the new standards; or the County
could pay for the basic and if we want an upgrade, Spokane Valley could pay for that difference. Kevin
Cook, also from Spokane Utilities,said they estimate an increased cost of about$900,000, which equates
to approximately a $700 increase for each property owner, which would be a substantial increase from the
already established amount of$580.00. When asked if the standards have changed, Mr. Cooke said it is
not the intent of the sewer program to pay for upgrade of existing roads. Mayor Munson asked Spokane
Valley Engineer Hohman how long are the current standards lasting and if there are any problems in
construction. Mr. Hohman replied that according to the JUB Analysis, the existing two inches is not
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 3 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
sufficient for the types of temperature changes we have in this area and they recommend we match other
areas with similar climates in order to have the roads last 20 to 25 years; he said some roads are lasting
now between six and seven or even up to ten years, but the material starts to crack and if we don't crack
seal, water gets in and pavement breaks; he said the local access roads are also failing prematurely; and
added that he will come back with recommendations as this is the first he has heard of the County's
concern. City Manager Mercier said that staff will be ready to respond to this at the second reading, and
that we do not anticipate any delay in that process. Councilmember Schimmels said another option would
be to patch it back, or patch the trench area instead of full width paving. Mayor Munson invited other
public comments; no other comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous.
Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried
5. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 09-034 Adopting Cable Franchise—Morgan Koudelka
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Wilhite and
seconded to advance Comcast franchise agreement ordinance 09-034 to a second reading. Senior
Administrative Analyst Koudelka explained that the draft agreement had some last minute updates, as
Comcast agreed to provide $10,000 for each five-year period to cover the cost of the City conducting a
financial audit of Comcast, as noted in the October 30 2009 letter from Comcast. Mr. Koudelka
explained that normally the audit would be centered around local revenues forwarded to the city, but he
said it is sometimes difficult to isolate local revenues from the Company as a whole; he said that they
structured the term of this agreement to coincide with Spokane County and that he is hopeful the County
will do the same; and said it is possible to join forces with other local jurisdictions to conduct one audit
which would serve all, and he mentioned that the audit is a financial audit only and not one of
performance. Via his PowerPoint presentation, Mr. Koudelka further explained the renewal facts, what
the City can regulate, the franchise process, the ascertainment phase, benefits to the community, survey
results, the findings from the technical review, franchise fees, the major items in the agreement, and he
explained the next steps, and any additional steps if the renewal is denied. Mayor Munson invited public
comments; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None.
Abstentions: None. Motion carried.
6. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 09-035, Amending 09-025 Substantial Need—Mike Jackson
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny and
seconded to suspend the rules and approve ordinance 09-035 amending 09-025. Deputy City Manager
Jackson, speaking for Finance Director Ken Thompson, explained that they sent the original ordinance to
Spokane County and the County responded that the ordinance was missing some critical language as
noted in the new section 1; and he said these changes do not impact the intended original fiscal impact of
the previous ordinance. Mayor Munson invited public comment; no comments were offered; and Deputy
Mayor Denenny said that this amount is strictly on the Spokane Valley dollar portion of the taxes. Vote
by Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor Munson, Deputy Mayor Denenny, and Councilmembers Gothmann,
Dempsey, and Wilhite. Opposed: Councilmember Schimmels. Abstentions: None. Motion carried
7. Motion Consideration: Court Services Alternative Analysis—Morgan Koudelka
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny and seconded to authorize the City Manager to rescind the
notice to terminate the contract with Spokane County District Court. Senior Administrative Analyst
Koudelka explained the past history and the reasons leading to the termination notice, adding that Anne
Pflug of the Research Services of the Department of Commerce also recommended to rescind the
termination notice; he explained the goals regarding the criminal justice service, and the questions posed
to the District Court by Mr. Mercier and of the Court's responses; and mentioned that Judge Tripp and
Court Administrator Virginia Rockwell are here for comments if desired. Concerning the previously
posed questions, which were addressed in the November 10, 2009 letter from the District Court, Mayor
Munson asked Judge Tripp about the answers to question #1 and #2, and the reference to budget cuts and
levels of service; and if Spokane Valley will get the same level of service as the County, yet there is a
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 4 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
10% cutback, and he asked how does that account for no reduction in Spokane Valley's level of service.
Judge Tripp said that even if other parts of the contract can't perform 100%; they would be honor bound
to the contract with Spokane Valley at least in a proportional basis, and said he is hopeful to be able to
provide the same level of service in accordance with the contract; and said that they have no control over
the number of cases, as they simply process the cases, and he mentioned the "early case resolution"
process of the attempt to resolve cases at the arraignment without subsequent hearings; and once beyond
the arraignment stage, they would attempt to limit the number of continuances; that they are working on
such a change as continuances result in added costs.
Mr. Mercier asked about the specification of service level that is reasonable; and if the Court were to
sustain a 10% budget cut, that would suggest there would be a 10% reduction in the capacity of the
District Court system to deal with all the business, and asked if the court would operate in a means that
would hold the City of Spokane Valley harmless from those budget cuts, or process 100% of all Spokane
Valley court cases even though that could likely mean another 10% reduction in the unincorporated area
in order to provide 100% service to Spokane Valley; and said all this raises the question of is it better to
serve the interest of the Spokane Valley residents to sustain a 90% service level for a longer period of
time, or to try to hug the 100% service level that Spokane Valley can't afford as long as the County's
services are being reduced; and therefore he said he feels the Court and the City Council have to weigh
some significant questions about expectations in service level; and said we don't have a firm answer as to
our expectation level or what the court's capacity will be.
In response, Judge Tripp read from the November 17, 2009 letter signed by him and his colleagues, to
Spokane Valley Council:
"We appreciate very much the extensive process that has brought you to the consideration of a
motion to authorize the City Manager to withdraw the notice of Termination of the Court Services
Contract with Spokane County. We know that the City Manager and staff have engaged in a
thorough analysis of the alternatives for court services. It has been policy to provide whatever
assistance requested so that you can make an objective decision which would be in the best interest
of your citizens. Of course, we support the recommendation of your consultant and staff to
withdraw the notice. We look forward to continuing our work together to serve the citizens of the
City of Spokane Valley and pledge our cooperation to that end. By our signatures below, we
communicate our unanimous support for those goals." [Signed by Richard B. White, Sara Derr,
Vance Peterson, Debra Hayes, Donna Wilson, Gregory Tripp, Patti Connolly Walker, and John
Cooney, Jr.]
Ms. Rockwood added that when a case comes in to the court or when claims come to court from law
enforcement or from a business filing with the county, or felony cases, that the Court will not treat the
Valley cases differently from others as the Prosecuting Attorney and Public Defenders do not know which
cases are City of Spokane Valley case unless they look at the address of where the incident occurred; that
Spokane Valley will get the same service as all others in the county, and she said unless Spokane Valley
had its own prosecutor, it would be almost impossible to set up a system to give 100% to the Spokane
Valley cases as that is not what a District Court does; that there are six court clerks whose jobs are at
jeopardy, but she added that part of those are due to the partnership with Spokane City for mental health
court, domestic violence court, and partnership projects, etc.,that there are some management people who
will be taking furlough days next year; and when one person is out, the others "take up the slack" so the
workload is shared. Concerning the judicial time, she explained that the biggest hit was the remaining
two court commissioners who shared one job, and the decision was made to cut those positions; which •
means that the judges will have to double-up and triple up in order to process the caseload; and she
reiterated that the clerks function as if everything that comes in lands in the same basket.
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 5 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
Mr. Mercier asked who makes the final decision on whether court services will be provided in the
precinct building? Judge Tripp said that decision rests with the Board of County Commissioners, in
consultation with court administrators; and said there is no indication that the Commissioners would be
interested in making a change currently or in the foreseeable future, which is his understanding in a
conversation he had with Marshall Farnell today. Mr. Mercier said that we would likely insert language in
the contract to that effect; and said that suspending court services in Spokane Valley was a question
subject to debate in last year's budget; and in reading Ms. Pflug's report, one of the most important
features of court services is the access in Spokane Valley; but the risk factor is how to make certain that
access remains, and any action taken tonight would preclude the County Commissioner's response to that
piece of contract negotiation. Ms. Rockwood said that they were assured today by Mr. Farnell that the
three County Commissioners have no issue with the court's desire to remain in the Valley Precinct
Building. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion
carried.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Munson invited general public comments.
Dick Behm, 3626 S Ridgeview Drive: regarding property taxes, Mr. Behm said he almost never sees his
taxes as the mortgage company handles that; that he did receive a new assessment from the County
assessor indicating the commercial property rate would remain the same, but residential had dropped
15%, but that does not mean taxes will go down 15%; and said it is his observation that taxes really are
going down instead of up.
Mayor Munson called for a short recess at 8:20 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 8:30 p.m.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS:
8. Broadcasting Council Meetings—Greg Bingaman
IT Specialist Bingaman explained via his PowerPoint presentation, of the items to consider when
discussing broadcasting council meetings, include determining which type of media to use, audio only,
web streaming, and/or cable; live broadcasting only or on-demand playback; how to fund the
broadcasting, and how to address the operational cost. Mr. Bingaman said that one option would be
sharing a multi jurisdictional channel with Spokane County and the City of Spokane, and some of the
issues associated with that are that only one jurisdiction would be responsible for the channel feed; and
agencies would have to coordinate costs and programming; or a separate option would be to ask for our
own channel to replace the current Channel 5 broadcasting the City of Spokane, and have it broadcast for
Spokane Valley, and he said with either option would require a minimum of 45-days' written notice to
develop an implementation plan for activation of a government channel. Hr further explained that
Comcast provides $150,000 within 90 days for capital outlays; but said we must build a return path for
the signal to Comcast in less than 270 days at an approximate cost of$15,000. He explained we could
use the same equipment that produces the signal for cable, but additional hardware would be needed, and
not all costs would be covered by PEG funds, and that he estimates a reoccurring cost of up to $1,500
monthly for web casting via the internet, and said perhaps the best way to approach this would be to hire a
consultant to do an evaluation. There was Council consensus for Mr. Bingaman to gather the data as
expeditiously as possible on such costs.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to
9.:30 p.tn.
9. Association of Washington Cities' Wellness Program—John Whitehead
Human Resources Manager Whitehead introduced the topic of establishing a wellness program for the
City; that the program would direct efforts to decrease the costs of the City associated with the health of
employees; and said that the Association of Washington Cities will be reducing Asuris Plan rates by 2%
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 6 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
in 2012 to cities which achieve the "well-city" award; and he said staff recommends establishing this
program as part of the attainment of the Well-City award and the improvement of the health of city
employees; and said the expected benefit in 2012 would be about $9,000; that we would need to meet a
$10 per employee per year cost for wellness; so we can use the premium reductions to fund the wellness
programs; that the cost would be approximately $950 annually for the entire city and he mentioned that
AWC has grant funds to help fund the inception of wellness programs. Mr. Whitehead said a resolution to
establish the program is set for the December 1 council meeting; and there was no council objection in
bringing that forward.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Denenny, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting to
9:40 p.m.
10. Fall Batch Code Amendments—Tavis Schmidt
Assistant Planner Schmidt explained the proposed ordinance changes per his PowerPoint presentation for
changing sections of the UDC, specifically in chapter 19 for nonconforming structures, permitted
accessory structures, accessory dwelling units, home occupations, planned residential developments, and
the schedule of permitted uses. Mr. Schmidt also discussed the types of open space and noted that the
Community Development Director would determine the amount of required active creation areas under
19.50.060; and it was suggested that making that determination should be based on specific criteria. It
was also noted that it might be helpful to re-write a list of exclusions among the definitions. Mr. Schmidt
noted that this issue will be brought before council for a proposed first reading December 1. There was
no council objection.
INFORMATION ONLY: The Poe Contract, AAA Street Sweeping Contract Renewal, Spokane County
Housing and Community Development HUD Grant, and Options for Web Content Management were for
information only and were not reported or discussed
EXECUTIVE SESSION: N/A
It was moved by Councilmember Dempsey, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 9:35 p.m.
/4/
ATTES I i i
i • ichard M. Mu son, Mayor
Apr
/
hristine-Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Regular Meeting 11-17-2009 Page 7 of 7
Approved by Council: 12-08-09
GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT
SIGN-IN SHEET
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING
DATE: November 17, 2009
'GENERAL CITIZ EN COMMENTS'
YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES
Please sign in if you wish to make public comments.
NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU ADDRESS TELEPHONE
PLEASE PRINT WILL SPEAK-ABOUT; -
BOb ;DiLG- cite�t ) p b ` u QQu s2sL q �
SPOKANE COUNTY DISTRICT COURT
• 1 � ? Public Safely Building
wi 1100 West Mallon
` ' 4 Spokane, Washington 99260
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Spokane County Court House
Mayor Richard Munson
Members of the City Council
City of Spokane Valley
11707 E, Sprague Ave. Ste 106
Spokane Valley, Washington 99206
Re: Court Services Contract
We appreciate very much the extensive process that has brought you to the consideration of a motion to
authorize the City Manager to withdraw the Notice of Termination of the Court Services Contract with
Spokane County. We know that the City manager and staff have engaged in a thorough analysis of the
alternatives for court services.
It has been our policy to provide whatever assistance requested so that you can make an objective
decision which would be in the best interest of your citizens. Of course, we support the recommendation
of your consultant and staff to withdraw the notice. We look forward to continuing our work together to
serve the citizens of the City of Spokane Valley and pledge our cooperation to that end. By our signatures
below we communicate our unanimous support for those goals.
Dated November 17, 2009
12.4.4 3@1 uJ �
Richard B. White, Presid' Judge Donna ilson
/.r! as` V , //t
Sara B. Derr Gregory J. ripp i
/17ncuj
stedir
Vance W. Peterson Patti Connolly WalkeN
ebra R. Hayes t7 John O. Cooney, Jr.
/7 District Court complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act(ADA).
Persons with disabilities that would require accommodation should call the Court(509)477-3661.TDD available.
COMMENTS TO THE CITY OF SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
REGARDING PROPOSED ROAD STANDARDS
Presented By Spokane County Division of Utilities
November 17, 2009 •
Dear Mayor Munson and Council Members,
The Spokane County Division of Utilities appreciates the opportunity to provide
comments relative to the proposed new road standards that are currently under
consideration by the City of Spokane Valley, particularly with regard to the potential
impact of those new standards on the County's Septic Tank Elimination Program
(STEP).
The proposed new standards would increase the minimum pavement section for new
roadways to 3 inches of hot mix asphalt (HMA) overlying 6 inches of crushed rock
(CSTC). It is our understanding from our discussions with City staff, that this new
standard would also apply to those roadways removed and replaced in conjunction with
the 2010 and 2011 STEP projects.
The cost of these changes are a great concern to us, and we would offer the following
observations:
Historically, the road replacement specifications for the STEP have been designed to
replace the existing roadways to a condition equal to or better than the road section that
was in place prior to construction. This has included the reconstruction of neighborhood
streets with at least 2 inches of HMA and 4 inches of CSTC, even in those areas where
the existing section is 1.5 to 2 inches of HMA placed on native material. It has never
been the goal of the STEP to absorb the cost of reconstructing all roadways to updated
standards.
The Division of Utilities is working very hard to minimize the annual increases in the
Capital Facilities Rate for owners of property in the final years of the STEP (2010 and
2011). However, the reserves in our sewer funds are running out in these final years.
We anticipate that with the available sewer fund reserves and APA reserves, we will be
able to complete the program without any large increases to the Capital Facilities Rate.
This assumes, however, that there is not a substantial change in the standards
employed in the reconstruction of the roads.
The 2010 STEP projects in the City of Spokane Valley include West Farms, South
Green Acres,- Corbin, and Cronk. These projects include the following approximate
lengths of sewer main construction:
, R i
West Farms 22,600 LF
South Green Acres 38,900 LF
Corbin 16.000 LF
Cronk 8,600 LF
TOTAL 86,100 LF = 16.3 miles
The 2011 STEP projects within the City of Spokane Valley include the Green Haven
Sewer Project and a portion of the Micaview Sewer Project, with an approximate total
length of sewer main of 36,000 LF (6.8 miles).
The impact of the increased road section on the total cost of the 2010 STEP projects is
substantial. We estimate that the total increase in pavement and rock costs, based on
average 2009 bid prices and our preliminary designs, would be approximately $900,000
for the four projects. (This added cost does not address other impacts of the increased
section, including the need to haul off and dispose of additional material displaced by
the deeper section.)
The Division of Utilities does not have the additional funds to support this increase in
construction cost, and the cost would need to be distributed to the property owners
within the project areas. The total number of Equivalent Residential Units (ERUs) within
the four projects in the City of Spokane Valley is estimated to be 1,280. The surcharge
on the Capital Facilities Rate for these property owners would therefore be
approximately $700 per ERU, raising the cost from the currently adopted $5,780 per
ERU to $6,480 per ERU.
City Participation ("Paveback") Considerations:
Since its formation, the City has participated in the repaving of streets impacted by the
sewer program. The City has provided the funding for the incremental additional cost of
replacing the entire width of impacted roadways, as well as the intermittent "gaps" in
short sections of roadway where no sewer installation in required. This has been a very
successful and cost-effective approach to roadway replacement, resulting in new streets
throughout each project area.
If the City elects to go forward with the "paveback" program on the 2010 STEP, we
estimate that the City's share of the HMA and CSTC will increase by approximately
$630,000, assuming that all roads in the project areas must be reconstructed to the
proposed new standards. (This is a preliminary estimate, but clearly the additional cost
will be substantial.)
We urge the City Council to exempt the STEP from the proposed standards for new
road construction, and allow the successful historical approach to roadway
reconstruction within the program to continue to its completion.
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16TH
32ND
44TH
Map: Spokane County Utilities G.I.S.
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Note: Pro'ect Boundaries Are Approximate And May Chan.e With Further En•ineerin•
Spokane Valley
Sewers
Six Year Capital
Improvement Program
Legend
UGA Boundary
Aquifer Sensitive Area
City of Spokane/
Spokane County Service
Boundary
Sewer Project Priorities
Sewered Projects
(Through 2009)
Septic Tank Elimination
Program (2010 -2011)
City of Spokane Valley
Municipal Areas
Note:All Above Information Applies to North CIP Map
October, 2009