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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025, 10-07 Formal B MeetingMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Meeting Formal B Format Tuesday, October 7, 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 Tim Hattenburg, Deputy Mayor Erik Lamb, Deputy City Manager Rod Higgins, Councilmember Gloria Mantz, City Services Administrator Laura Padden, Councilmember Kelly Konkright, City Attorney Jessica Yaeger, Councilmember Robert Blegen, Public Works Director Ben Wick, Councilmember John Bottelli, Parks & Rec Director Al Merkel, Councilmember Sean Walter, Assistant Police Chief Chelsie Walls, Finance Director Tony Beattie, Senior Deputy City Attorney John Whitehead, HR Director Jill Smith, Communications Manager Virgina Clough, Legislative Policy Coordinator Teri Stripes, Economic Development Specialist Jerremy Clark, Traffic Engineering Manager Chad Knodel, IT Manager Marci Patterson, City Clerk I QLT1 0ZK:7L1 [130 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. APPROVAL OF AGENDA It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. SPECIAL GUESTS/PRESENTATIONS: PROCLAMATIONS: Fire Prevention Week Mayor Haley read the proclamation for Fire Prevention Week. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: After Mayor Haley explained the process, she invited public comments. Deb Shrock, Spokane Valley provided comments. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Motion Consideration: Mayor's HCDAC Appointment — Gloria Mantz It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg and seconded to confirm the mayor's recommendation for appointment. Ms. Mantz reviewed the application process and noted that it is an advisory committee for the homeless and housing funding that comes to the area. Ms. Mantz also provided details on the other members that represent the city. Mayor Haley noted the reason that she is recommending Mr. Robison for the position is for all the expertise he has in that field. Council discussed who previously filled the position. Ms. Mantz noted that previously the position was held by a citizen, but felt that moving forward it was best to offer it to Mr. Robison as he has the knowledge and experience with a lot of the information and it would take quite Council Meeting Minutes: 10-07-2025 Page I of 4 Approved by Council: 11-25-2025 a bit of time to bring a citizen up to speed on the what the committee has been working on. Mayor Haley invited public comments; no comments were offered. Vote by acclamation: infavor: Mayor Haley, Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, Councilmembers Padden, Yaeger and Higgins. Opposed: Councilmembers Merkel and Wick. Motion carried. 2. Motion Consideration: 2026 State Legislative Agenda — Virginia Clough, Briahana Murray It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg and seconded to adopt the 2026 State Legislative Agenda. Ms. Clough provided details on the updated portions of the 2026 State Legislative agenda. Council discussed the Balfour Park audio portion of the capital funding request. Councilmember Merkel suggested adding something against unnecessary taxes. Council did not provide consensus to add any language supporting the request. Councilmember Merkel also suggested adding language regarding transgender children in the schools and athletics. Council noted that the school districts will add language to their agendas and that staff will continue to monitor that language and any information as it moves into session. Councilmember Wick noted that he would like the Sullivan/Trent added in the transportation section. Council discussed the need to have both major projects on the agenda and agreed that both projects have good momentum and would be good to continue showcasing them on the agenda. It was moved by Councilmember Wick and seconded to amend the agenda to add the Sullivan/Trent interchange at the top underneath the transportation funding request butjust sayingsupport through state agencies for us. Mayor Haley called for public comments. Mike Dolan, Spokane Valley provided comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor Mayor Haley, Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, Councilmembers Wick, Padden, Yaeger and Higgins. Opposed.• Councilmember Merkel. Motion carried. 3. Motion Consideration: Holiday City Closure — John Whitehead It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg and seconded to authorize the closure of City Hall and CenterPlace at Noon Wednesday, November 26, 2025; Noon on Wednesday, December 24th and the entire day on Friday, December 26, 2025; to allow staff time to prepare and travel for their Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays. Mr. Whitehead gave background on the city closures. Councilmember Higgins questioned if the city was closed the day after Thanksgiving. Mr. Whitehead noted that it would be closed as it was part of the CBA for the unions. Councilmember Merkel asked if this was the same as we had done in the past. Mr. Whitehead noted that it is typical of what has been provided to staff in the past, but dates change as the calendar shifts each year. Mayor Haley called for public comment. Kendra Rojas, Spokane Valley; Al Shrock, Spokane Valley; Mike Dolan, Spokane Valley provided comments. Vote by acclamation: in favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Motion carried. NON -ACTION ITEMS: 4. Admin Report: Retail Strategies Annual Report — Teri Stripes Ms. Stripes introduced the presenters, Mr. John Mark Boozer and Ms. Brooke Hill and provided a little background on the retail history in our area. Mr. Boozer and Ms. Hill reviewed a detailed PowerPoint presentation that included a background on their Retail Strategies business, the retail strategies that included boot on the ground, a trade show representation, pleasant persistence, investment multiplier, relationship agent and data & demographic analysis. They also detailed the retail timeline, a retail timeline in action, Dave & Busters as a recent retail win to the area, the economic impact, active retail interest, highlighted past successes, retail as economic development, the focus property at the Valley Plaza, land development site, second generation spaces, and the retail real estate in 2025. They also detailed the pacific northwest expansions such as Five Below, Raising Cane's, Circle K, and provided information on the continued outreach for our area. Council discussed various points of retail in our area, the low vacancy rates and what that means to retail in our region and our current sales tax revenue being up 3%. Mr. Boozer closed by noting that with all the outreach that their business does, he never hears anything negative about companies that do business in the Spokane Valley. Mayor Haley called for a nine -minute break and that council would return at 7:40 p. m. 5. Admin Report: Speed Camera Update — Gloria Mantz, Jerremy Clark Council Meeting Minutes: 10-07-2025 Page 2 of 4 Approved by Council: 11-25-2025 Ms. Mantz and Mr. Clark presented a PowerPoint presentation that included details on what a Speed Safety Camera (SSC) is, the SSC implementation, the highlights from other jurisdictions, data collection, citation and revenue estimates, and program implementation. Mr. Clark also gave information on HB2384 and the camera program definition, the privacy of the camera, steps needed to implement the potential program and noting that a typical timeline is at least 6 months from adopting the ordinance to initiating the system, timeline for reviewing the infractions, and provided highlights from other jurisdictions. Council discussed potential contracts with a vendor, the costs for the FTE to review the potential infractions, the average life span of the cameras and the software, the citizens privacy with the camera images, locations of the cameras and potential vandalism, and an interest in public outreach around the cameras. Council provided consensus to bring forward an Ordinance establishing the SSC program and take necessary steps to implement the program. 6. Admin Report: Right of Wad Program Update — Gloria Mantz, Robert Blegen Ms. Mantz and Mr. Blegen presented a PowerPoint that included capital improvement project delivery and the phases of the delivery. Ms. Mantz gave details on the background of the phases and how funds are obligated for certain programs. Mr. Blegen detailed the right-of-way phase (ROW) and noted that we currently use outside local consultants and there are very few out there and often times they are very busy and can't get to our projects in a timely fashion and we have to look outside the area for consultants that can do the work. The distance of the consultants becomes a concern as they are also not always available to come to the area and get the projects moved forward. He also noted that the federal process takes anywhere from 3-6 months for the procurement process. Most federal projects now trigger a ROW phase as well. Looking for council consensus to reclassify the position from grade 15 to grade 18 and have an in-house right of way agent. This will also allow the city to keep the projects timely and costs down. Council discussed the need to be able to deliver excellent customer service and keep projects moving forward. Council provided consensus to return with a motion consideration for reclassification of a position and to hire an in-house ROW agent. INFORMATION ONLY: (will not be reported or discussed) GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT OPPORTUNITY: Mayor Haley stated that the general public comment rules still apply and called for public comments. Mike Dolan, Spokane Valley; Kendra Rojas, Spokane Valley provided comments. COUNCIL COMMENTS Councilmember Merkel spoke about the need to consider public input and feedback regarding city development, provided a definition of transparency and spoke about the ice rink proposal and the waterline approval and didn't feel like there was transparency around that. He closed with stating that we should be looking at more advance agenda item opportunities. Councilmember Wick spoke about the Sullivan Park waterline project and noted that we started talking about that when we talked about the Sullivan bridge project at least 10 years and that none of this was a new topic of conversation. It was moved by Councilmember Yaeger, seconded and approved unanimously to extend the meeting to 9:15p. m. Councilmember Higgins provided details regarding the Spokane Regional Transportation Summit and gave stats on the number of travelers on the roads and the use of drones in the transportation projects. Councilmember Padden noted that we have a lot of positives for the city right now and stated that we have balanced budget, a high bond rating and we are not in debt like our neighbors, a budget policy with requirements for the necessary cash flow which keeps us from needing to take out loans. Recurring expenditures and unfunded state mandates have come about and with the budget policy, it has allowed us to stay in good standing with our budget. She also spoke about the good standing with our public safety and the regional cooperation with our public safety efforts. She mentioned that The Course will be hosting the first events soon and there is a great deal of excitement around those events and the potential for an ice rink as well. She closed by noting that we have a lot to be thankful for due to the planning and execution of staff and the city manager. Council Meeting Minutes: 10-07-2025 Page 3 of 4 Approved by Council: 11-25-2025 Councilmember Yaeger had no comments. Deputy Mayor Hattenburg noted that the waterline has been a project for years and that the city has been actively working on that area for quite some time. He also spoke about the previous comments that were made regarding the right of way. MAYOR'S COMMENTS Mayor Haley noted that she would like to echo Councilmember Wick's comments and that we have talked about that waterline for at least eight years. She also noted that a lot of times we hear comments about spending money, and the reality is we spend much less than cities across the state and we have less of a staff count. She asked that we remember some of the good instead of all the negative that keeps coming out. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS City Manager Hohman spoke about the original waterline discussion from 2015. He also spoke about the upcoming events at The Course and gave details on the WCC event on November 1 st and the NWAC event on the 1 Oth of November. He noted that some hoteliers are seeing blocks of rooms being booked already for the events and many are excited to see how many events come to the region next year. Finally, he closed with an update on the Pines/BNSF GSP and noted that the construction of the second bridge is underway and that BNSF is doing a fantastic job and moving quickly. EXECUTIVE SESSION It was moved by Deputy Mayor Hattenburg, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn at 9: 05p.m. ATTEST: Marc _ atterson, City Clerk <�L�: k�& Pam Haley, Mayor Council Meeting Minutes: 10-07-2025 Approved by Council: 11-25-2025 Page 4 of 4 Spokane ,,;oO��o�Y�cr��ctiDr� Valley® City of Spokane Vaffey, Washington Fire Prevention Week WHEREAS, The city of Spokane Valley, Washington, is committed to ensuring the safety a n d security of all those living in and visiting Spokane Valley; and WHEREAS, Fire remains a serious public safety concern both locally and nationally, and the presence of lithium -ion batteries in many household devices introduces unique fire risks; and WHEREAS, Most of the electronics used in homes daily — including smartphones, tablets, laptops, power tools, e-bikes, e-scooters, and toys — are powered by lithium -ion batteries, which if misused, damaged, or improperly charged, can overheat, start a fire, or explode; and WHEREAS, The National Fire Protection Association® (NFPA®) reports an increase in battery -related fires, underscoring the need for public education on the safe use of lithium -ion batteries; and WHEREAS, Residents should follow three key calls to action: Buy only listed products, charge batteries safely, and recycle them responsibly to prevent battery -related fires; and WHEREAS, Lithium -ion batteries store a large amount of energy in a small space, and improper use such as overcharging, using off -brand chargers without safety certification, or exposing batteries to damage can result in fire or explosion; and WHEREAS, The proper disposal and recycling of lithium -ion batteries help prevent environmental hazards and reduce fire risks in the home and community; and WHEREAS, Spokane Valley first responders are dedicated to reducing the occurrence of fires through prevention, safety education, and community outreach; and WHEREAS, The 2025 Fire Prevention Week TM theme, "Charge into Fire SafetyTm: Lithium - Ion Batteries in Your Home," serves to remind us of the importance of using, charging, and recycling lithium -ion batteries safely to reduce the risk of fires in homes and communities. NOW, THEREFORE, 1, Pam Haley, Mayor of the City of Spokane Valley, on behalf of the Spokane Valley Councilmembers, do hereby proclaim the week of October 5 through 11, 2025, as Fire Prevention Week throughout this city, and I urge all the people of Spokane Valley to use, charge, and recycle lithium -ion batteries safely and to support the many public safety activities and efforts of Spokane Valley Fire Department, serving the residents of Spokane Valley. Dated this 7th day of October 2025. Pam Haley, Mayo Debbie Shrock, Spokane Valley City Council, October 7, 2025 ' A couple of weeks ago, i-c-o#-pk-,4-regularlar speakers commented that the city counsel is often six against 1. I would like to entertain a different perspective. Is it 6:1, or 1 against 6? Example: Habitat had the opportunity to apply for a state grant that would lower the cost of a project er"d �"� lower the cost for the end user, who would qualify to purchase a finished home. Cost to the city? A recommendation letter. lit The "1", voted against the letter because Habitat had stated they had funding place to complete the project,Seemingly requiring the strictest accountability to a company who found that more funding would lower costs, while continuing to be unaccountable to the Spokane Valley citizen adhering to the Governance Manual that he meld. �Au -6-- Today, Today, Nehemiah came to mind. Nehamiah 6 has the story. When word came to Sanballat, Tobiah, Geshem the Arab and the rest of our enemies that I had rebuilt the wall and not a gap was left in it —though up to that time I had not set the doors in the gates— 2 Sanballat and Geshem sent me this message: "Come, let us meet together in one of the villages[J on the plain of Ono. " But they were scheming to harm me; 3 so I sent messengers to them with this reply: "I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?" 4 Four times they sent me the same message, and each time I gave them the same answer. 5 Then, the fifth time, Sanballat sent his aide to me with the same message, and in his hand was an unsealed letter 6 in which was written: "It is reported among the nations —and Geshem[0 says it is true —that you and the Jews are plotting to revolt, and therefore you are building the wall. Moreover, according to these reports you are about to become their king 7 and have even appointed prophets to make this proclamation about you in Jerusalem: `There is a king in Judah!' Now this report will get back to the king; so come, let us meet together. " 8 I sent him this reply: "Nothing like what you are saying is happening; you are just making it up out o f your head. " 9 They were all trying to frighten us, thinking, "Their hands will get too weak for the work, and it will not be completed." I would like to say thank you to the solid team who has been making decisions for years, to have a strong and vibrant city. I would encourage each of you to ignore the chaos being created by the "1" because you are doing a great work and cannot stop to coddle someone unwilling to be a team player. Thank you. Mard Patterson From: Sent: To: Cc: Subject: Attachments: Katelyn Scott <katy@spokaneriverkeeper.org> Monday, October 6, 2025 10:46 AM City Council Council Meeting Public Comment Petition for Spokane River Protection Petiiton to Spokane Valley.pdf Delivered by Spokane Riverkeeper [EXTERNAL] This email originated outside the City of Spokane Valley. Always use caution when opening attachments or clicking links. Dear City Council Members, My name is Katelyn Scott, and I am writing on behalf of Spokane Riverkeeper, a nonprofit based in Spokane, that works to protect the Spokane River. Attached is a petition, accompanied by a cover letter from local organizations, urging the City of Liberty Lake to take action to implement water conservation measures to protect the Spokane River. This petition represents community members who care deeply about clean, healthy water and the future of our river. We appreciate your attention to this community -supported effort and your commitment to protecting the Spokane River. Sincerely, 0 Katelyn Scott Water Protector (she/her/hers) Spokane Riverkeeper katy(a)-spokaneriverkeeper.org 509.464.7614 - office 509.638.5331 - mobile spokaneriverkeeper.orci