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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025, 09-16 Formal B MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Meeting Formal B Format Tuesday, September 16, 2025 Mayor Haley called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. The meeting was held in person in Council Chambers, and also remotely via Zoom meeting. Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Pam Haley, Mayor John Hohman, City Manager Rod Higgins, Councilmember Erik Lamb, Deputy City Manager Laura Padden, Councilmember Kelly Konkright, City Attorney Jessica Yaeger, Councilmember Ben Wick, Councilmember Al Merkel, Councilmember Absent: Tim Hattenburg, Deputy Mayor Tony Beattie, Senior Deputy City Attorney Chelsie Walls, Finance Director Robert Blegen, Public Works Director Virgina Clough, Legislative Policy Coordinator John Whitehead, HR Director Sean Walter, Assistant Police Chief Mike Basinger, Community & Econ. Dev. Director Jill Smith, Communications Manager Justan Kinsel, IT Specialist Marci Patterson, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Jim Hillbrick with Millwood Presbyterian Church 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 Deputy Mayor Hattenburg. It was moved by Councilmember Yaeger, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Deputy Mayor Hattenburg. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Councihnernber Higgins, to approve the agenda. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried SPECIAL GUESTS/PRESENTATIONS: Blake McCracken, You Rock Recognition Award Mayor Haley thanked Mr. McCracken for his hard work and commitment to the Cops and Kids Car Show and bringing the event to Spokane Valley. The event helped to connect our community and the city is looking forward to a bigger and better event next year. Mr. McCracken thanked everyone for supporting the event and agreed that next year will be great and is already planning for it. Before moving to the Proclamation portion of the agenda, Mayor Haley took a moment to speak about the loss of Charlie Kirk and stated that we will not condone political violence in our community and that we need to embrace our diverse perspectives and have healthy discussions on behalf of the best interest of our community. At the end of her comments, Mayor Haley asked for a moment of silence to honor Mr. Kirk and those who have experienced violence due to their beliefs. PROCLAMATIONS: Valleyfest & Constitution Week Mayor Haley read the proclamation supporting Valleyfest and Peggy Doering accepted the proclamation on behalf of Valleyfest and noted that she was looking forward to another successful event this year. Mayor Haley read the proclamation declaring Constitution Week the week of September 17-23, 2025, and representatives from the Daughters of the American Revolution and Sons of the American Revolution accepted the proclamation and provided details on the importance of the week. Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 09-16-2025 Page 1 of 4 Approved by Council: 10-14-2025 GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Mayor Haley explained the process, she invited public comments. Sue Delucchi, Spokane Valley; Linda Klesch, Spokane Valley; Ben Lund, Spokane Valley provided comments. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Public Hearing: Interim Ordinance 25-013 Communications Tower Height Restrictions — Kelly Konkdght Mayor Haley opened the public hearing at 6:31p.m. Mr. Lamb provided details and background on the need for the interim ordinance and explained that SREC is moving forward with their building but that it will take time to make the necessary improvements at the new location. He noted that SREC will need to find an alternate location until the new Spokane Valley location is ready as the City of Spokane will be taking over their current location as of Jan 1, 2026. Mayor Haley invited public comments; no comments were offered. Mayor Haley closed the public hearing at 6:35p.m. 2. Resolution 25-017: Reaffirming _ Finding of Fact and Ordinance 25-013 — Kelly Konkright It was moved by Councilineinber Higgins, seconded to approve Resolution 25-017 reaffirming ordinance 25- 013 adopting emergency interim regulations concerning the maximimr height of wireless emergency communication towers. As there were no further questions or comments Mayor Haley called for the vote. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. 3. Ordinance 25-014: First Read. Business License Threshold — Mike Basinger It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded to advance Ordinance 25-014 to a second reading. Mr. Basinger provided details on the code text amendment and noted that it will be in line with state requirements and must be completed by October 1 and become effective with the state as of January 1, 2026. Mayor Haley invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried 4. Motion Consideration: 2026 TPA Budget & Work Plan - Lesli Brassfield It was moved by Councihnember Higgins, seconded to approve the 2026 TPA Budget of $1, 775, 000 and Work - Plan as presented Ms. Brassfield provided details on the 2026 TPA budget and work plan and noted that there had not been any changes since her previous presentation. She gave an overview on what the budget would include and that it's proposed at $1,775,000.00 and that the TPA approved the budget and work plan unanimously. Mayor Haley invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. 5. Motion Consideration: Perdue Pharma & Secondary Manufacturer's Opioid Settlements — Tony Beattie It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded to approve the Purdue bankruptcy Plan of Reorganization, participate in the Purdue and Sackler Settlement, and authorize the City Manager or designee to finalize and execute all necessary documents regarding the same. Mr. Beattie provided details on the opioid settlements and noted that the City is expected to receive approximately $33,958.46 after attorneys fees. Councilmember Merkel asked if the city had double checked the math. Mr. Beattie stated that it is the same calculation that has been utilized for all the previous allocations for other settlements. Mayor Haley invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed.• None. Motion carried. Mayor Haley called for the second motion for the Secondary Manufacturer's Settlement. It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded to participate in the Secondary Manufacturers Settlements and authorize the City Manager or designee to finalize and execute all documents regarding the saine. Once again there were no comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed.• None. Motion carried. NON -ACTION ITEMS: 6. Admin Report: Flag Policy Discussion — Kelly Konkri hg t, Tony Beattie Mr. Konkright and Mr. Beattie provided details on the potential flag policy and the need for a policy. Mr. Beattie noted the city obligation to fly the state, POW/MIA flag and the US flag. The armed forces flags, law enforcement services flags, city council programs, policies or priorities that align with those city items may also be considered. The policy also listed the Purple Heart Flag and the Tree City USA Flag as preapproved Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 09-16-2025 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 10-14-2025 flags that the city currently flies during the designated time. Mr. Beattie also reviewed the restrictions for flag requests and noted that any request would be submitted for approval from the mayor and if accepted the requestor would make arrangements with the city clerk regarding the proclamation for the request and the appropriate date to put the flag up. Councilmember Padden suggested adding "adopted" in front of the programs, policies or priorities section. Council discussed who designated the US flag to be lowered and City Attorney Konkright noted that the President and the Governor are the only ones that can make that request. Council provided consensus to move forward with the Flag Policy Resolution with the added suggestion. INFORMATION ONLY: GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: Mayor Haley stated that the general public comment rules still apply and called for public comments. Kendra Rojas, Spokane Valley provided comments. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Merkel thanked some of the speakers this evening for speaking about the critical issues in the city. He noted that it is encouraging to hear the residents are not taking this lying down and it doesn't have to be this way, and the city has the ability to do better. It has come to his attention regarding the project on Sprague and he is not sure what the information is as he thought the project was happening now but may be pushed to Spring. Councilmember Wick stated that he had a great time at the fair and supervised the Llama barn and gave details on the 4-H sale of the livestock. He also stated that he was looking forward to Valleyfest in the upcoming weekend. Councilmember Higgins stated that he had no comments. Councilmember Padden stated that it is a sad reality that there are a lot of people out there that do bad things. There are many of us that have become victims to their behaviors such as anytime someone is threatened, physically harmed or stolen from and we are no longer in control of our own safe spaces. She noted that calls for service are prioritized by SREC and Crime Check due to the lack of available officers. We can improve things with more officers and will improve more in the coming months with the implantation of the public safety sales tax. She went on to thank the community in acknowledging the need for more officers and approving the sales tax. Councilmember Yaeger stated that she had no comments. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Haley stated that she had no comments to add. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS City manager Hohman spoke about the Sprague Preservation project and a letter that went out to the businesses and spoke about the potential change from a Fall project to a Spring project due to the operators strike and staff have had several conversations regarding the project timeline. He also stated that the city would not start a project unless they knew it could be completed in a timely manner and with the operators' strike, the timeline for completion was unknown for Fall. City Manager Hohman looked into the project permit review times as it was brought up in a previous meeting by Councilmember Wick and it appears that they have not changed over about the last decade and provided a timeline update on the first reviews. He noted that he will track down any specific problems. Mr. Hohman followed up with question that was brought up regarding cedar wood chips used in the playgrounds and if there were issues at the playground using the cedar chips. He noted that cedar chips are a form of engineered wood fiber product that is a natural pest deterrent and that the chips are part of the safety requirement for the playground as they are made to help absorb energy from fall. The cedar chips are recommended by US consumer products safety commission and the certified playground safety inspector program and are a standard product that is widely used. EXECUTIVE SESSION: It was moved by Councilmember Higgins, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn at 7: 09p.m. Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 09-16-2025 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 10-14-2025 ATTEST: Qpm- Pam Haley, May Marci atterson, City Clerk Council Meeting Minutes, Study Session: 09-16-2025 Page 4 of 4 Approved by Council: 10-14-2025 Spokane ton ,;0OValley ® PrOttamat" City of Spokane Valrey, Washington 9Vationaf Good 9Veigh6or Day WHEREAS, Mister Rogers once said, "Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person. and WHEREAS, the city of Spokane Valley envisions being a community of opportunities whose people thrive, and businesses prosper; and WHEREAS, the city of Spokane Valley identifies as a community thatpromotes an environment that supports the home andfamily, and job and education opportunities; and WHEREAS, research demonstrates that positive neighbor relationships lead to a safer, more vibrant community with reduced crime, increased well-being, and a stronger sense of belonging; and WHEREAS, National Good Neighbor Day was established by President Jimmy Carter in 1978. It's celebrated annually on September 28th to promote neighborliness and build stronger communities; and WHEREAS, residents and businesses are encouraged to embrace the spirit of Good Neighbor Day and perform acts of kindnessfor their neighbors, big or small. These acts could include offering a helping hand or checking in on someone who lives alone. NOW, THEREFORE, I, Pam Haley, Mayor of the City of Spokane Valley, on behalf of the Spokane Valley City Council and the citizens of the City of Spokane Valley, do hereby proclaim September 28, 2025, as National Good Neighbor Day and I urge all City of Spokane Valley citizens to shine a light on good neighborly practices and celebrate our truly exceptional community. Dated this 23'"d day of September 2025. Pam Haley, Mayor Spokane~ jUalley° September 23, 2025 Washington State Department of Commerce Early Learning Facilities (ELF) Program PO Box 42525 Olympia WA 98504-2525 CITY COUNCIL 10210 E Sprague Ave I Spokane Valley, WA 99206 Phone (509) 720-5000 1 Fax (509) 720-5075 www.spokanevatleywa.gov RE: Support for Orchard Vista ECEAP Childcare Center application for the Department of Commerce Early Learning Facilities Program To whom it may concern: The City of Spokane Valley is pleased to express our support for the Orchard Vista ECEAP Childcare Center's grant application for the Department of Commerce Early Learning Facilities Program. The Orchard Vista ECEAP Childcare Center location is in the heart of Spokane Valley at 10003 E 4t" Ave. Quality and affordable early childhood education, and care play a vital role in supporting families, a thriving workforce and economic growth in our city. Orchard Vista ensures that working parents can remain engaged in their careers, confident that their children are in a safe, nurturing space. This childcare center will be co -located with the Spokane Housing Authority's new 240-unit Orchard Vista affordable rental housing project which will serve families below 60% AMI. This project is a welcome expansion of services and will provide an ongoing benefit for families in Spokane Valley. Thank you for your consideration of their grant application. Sincerely, Pam Haley, Mayor On Behalf of the City of Spokane Valley Council *614kne 10210 E Sprague Ave ♦ Spokane Valley, WA 99206 ,,;wO ValleyPhone (509) 720-5000 + Fax (509) 720-5075 www.spokanevalleywa.gov September 23, 2025 RE: Support for critical investment in affordable homeownership in Spokane Valley To whom it may concern: I am writing in strong support of Habitat for Humanity -Spokane's request to the Washington State Housing Trust Fund for the development of new affordable homes at Carnahan and First in Spokane Valley's Edgecliff neighborhood. This first phase will create 12 homes for working families, with future phases bringing the total to 22-25 homes across Spokane County. By leveraging Housing Trust Fund dollars, Habitat for Humanity -Spokane can speed up construction of these homes in Spokane Valley and accelerate the pace of building additional homes throughout Spokane County. This means that your investment will reach far beyond a single site — it will multiply, helping more families achieve stability and strengthening more neighborhoods across our region. The need is urgent. The average home in Spokane County now costs over $435,000, a price that most working households cannot afford. Habitat's model — powered by community partnerships, volunteers, and donated land from the City of Spokane Valley — allows these homes to be built at cost for about $345,000 each. That $90,000 difference is the bridge that makes homeownership possible for families who would otherwise be priced out. These homes will be sold to families earning below 80% of the area median income — people who teach in our schools, care for our loved ones, and serve in our local businesses. They are ready for the responsibility of ownership, and they deserve the chance to put down roots in the community they already serve. Just as important, this project ensures lasting affordability. Through Habitat's land trust model, these homes will remain affordable for generations to come. The first 12 families will benefit immediately, but the impact of your investment will continue as each home is passed on to another income -qualified buyer in the future. Edgecliff is a neighborhood that has long needed reinvestment, and Habitat is ready to deliver. With land already secured, strong community partnerships in place, and families prepared to buy, this project is shovel -ready. Housing Trust Fund support will make sure it happens now — and that dozens more families across Spokane County can follow. I urge your support for Habitat for Humanity -Spokane's request. These 12 homes will change lives today and, with your partnership, open the door for many more tomorrow. Sincerely, Pam Haley, Mayor On behalf of the Spokane Valley City Council Spokane ,,;ooO;Ua11ey° September 23, 2025 10210 E Sprague Ave ♦ Spokane Valley, WA 99206 Phone (509) 720-5000 ♦ Fax (509) 720-5075 www.spokanevalleywa.gov RE: Support for critical investment in affordable homeownership through Down Payment Assistance in Spokane County To whom it may concern: I am writing in strong support of Habitat for Humanity -Spokane's request to the Washington State Housing Trust Fund for Down Payment Assistance (DPA) funding to expand affordable homeownership opportunities across Spokane County. This investment will directly support at least 35 hardworking families who earn below 80% of the area median income, bridging the gap between what they can afford and what it takes to purchase a home in today's market. By leveraging Housing Trust Fund dollars, Habitat for Humanity -Spokane can expand its DPA program to make more homes affordable for more families throughout Spokane County. Each dollar of assistance stretches further, recycling as loans are repaid and allowing public funds to serve multiple generations of buyers. This multiplying effect means your investment creates lasting impact far beyond the initial households served. The need could not be clearer. The average home price in Spokane County now exceeds $435,000, far out of reach for most working households. Even with a first mortgage, families often face a $60,000 to $80,000 gap that puts ownership out of reach. Habitat's DPA program closes that gap, giving families who work in our schools, health care, and local businesses the chance to own a safe, decent home and build equity for the future. This program is also about permanence. Habitat -Spokane pairs DPA with its land trust model, ensuring that homes remain affordable for generations. As families move on, homes are resold to other income - qualified buyers, keeping affordability locked in and safeguarding public investment for the long term. Habitat for Humanity -Spokane has a proven track record, with more than 430 homes built in our community and dozens more in the pipeline. With Housing Trust Fund support for Down Payment Assistance, they can accelerate their pace of production, expand access for working families across the county, and strengthen neighborhoods that have been left behind by rising costs. I urge your support for Habitat for Humanity -Spokane's request. This investment will not only help 35 families achieve homeownership today, but through the revolving DPA model and permanent affordability, it will continue to help families for generations to come. Sincerely, qaie �_(� Pam Haley, Mayor On behalf of the Spokane Valley City Council PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, September 23, 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 i )t, I )n Please mote that once injin- oration is entered on Nils form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. PUBLIC COMMENT SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, September 23, 2025 6:00 p.m. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY #2 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 Please mote that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. CU 111 fdi ',. 1 r-'- a 1d L)Qj 111 I l co. J -= OJ Ln Ln ICU cu 4=�"1 li� Icy � .vy.1Ld � � ,.✓�.,'1 � � � �1 ,,, , Ln J Ff 11 aj 1-+ Il°j rl l r ru M —, ::I ra J d d Ld IM 4 >1 F, 1 = QJ N � 1 CL- 11 qq+tan cu tri Q G TNowm- aim Mard Patterson From: noreply@civicplus.com Sent: Monday, September 22, 2025 5:35 PM To: Marci Patterson; Chad Knodel; Justan Kinsel; Patricia Rhoades Subject: Online Form Submittal: Remote Public Comment Signup [EXTERNAL] This email originated outside the City of Spokane Valley. Always use caution when opening attachments or clicking links. IN Remote Public Comment Signup First Name Ashley Last Name Blake City of Residence Spokane Telephone Number That 6072799067 You Will Be Using to Call Email Address ash ley(a.spokanesports.org Date of the Meeting at 9/23/2025 Which You Wish to Speak Subject You Wish to Two sheet ice complex Speak About Agenda Item Number Field not completed. That You Plan to Speak To ,Are you planning to No make a general comment? 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