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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025, 08-12 Formal A MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Format A Tuesday, August 12, 2025 Deputy Mayor Hattenburg 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 Tim Hattenburg, Deputy Mayor Erik Lamb, Deputy City Manager Laura Padden, Councilmember Gloria Mantz, City Services Administrator Ben Wick, Councilmember Chelsie Walls, Finance Director Rod Higgins, Councilmember Kelly Konkright, City Attorney Jessica Yaeger, Councilmember Robert Blegen, Public Works Director Al Merkel, Councilmember Jill Smith, Communications Manager John Bottelli, Parks & Rec Director Absent: Dave Ellis, Police Chief Pam Haley, Mayor Virginia Clough, Legislative Policy Coordinator Chad Knodel, IT Manager Glenn Ritter, Senior Engineer Jonny Solberg, IT Specialist Marci Patterson, City Clerk Prior to the invocation, Deputy Mayor Hattenburg provided a notice to the public regarding the traffic fatality of one of the Spokane County law enforcement officers. Sergeant Kenneth Salas passed away in the line of duty on Saturday afternoon while assisting to clear debris off of Interstate 90. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg noted that this was a tragic loss to the Sheriff's Office and to our community and asked for a moment of silence in Sergeant Salas' honor. INVOCATION: Pastor Brian Noble, Spokane Valley Assembly of God gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Council, staff and the audience stood for the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL City Clerk Patterson called roll; all Councilmembers were present except Mayor Haley. It was moved by Councilmember Yaeger, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Mayor Haley. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS PROCLAMATIONS: Tom Towey Day Deputy Mayor Hattenburg read the proclamation, and Mrs. Towey accepted the proclamation on behalf of her family. There were also numerous SCOPE volunteers in attendance to honor Mr. Towey as well. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Deputy Mayor Hattenburg explained the process, he invited comments from the public. Bob West, Spokane Valley; Al Shrock, Spokane Valley; Debbie Shrock, Spokane Valley provided general comments. CONSENT AGENDA: 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. Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 08-12-2025 Pagel of4 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 Proposed Motion: I move to approve the Consent Agendre. a. Approval of Claim Vouchers, August 12, 2025, Request for Council Action Form: $10,189,930.17. b. Approval of Payroll for Pay Period ending July 31, 2025: $805,589.40. c. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of February 18, 2025 d. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of April 15, 2025 e. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of May 6, 2025 f. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of June 10, 2025 g. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of June 17, 2025 h. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of June 17, 2025 i. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 15, 2025 j. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 22, 2025 k. Approval of Council Meeting Minutes of July 29, 2025 After discussion regarding potential changes to various minutes from an email provided by a citizen, council determined it best to remove the minutes and allow Clerk Patterson an opportunity to review the email and make any necessary changes. It was moved by Councilmember Yaeger, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda without items c through k (the minutes). ACTION ITEMS: 2. Ordinance 25-012 Second Read: Fatbeam Franchise — Kelly Konkright After City Clerk Patterson read the Ordinance title, it was moved by Councihnember Higgins, seconded to approve Ordinance 25-012 granting a telecommunications franchise to Fatbeam. Mr. Konkright briefly provided a background on the franchise agreement and noted the need for the updated franchise. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg invited public comments. John Harding, Spokane Valley; Joseph Ghodsee, Spokane Valley; Mike Dolan, Spokane Valley provided comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried 3. Motion Consideration: Precinct Remodel Project Award — Glenn Ritter It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded to award the Precinct Remodel Project to Leone & Keeble, Inc. for the Base Bid and Alternates I and 2 in the amount of $511, 005.00 plus applicable sales tax and authorize the City Manager to finalize and execute the construction contract. Mr. Lamb introduced the project and provided details on the overview of the project. Mr. Ritter went on to further explain the bidding process and that the responsive bidder was Leone and Keeble, Inc and also explained the alternate bid options and what those would include if approved for the project as a whole. Council discussed various costs for the plans, the furniture that would be provided in the project and the maximum number of officers the remodel project could accommodate. Staff and council also discussed the engineers estimates and the difference in cost for the overall project. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. NON ACTION ITEMS: 4. Admin Report: Solid Waste Collection Update — Erik Lamb, Robert Blegen Jeanette Jurgensen Mr. Blegen, Public Works Director and Ms. Jeanette Jurgensen, with Bin There Consulting provided a PowerPoint presentation that included details of the solid waste collection contracts. Ms. Jurgensen and Mr. Blegen reviewed the background of the contracts, the current collectors, when the current contracts expire, details of the end of contract options, details of what other agencies have contracted to do, other agencies competitive procurements, the rate comparisons, the benefits and services, the timing for the contract options, and the community survey results. Mr. Blegen further detailed the summary of the contract options that were provided that included a contract extension, competitive procurement, and negotiating contracts and provided the staff recommendation. Council discussed the survey that was taken, what it would take of have recycling removed as a mandatory service, organics laws, what extensions were available to the contract and costs associated to the unknown variables of changing the contracts. After the discussion, Deputy Mayor Hattenburg requested consensus for the first option, being an extension of the current contracts. Council provided consensus for option one. Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 08-12-2025 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 5. Admin Report: Balfour Property Ground Lease Options Discussion — Gloria Mantz, Bob Spooner Ms. Mantz opened the discussion with an update on the Balfour Property Facility adjacent to the Balfour Park and introduced Mr. Spooner, Broker with Goodale & Barbieri. Ms. Mantz provided details on the history of the property and the need to remove the building from the property. Mr. Spooner noted that there are basically two options, one option is to sell the property, or the second option is to do a ground lease on the property. Mr. Spooner went over the details of a ground lease option and what that could look like. He noted that the city has the option of choosing the type of business to be located on the property. Council discussed the multiple types of businesses that could be successful at that location and noted that if they were not pleased with the businesses that came forward, they could then discuss alternate ideas for the property. Mr. Spooner noted that although there is still some uncertainty in the market at the current time, the retail is continuing to grow and is not negative at the moment. Council and Mr. Spooner stated that the valley does have a positive reputation, and our Economic Development team is great to work with. Council provided a consensus to move forward with the ground lease options. INFORMATION ONLY (will not be reported or discussed) GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Deputy Mayor Hattenburg explained the process, he invited comments from the public. Joseph Ghodsee, Spokane Valley; Ben Lund, Spokane Valley; Mike Dolan, Spokane Valley; John Harding, Spokane Valley provided comments. COUNCILMEMBER REPORTS Councilmember Merkel began speaking about the loss of Tom Towey and the loss of Sergeant Salas and then went on to speak about the arsons and the number of fires in the community lately. Councilmember Yaeger poised a point of order and stated that this was not the meeting for comments, but for reports on committees. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg agreed with the point of order and asked Councilmember Merkel to continue with only any committee reports he had. Councilmember Merkel provided an update regarding a few community meetings he attended. Councilmember Wick: attended the celebrations with the Dave and Busters grand opening and ribbon cutting, attended the National Night Out events, MRSC Board meeting, a back -to -school event with a paint refresh on the playground at Trent Elementary. Councilmember Yaeger: attended the National Night Out events, a DSHS board meeting, a Fire Department Commissioners meeting, the Dave and Busters ribbon cutting, The Greenacres Park ribbon cutting, and noted that she has an opioid meeting coining up. Councilmember Padden: attended the Dave and Busters event, National Night Out events, a Valley Chamber meeting and noted that they were happy with the State of the City and that it was a sold out event. Councilmember Higgins:.attended the clean air agency meeting and noted the air quality to date has been relatively smoke free. MAYOR'S REPORT Deputy Mayor Hattenburg stated that he also attended the National Night Out events and the Dave and Busters event. ADVANCE AGENDA Councilmember Merkel brought up potential political issues with the previous masking rules on businesses asked that council look into the fines from the state and possibly get a refund of the fines. Council noted that this should be a topic of discussion for the legislative agenda and Deputy City Manager Lamb said that staff would look into the concerns and speak with our legislative lobbyist. Councilmember Yaeger requested council and staff to look into Trump's order and verify that we are compliant with item 3 in the orders. Council provided consensus to allow staff to look into the order and verify compliance. Councilmember Yaeger requested two tablets for citizens to use that attended the council meetings so that they could follow along in the packets. Staff suggested they use their own smart devices and noted that the Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 08-12-2025 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 agenda now has a QR code on it to allow citizens direct access to the packets. There was no consensus to move this request forward. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS Deputy City Manager Lamb spoke about connecting irrigation lines and providing a footpath from the parking lot to various locations at the cross -course and that the total cost would be $151,000 and they have $173,000 remaining. Mr. Ritter, Senior Engineer provided additional details about the irrigation system and the footpath and noted that the footpath for spectators was in the original plan, but many of the amenities that were originally included had been omitted for cost purposes. As some of the costs have come in low, they were able to look at some of the original amenities and requested to add some of them back into the design. Council discussed the location and width of the footpath and what else was left on the contingency list. Council provided consensus to move forward with the footpath and the irrigation lines. Mr. Lamb continued his comments and noted that there has been some challenging news as of late and that the operator's union went on strike today and this will have an impact on the ongoing projects. He noted that the Wellesley project was supposed to start today with the paving. This will be an ongoing issue, and we will continue to monitor moving forward. The 16th and Bowdish roundabout is set to open this week. Mr. Lamb noted that the WSDOT Roadside Memorial Project has a public comment period that is open if any of the public is interested in providing comment, they should contact the Public Works Director or City Clerk for details. He also highlighted that there is no community conversations next week and there will be a Cops and Kids Car Show coming up in about two weeks, on August 23rd and there will be a lot of activities with the cops and kids during the car show and have spoken with the local businesses and look forward to an incredible event. Mr. Lamb closed by thanking the community for their support in our police and noted the approval of the Public Safety Sales Tax and that it will increase sales tax to 9% on January 1, 2026 and will improve public safety in our community. EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn at 7. 49p.m. ATST: MarciNPatterson, City Clerk Pam Haley, Mayo Council Meeting Minutes, Formal: 08-12-2025 Approved by Council: 08-26-2025 Page 4 of 4 PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, August 12, 2025 6:00 p.m. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY #1 Please sign up to speak for up to THREE minutes and the Mayor will afford the public the opportunity to speak. The public comment opportunity is limited to a maximum of 45 minutes. You may only speak at one of the comment opportunities, not at both public comment opportunities. NAME TOPIC YOU WILL SPEAK PLEASE PRINT ABOUT YOUR CITY OF RESIDENCE .Z264i Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. Deb Shrock — Resident of Spokane Valley Spokane City Council, 8/12/25 I took a field trip this week to learn more about the wonderful city we call home — Spokane Valley. I went to CenterPlace, our Regional Event Center to meet Nicole Ullmer, it's Coordinator. What I found, was amazing! Did you know that our event center is HUGE — 54,000 square feet that easily handles events for five to 500 plus individuals. The Great Room (ballroom), a Fireside lounge, Meeting rooms with audio & visual accommodations, Executive Conference Rooms, and so much more. Did you know that every summer they host a 10-week Summer Day Camp that is so popular it has a wait list every week? They have catering services, host weddings, receptions, memorials, graduations, special birthday & Anniversary celebrations, board meetings, new employee orientations, have dance classes and bridge tournaments and also host the Spokane Valley Farmers Market. And then there's the Senior Center Activities — Billiards, quilting, games, wood carving, painting, book club, walking groups, Spanish Class, Red Hat Ladies and the list goes on! If you haven't been over there lately, you've got to go and check it out! Nicole came here from the Davenport Hotel where she excelled at handling the fast -paced marketing program, bringing business to the hotel and the city of Spokane. She has been with the Parks and Recreation Department at Center Place for 8 years. I asked her what makes her enjoy working with the City of Spokane Valley. Here are some of her thoughts. "The people are fabulous, supportive and helpful. I feel like the people I work with are family. I'm at home. I love a challenge — making things better, making improvements. I enjoy interacting with people and creating memories for the residents. I want them to know that when they come here, they'll be taken care of." What a great gal! Al Shrock — Resident of Spokane Valley Spokane City Council, 8/12/25 There is a story of a miner who held up a support beam so that 20 men could scramble out of a collapsing mine. Only one was entombed that day. His name was John, Big John. You might have heard the ballad by Jimmy Dean. "There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends." John 15:13 We have a John — a big John, as well. Not big in physical appearance, but in character and personality. Soft-spoken, yet strong in conviction. He hasn't laid down his life, but HAS chosen to give his life in living service to the citizens of the valley and his colleagues. He has given untold hours of labor, determined to make our lives safer, more fulfilling and rewarding. He is a man of passion for securing what is needed to build value — not just in our valley, but value in his colleagues, who are a team of very committed and talented individuals. He's a leader with compassion, which was exposed on one particular occasion during a plea for compliance. I heard the tremor in his voice, like a father would have for his wayward child. I heard a desire not to hurt, but to redirect and heal. When you look at John, you are seeing a big and honorable man. One who is the foundation of a well - run city. A city that through his leadership and dedication to giving back, has grown so successful that when you drive by city hall, you feel a sense of pride to be able to tell others that you reside in Spokane Valley, WA. These facts aren't just my opinion, they come from co-workers who know him, from other city counterparts, and from Valley citizens who also know him very well. Don't listen to anyone who would say otherwise. John Hohman, thank you for having our backs while looking to the future and maintaining a solid, safe and growing city. We appreciate your hard work and dedication! Mard Patterson From: Kathryn Muelder <kmuelder@mac.com> Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2025 4:09 PM To: Council Meeting Public Comment Cc: Tdelahaye@metroexpresscarwash.com; voongoria@metroexpresscarwash.com Subject: Commendation for Local Business Metro Express Car Wash [EXTERNAL] This email originated outside the City of Spokane Valley. Always use caution when opening attachments or clicking links. Dear Spokane Valley City Council Members: My name is Dr. Kathryn Muelder and I am a resident of Spokane Valley, 11725 E Coyote Rock Drive, Unit F103. I think we often overlook commending the businesses in our community that realty help make our community look better and provide great service. I want to commend the METRO Car Wash at 2120 N Argonne Road for their amazing work. They really keep a beautiful facility and provide great service. Both Tim De La Haye, Operations Manager and Vincent Longoria, General Manager take steps that are far beyond what is normal. The beautiful landscaping, flower pots filled with beautiful flowers, and immaculately kept facility make it a fabulous experience for our community. I hope the City Council will take the time to recognize these individuals and their efforts. The first photo is of Tim DeLaHaye, the Operations Manager and the Second is of one of the corners facing the street with beautiful pots of flowers and great landscaping. I hope you will take the time to recognize their efforts. 4 i