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2010, 04-27 Regular Meeting MinutesMINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Meeting Format Tuesday, April 27, 2010 Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and, welcomed everyone to the meeting. Attendance: City Staff: Tom Towey, Mayor Mike Jackson, Acting City Manager Gary Schimmels, Deputy Mayor Mike Connelly, City Attorney Rose Dempsey, Councilmember Ken Thompson, Finance Director Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director Dean Grafos, Councilmember Greg McCormick, Planning Manager Brenda Grassel, Councilmember Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Bob McCaslin, Councilmember Kathy McClung, Community Development Dir. Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Mike Basinger, Senior Planner Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor John Vanderwalker of Community of Christ Church gave the invocation. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Members of Boy Scout Troop 426 led the Pledge of Allegiance. ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all councilmembers were present. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a COMMITTEE, BOARD, LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Councilmember Gothmann said he attended the SVBA (Spokane Valley Business Association) meeting where Spokane County Commissioner Mark Richard spoke about jail issues and the history of the right - of -way; said he attended the Chamber of Commerce monthly meeting; and attended the 2060 meeting, and he explained that every document filed with the County Auditor is taxed and that tax goes into two pools of money, one for 2060 and the other 2163, and said the 2060 funds are used for the homeless and for affordable housing, and said he was on that subcommittee which chooses distribution of those funds, adding that there were no applications from residents of Spokane Valley, and explained that the 20[1]63 funds are to be used for the homeless, following a similar application method, with the final choice made by the Board of County Commissioners; said he attended the Franklin Health Department's meeting last Wednesday in Kennewick where Dr. Larry Jecha of the Franklin Health Department was honored for his service, and said that Dr. Jecha provided interim services for this area for the last two years; said he visited City Manager Taylor in Connell, Washington; he attended a Board of Health Department meeting where several protestors were in attendance regarding a particular case, and said the Complete Street Initiative was passed which is an initiative for including amenities when building a street; said he attended the 911 - Board, and said Motorola was selected as the contractor to provide radios; and said he and Mayor Towey attended the Miss Spokane Valley contest at West Valley High School. Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 1 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 Councilmember Dempsey reported that she attended the SVBA Meeting; attended the Board of Health Meeting where they showed a film on Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, which is now "Sudden Unexplained Infant Death Syndrome" which film they hope to have shown on the hospital channels country -wide; attended a lunch at Redeemer Lutheran Church and explained there are people who are trying to get community members together for informal discussions; and today attended the Spokane Law Enforcement Museum opening in downtown Spokane, which she said was well attended. Councilmember Grafos said he attended the Worker's Day ceremony last Saturday at Mission Park in Spokane, which is a ceremony to honor those who die each year in work - related injuries and illnesses, and on behalf of the City of Spokane Valley read a proclamation proclaiming April 28 as Worker's Memorial Day; attended the STA (Spokane Transit Authority) Board Meeting where they discussed a pending board vote to determine bus route adjustments and in some cases, the elimination of bus routes, including the paratransit service. Deputy Mayor Schimmels said he attended the STA meeting; last Thursday Spokane Valley participated in "Bring Your Kids to Work" day and said we had about three dozen children in council chambers for a staff presentation explaining the various jobs done by our staff; he went to a residence on the South Hill with representatives from the City of Spokane, Spokane County, and the City of the Valley, and said they have a fairly large energy grant put out through the stimulus money, and Mr. Jackson confirmed that it was through the "Energy Efficiency Community Development Block Grant ", and Mr. Schimmels explained about the process for an individual energy audit; he discussed an article from the NLC (National League of Cities) concerning this energy audit; and said he received a letter from the Governor regarding this as well; and said he attended a STA workshop on the comprehensive plan which must be submitted every five years; and said he attended the law enforcement group today. Councilmember Grassel: explained that she participated in the "Take Our Kids to Work" day and complimented Human Resources Department staff John Whitehead and Lindsey Skinfill for a well - organized and educational presentation. Councilmember McCaslin said it is interesting that citizens have talked to him about items facing this council, i.e. applicants for the City Manager position, and the Broadway three lane versus four lane project, and said there appears to be quite a bit of interest from citizens on what council will do concerning those items. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Towey said he and thirty-three other Washington Mayors attended a Mayor's conference in Bellevue, and the schedule included Local, State and Federal Partnerships, and Getting Your Community On- board, and in- between those sessions, said he spoke to various mayors about such subjects as round- abouts, or getting citizens involved in government, revitalization, using reserves to balance a budget, and said he came away with a new perspective on what different Washington cities are faced with and what our city challenges are and what our solutions should be; said he attended the Lutheran Church community meeting and said the Sheriff gave a presentation about intelligent policing; he attended SCRAPS auction; said he gave a presentation to the University High School leadership class; went to the Rockwood Retirement Community today where they are building 38 subsidized units for senior citizens at the corner of Appleway and Farr Road, and said those units are planned for completion in about a year; and also attended the Miss Spokane Valley coronation, and he congratulated new Miss Spokane Valley Hannah Robb, along with her ambassadors, and said we have invited them to attend the May 11 council meeting in order to recognize them for their achievements; and said that Peggy Doering just received an award from the Washington Recreation and Park Association for merit citizen award of 2010, that Peggy Doering is the Valleyfest organizer, and that she too is scheduled to attend the May 11 council meeting. Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 2 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited general public comments. Allan Hinkle, 11916 E Sprague Avenue said he wanted to speak concerning Broadway Avenue, which he said is called a "Safety Project" and he distributed copies of his comments to council; he said this next phase of Broadway Avenue improvement from Pines Road to Park Road, that they have given it this "safety project" moniker, and said this would stifle any complaint by the public about what's being done at the whim of the Public Works Department, and said that is a clever ploy, as after all, who could be against safety. He said turning a four lane road into a two lane road is a regressive gridlock idea, and said he is against this as he is sure the majority of the driving public is; he said that bicycles and cars do not mix well regardless of a "safety project" moniker, and said this will not change the reality that bicyclists need to ride, if they want to be safe, on the sidewalks or the Centennial Trail, and said a number of them do as bike lanes peter out and said he has seen them all the way from five feet wide to less than a foot wide; he said Broadway Avenue is a main east/west arterial that needs to be four lanes, two in each direction; that the valley population and thus the number of drivers are increasing not decreasing so the road department needs to stop decreasing the vehicular capacity of our roads; he said it would be great if Broadway Avenue could run four lanes from Liberty Lake to the east and to Government Way on the west; he said he was told by Mr. Ken Knudsen, the Road Project Manager of this next phase of Pines to Park Road, and said when Mr. Hinkle called Mr. Knudsen to inquire about who approved the change, Mr. Hinkle said Mr. Knudsen was "kind of vague and a little bit defensive," and told Mr. Hinkle that it was the "council advisers ", and Mr. Hinkle asked if he meant the Spokane Valley City Council, and Mr. Knudsen had replied that he thought that was who it was and said he had only been around since 2007; Mr. Hinkle said he asked him about statistics to prove that the two lane road was safer. Mr. Hinkle said Mr. Knudsen has no statistics. Mr. Hinkle then referred to the second page of his handout, a Spokesman Review article about complete streets; he said that is a fad in vogue now and these fads come and go; and wanted to address something that the road department got right and some things that they got really wrong in our valley; and Mr. Hinkle talked about former roads and their configurations, and of how Sprague Avenue was formerly configured with four lanes, and one could park on the outside lanes; how some things didn't work well on Sprague Avenue, but that now we have a street that works and moves traffic as the then county engineer worked with business owners and conducted a survey concerning the street; and said that Sprague is now probably as safe as it has ever been. Dan Allison, 1203 N Warren Rd: spoke concerning the Broadway change of lanes; said it is four lanes now and out further in the Valley between Pines and Sullivan they brought that down to two lanes; he said the traffic department will tell you that they changed it for safety reasons, and that they will show you studies on accidents and the severity of those accidents and how changing it will be safer, and said they will show you a study of accidents before the changes, and said that study takes in the full length of Broadway from Freya to Sullivan, but said the fact is, the only section they changed from Sullivan to Pines was a very short section, but said they used the full length of Broadway as their study of why that should be safer and why they should bring it down to two lanes. He said Broadway, Pines to Sullivan was the first change, and said the study used was the same one that they are using again to change from Pines to Freya, actually he said "I guess they're going to Park" but the study goes clear to Freya, which takes in the ballpark, all the traffic that would be going to Home Depot, Costco and anything that's down there. He said if the traffic department was truly concerned about safety on Broadway, "I think they would put in more of the blinking crossing lights at the crosswalks at the schools rather than changing the lanes; they changed the lights at two schools maybe three because they had grants for it. We could still spend the money on the ADA improvements on the intersections along Broadway in the new section that they want to do on that portion of the work. As for the grants that we used for these traffic changes, the traffic department seems to be grant driven. This project would not even be on the agenda if it was not for a grant. It still means that it's tax dollars being spent for the project; it's not free money; it's still tax Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 3 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 dollars no matter what pile it comes out of If we have staff that are collectively looking for grant money that can be plugged into projects that are not truly needed at this time, I would have to say that we have too many staff employees. I for one and many others think that instead of a safety concern for Broadway, that it goes much deeper than that. We think that it is in a round -about way, a part of the Sprague /Appleway Revitalization Plan. By slowing the traffic down it would push traffic to Sprague and show an increased traffic car count on Sprague through the proposed city center area. The prior city council thought every trick they could think of to spend money on the city center. We think this is just another one of their methods. This council and the city manager needs to let the staff know that the spending needs to stop because of the pending shortfall that we have next year, and get in line with them on reeling in SARP. The council was voted out. If the staff can't seem to fall in line, they need to leave. I would urge this council to vote no on changing the lanes from four to two. Thank you." Ed Conley, 12622 Sprague Avenue Mr. Conley said he is the Owner of Elephant Boys and Conley's Place Restaurant on Sprague Avenue; he said he is here to talk about the zoning and the down zoning of Sprague Avenue and how it affects their business. He said he moved to the business in 1976, and said that was when they purchased the property; and it was that year he sold his first boats; he said in 1992 he and his wife purchased what is now Conley's Place Restaurant; and in 2006 Elephant Boys was started and in 2007 Elephant Boys moved into the small building located behind Conley's Place Restaurant. He further explained: "quickly growing out of this space, I grew into the building right next door at East 12606 Sprague, across our parking lot in 2009. We share the property line with this building; the two building are approximately fifty feet apart. I have sold boats from this location in the valley continuously since 1976 into the present. I lived on the property for over thirty-four years and I've managed the business from this office and address for over eighteen years, and credit our success partly because of the on -site and day -to -day efforts. Last year in 2009, January to December, Jeannette, Inc. paid in sales tax $220,400 and $5,678 in property taxes. The 2009 payroll for this time was $517,240; and that does not count Jennifer and I as the owners, that's just the employees. Jeannette, Inc., employs thirty-two people, and Jeanette, Inc. is Conley's Place and Elephant Boys; and Elephant Boys employs seven people." He said if Elephant Boys is forced to move out of their location, they won't be able to survive; and said they feel much will be lost and said he would like to remain in business at the present location; said they created it as a community center for their customers, and said they are asking council to help in every way that they can stay there. Councilmember Dempsey said she is confused about the dates, and thought Elephant Boys had been there a long time before 2006. Mr. Conley replied yes, that he started the Valley - wide Elephant store in 1976, and the different departments have been delegated to different family members and re- named, and said the boating part of it is Elephant Boys. Mr. Conley and Councilmember McCaslin then exchanged dialogue: Councilmember McCaslin: you opened in 1976, which would be under the county, what was the zoning then? Mr. Conley: commercial. Councilmember McCaslin: so up until the time, you were commercial up until the time the previous council changed your zoning, is that correct? Mr. Conley: yes. Councilmember McCaslin: and they changed it to what? Mr. Conley: I believe it's called restricted corridor use; I'm not sure; it's not something I'm used to hearing. Councilmember McCaslin: did anyone from the city contact you prior to the zone change, or did they just change it? Mr. Conley: well, there was that, it was not, if there was a contact it was not me personally, no, you know, whether there was something in the paper that I missed and so on like that, I don't know, but not me personally. Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 4 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 Councilmember McCaslin: have you talked to the city about a zone change so that you could sell your boats? Mr. Conley: yea, they said that would cost up to $2,000, but it's not a zone change it would be a hearing, and it would mean they would listen but it wouldn't necessarily mean they would change it. Councilmember McCaslin: there was no guarantee you'd get the zone change? Mr. Conley: or the money back or anything like that. Councilmember McCaslin: I understand. Mr. Conley: and seemed reluctant to; now during that time in talking with them, they issued me first a $500 citation for selling boats in that location; I talked to them about making arrangements, we were issued another $500 citation; came down here to this building and met with them and talked to them about what needed to be done; and just prior to election time and the old city council leaving, I got a third $500 citation for selling boats on the property. That's a little hard to understand, isn't it? Councilmember McCaslin: I think you're up to $1,500; sorry about that, anyway, we appreciate your testimony. Councilmember Grafos said the problem with the zone change is that when Ed originally moved in there in 1976, that property was zoned B3 through Spokane County; then in October 2007 it was changed to community commercial under the first downzone, and what he's fighting now is an additional downzone which is a direct result of the SARP reallocation program. He said it is kind of interesting if Ed wanted to continue to sell boats, he could go down to the Gateway Commercial area down here west of Dishman in the AutoRow next to Skipper Bills and he could sell his boats; so when we make those changes, when we put little lines on those maps, it has a consequence, and it has a consequence for real people. Mr. Conley said by suggesting that he could just move, is silly; he said when he moved to the valley and bought the property, it was zoned commercial and that it took lots of hard hours, and living on the property and working seven days a week to develop the location; he said to say now, why don't you just move; and said that question has been asked to him by different people of why not just move down into the AutoRow district; Mr. Conley said the investment he has made and the location that he has created, cannot be moved; that's the location; and he said that's what they mean when they say in business "location, location, location is everything;" he said you just don't move; if you move six blocks down the street it will affect your gross sales by the end of the year. He said by expanding his business, which is what he did, he said he grew into the neighbor's property that he is leasing and that's not moving from his location; that his customer drives to his point; and said his neighbors in their advertising in TV and radio, will state "we're located across from the White Elephant" or "we're located next to the White Elephant." And he said that's what he's built for thirty-six years is that location; and to say now if you want to continue in the business of what you've always sold, you're not allowed to grow, expand any bigger, you're not allowed to move down the street; and said he would have to move way down the street if he wants to stay in that business, and said it just doesn't work and is not what we want in our city; and said that's what most people in this city would agree with him on; and said that's what we're up against with the zoning department. Ratree Shadduck, said they bought two properties located at 16 and 18 N Bowdish Road in the fall of 2008; and said their intention was to fix up #18 and then live in it while they converted #16 into a coffee shop; she said just prior to the purchase they contacted the city planner to confirm that those houses could be used as a coffee shop and said they were told that the zoning would indeed allow for a coffee shop. She said they had put the coffee shop on hold to work on their new home, # 18 N Bowdish, which was rental property and in need of many repair and upgrades. She said they are on a limited budget and are trying to do what they can to save money; that a death in the family further delayed the work as she had to go to Thailand to care for her father and attend his funeral last October; she said family obligations kept her in Thailand for four months, during which time only a limited amount of work could be done because her husband worked full time. She said they are reaching the last of the necessary renovations on their Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 5 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 home and have been looking forward to the new chapter in their lives; she said it has always been her dream to have a small coffee shop that serves as an oasis of creativity and fine living, and said she has long looked forward to being her own boss. She said they hired a builder to start the renovation on the coffee shop only to find out that the zoning had been changed, and that they can no longer go ahead with their original plans; she said they have invested their retirement fund into a goal that seems unreachable now and said if they are not able to continue as planned, their future will be in great jeopardy. She said their properties are currently surrounded by businesses, including A Quilt Cottage, #17 N Bowdish Road; Tom's Barber Shop, 101 N Bowdish Road; Opportunity Body Shop 106 N Bowdish Road, En Vogue Hair and Nail Design, 112 N Bowdish Road; Z -Coil Pain Relief Footware, 122 N Bowdish Road; Sam's Stop N' Shop No. 4, 11505 E Sprague Avenue; and Harmon Glass, 11421 E Sprague Avenue." She said she understands that the revitalization plan for the Sprague and Bowdish area is meant to improve the overall appeal of the city, and said they believe their unique business will contribute positively toward that end; and their goal is to have a place that celebrates culture and beauty, which will be an asset to the City; and she asked Council to consider amending the zoning so she can have a chance to follow her own dreams. Councilmember Grafos said Mrs. Shadduck could go down to the University City area and have a coffee shop, and that this is another result of the revitalization or the allocation plan that was put into effect by the City. Councilmember McCaslin asked City Attorney Connelly if there is anything in federal or state law that protects people against government when they are told one thing and the zoning is changed; as Ms. Shadduck said they started out with information from the city that they could do something, and then zoning is changed which damages them in their pursuit. City Attorney Connelly said under state law in Washington, you can vest to the existing zoning laws by applying for a permit; if the laws change after a permit application has been made, you could continue to pursue under the laws that existed at the time; and said if you don't apply for a building permit or a development permit of some kind, then the property is subject to what the zoning laws are at the time an application is made; he said the zoning can change pursuant to the legislative body's direction if you follow a prescribed process, and said that process requires notice and public hearings before the Planning Commission and the Council; and in looking at the ordinance which approved the SARP Plan, that incorporates compliance with the state laws; so there is a legislative process to change zoning and council can do it if the process is followed; and then it becomes legal; and said if you leave a reasonable economic use for the property, it's not going to be considered a taking under federal constitutional law, and said if somebody makes an application for a permit, they vest to the right to develop under the laws that exist at the time the permit is applied for. Councilmember McCaslin said he thinks it is important that Council realize that we are doing economic damages, not this council but the previous council, and that people and businesses are being hurt economically, and said he feels it is imperative that this council move a little more rapidly on helping these people. Councilmember Grassel said she agrees with Councilmember McCaslin, that these people have an urgent need and don't have months to sit and wait while council goes through the ordinance process; and said she is angry that these people are being treated this way and it needs to be changed; and that we are inhibiting business progress while struggling with sales tax revenues coming into the city, that we need to cut to the chase and determine what is needed to be done to accommodate these people, instead of having another public hearing in a month from now; and said these people don't have time for that, as they may be under pressure from a builder or from getting a loan, they are under a timeline and don't get to sit and wait while their dollars are being wasted; and she turned to City Attorney Connelly for his remarks. City Attorney Connelly said the first thing we need to do is determine what zone classifications you wish to change; once that is done, staff can let Council know if it can be done without a comp plan change, in which case Council would send it to the Planning Commission for consideration and it would come back to Council; but the plan that the Community Development Director laid out for Council, is to pick each zone within the SARP and she was going to bring that before Council with the neighborhood participation Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 6 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 so that Council could then identify what they want changed; and said he can't think of a way to do it any quicker; as this legislative body needs to identify what they want changed Councilmember Grassel said she doesn't know how we were able to do this a few weeks ago when the gentleman came before Council with the 15,000 square feet along Trent as that didn't go through any hearings, but went to the Planning Commission and then to Council for approval. City Attorney Connelly explained that is the process; it went to the Planning Commission and then it came to Council, and said it was a specific proposal; and now part of the quandary is, we don't know what specific zone changes Council wants to make as a council, and that needs to be discussed and is set up to be discussed by zone; taking one zone at a time to tell council what are the permitted and nonpermitted uses in each zone, and to ask what Council wants changed; and once Council makes that determination, staff can advise council for each change if it needs to go through Planning Commission or which change would need a comp plan change. Councilmember Grassel asked at what point are these people not grandfathered in, and said she thought Council was told for several years now concerning SARP, if people are nonconforming they would be grandfathered in and it would be "no big deal." City Attorney Connelly explained that existing uses are grandfathered in; the boat sales are grandfathered in at the White Elephant site but are not grandfathered in at an adjacent property owned by someone else, and that is the problem; the use for the coffee shop is one which has not been applied for, so there is no grandfathering in for that. Councilmember Gothmann said that two things need to be defined: the comp plan amendments can only go through once a year; but if the proper procedure is followed at any time of the year, you can change what is allowed in what zone; and said that is the process this Council has embarked upon now, to see what is permitted within each zone. Councilmember Gothmann said that he sits on the Transportation Improvement Board, and regarding Broadway Avenue and the TIB, he read the following which he gathered from the TIB website: "Project Information: Spokane Valley Broadway Avenue. Project description: this project reconfigures the four lane roadway to two travel lanes and a continuous left -turn lane. The remaining width becomes a five -foot bicycle lanes on both sides of the road, ADA ramps will be constructed. The total project is $932,850 and $746,000 of that is provided by TIB funds." Councilmember Gothmann said this is a project, and was done under the Urban Funding Program, and the criteria for urban funding program is safety 45 points, mobility 20 points, 15 points for sustainability; and said the reason the project was approved by the TIB was for safety reasons. He continued reading: "The funding for programs under the urban customers, the urban arterial program originally was administered by TIB predecessor. The main characteristics of the urban arterial program is improving mobility and safety" and said that individual applications are scored by the board on that criteria. He said regarding mobility that would ask if it pertains to provide for mobility of bicycles and autos; and said that up to 20,000 vehicles, a three -lane road and a four lane road will handle the same and said there are several reasons but the major reason is that is it a safety program, and if you take that safety program, namely going back to three lanes, you would get approximately 30% reduction in accidents by going to a three lane or a four lane; and if you take that safety program, he said he could not predict what a board would say, but said he would say no, that it doesn't safety the criteria. Councilmember Dempsey asked Mr. Jackson it if would be possible to get the information to find out about Mrs. Shadduck's property to see if there could be some way to expedite, much as the situation a few weeks ago for the business in the industrial area; or if this is something that has to go through the step -by -step process. City Attorney Connelly said the industrial area was a specific application made by a property owner; they paid their fee, they asked for a zone change and it went through Planning Commission and then to Council; and he said any property owner has the right to ask for a zone change; and if the zone change is not consistent with the comp plan, then we have a slower process; but those projects all have to be analyzed individually; and as noted last week, we have set up a schedule where Council can look at each zone within SARP, identify the uses to keep or not keep, and make a determination immediately if they can go through the Planning Commission for a relatively quick turn- around, or ones to put in line for a comp plan change; and he said he cannot think of another way to do Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 7 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 that that has any cohesiveness at all other than to take each segment of the SARP, examine it and make a decision; and he said council could make a decision relative to the properties discussed tonight, or they could go through an individual process on their own. City Manager Jackson said generally, staff always listens to the public comments and reports back to the public as well as a full report to the city council; so it is automatic that we will look into each of these situations and provide the range of legal options available to council and to the citizens. Grant Rodkey, 424 S Sullivan Road: said he opposes the Broadway revision; he recommended that council make a motion to suspend that project until it can be put to a public vote since the public pays for it; he said he has stopped using Broadway from Pines to Sullivan as many others have because of the congestion, and said it never fails, that you get behind someone going 25 m.p.h. and a lot of times he has been behind people turning who don't use the left -hand lane to turn in; he said regarding the bikes lanes, he hardly ever sees anyone in the bike lanes and said he drives on 16` between Bowdish and Sullivan every day, and hardly ever sees that; but said he does see pedestrians walking in those even though they should be on the sidewalks, which creates a safety issue; he said he was here for the hearings on those and the public was not listened to; there were two entities that were listened to: the Fire Department and the Schools; and he said those were the only ones he heard in favor of that change; and said if Council reads those testimonies against that, said there was no preponderance from those people, the ones who pay the taxes to fund these projects, to give that an impetus. He said as far as these numbers of percentages of reductions of accidents, "30 %, come on — show me the numbers, I don't want to hear percentages; and how many are those ?" He said he asked Mr. DeVleming back at that time at a separate occasion where they had opportunity to talk, to give numbers and not just percentages, and said Mr. DeVleming could not come up with anything. Mr. Rodkey said the issue was supposedly that people get rear -ended when they are trying to turn; and said can you honestly tell me that the new configuration is any safer or will prevent rear - ending; where you can't see in front of the cars that are in front of you and someone decides to put on their brakes and someone is following too close because someone is driving too slow. He said there was a survey paid for by Don Hess, former owner of Town and Country Auto at the corner of Broadway and Pines, who surveyed the people who lived on that stretch between Pines and Sullivan, and said very few even knew that revision was going to take place; and said he can probably bet that most of the people along that stretch west of Pines have no idea of what is going to befall them. He said with people trying to get out of their driveways; how does one get out of their driveway when you have twenty-five cars stacked up between the lights. He said this is a very good arterial that moves traffic; and said there was 20 points given for mobility; and we talked about bikes being mobile; but what about the cars? He said he rarely goes down Sprague, but went down Sprague the other day and couldn't believe how packed it was; and said now you are talking about taking off two lanes of traffic, one lane off each way; and said that does not make any sense at all and stated "I guess that's government intelligence." He said that he remembers that Diana Wilhite said this could be reversed if it backed up traffic or found out it doesn't achieve reduction of accidents; and said he doesn't know if that was the plan when they put in cement islands and said that doesn't look very reversible. He said the issue of safety, of course, will be the one to sell this as that is given 45 points; and said he has a hard time buying that part; and said that's all about getting people out of their cars and trying to get everybody to ride bikes. He said it would help traffic flow if we talked to the traffic engineer, Inga Note, about the traffic light time, and said it is absolutely horrible at some intersections, such as turning off Sullivan at 4"' to go down 4` and said you can wait up to five minutes with no traffic coming north or south; and said there are other places that have that kind of problem, and said in this day when people are talking about global warming and carbon dioxide and production, he said why are we having people sit at traffic lights burning up the fossil fuels to cause that problem. He said he heard some tragic stories tonight about people putting their life savings on the line to try to have a dream of a business, and said an improvement that could be made on this revitalization plan, SARP, would be if it were to be re- named, and suggested by Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 8 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 calling it "City Revitalization Action Plan" you could have an easy to remember acronym. He said you can figure that one out. Paul Nienhuis, 11009 E 3` Avenue, Apt #12: said he rides a bicycle and it is his only mode of transportation, and that he has a medical condition. He said the "fewer lanes on a road the less safe I feel irregardless of any bike lane present or available." He said if Broadway is reduced to two lanes, people who use Broadway when they drive will just find another road to get where they need to be, causing more congestion somewhere else. He said this would be an extremely unneeded change which would cause drivers an inconvenience. He said the citizens earn their money with hard work; and asked if they should be taxed more to pay for something such as this. Allan Hinkle, 11916 E Sprague Avenue he said this is about bicycle safety in the State of Washington, Spokane County. He said over forty years ago, the powers that be decided that bicycle safety was no big concern for the state or cities to codify or regulate, and said we have a benign neglect and a given number of injuries and deaths happen each year. He said other states take a much more proactive approach; they teach children the rules of the road, they require bicycle licenses annually, they require an annual bicycle safety inspection, if a kid does not park his bike in a rack he can receive a bike ticket, and if a kid is riding at night without proper lights, he can be given a ticket, and said the city that he lives in, more than likely the police would take the bike and the kid in and call the parents. He said the latest fad is "compete streets and go bonkers for bikes;" he said if you look in the Spokesman Review, you'll see this all the time; he said with bike lanes everywhere, this does not enhance the safety for bicycle riders. He said he measured the width of a bike lane near his home in the valley and it was three feet wide; and tapers down, and said this is on Evergreen Road from 32 to 20; and the lane is not put in the middle of the street but is put way over to the west side and there is no bicycle lane at all on the east side where the street is double wide. He said a 4,000 pound car going down the road, and four feet away is a forty pound bike with a rider; and said this is not real safe; and he said cyclists do not know the rules of the road and even if they know the rules, they frequently don't obey them, and he suggested watching a cyclist at an intersection; he said they most often do not stop at stop signs but ride right through, and seldom if ever use arm turn signals; he said if a car driver is distracted or on his cell phone, and the cyclist is four feet away, the cyclist will be injured or killed. He said he is a sometimes cyclist and if he wants to ride he'll ride on the Centennial Trail. He said the second page of his handout is from the Washington State Department of Transportation; he said getting information from them is difficult and requires about a two -week wait; and said he had to sign a waiver that he would not use these statistics in any way for litigation against the State of Washington Department of Transportation; and said this data shows that in the years from 2005 to 2009, there were 518 injuries and four deaths; and said the more bike lanes that are created, the closer the bicycle riders are to the vehicular traffic, the greater the risk for injuries and fatalities; and said he believes that sidewalls and the Centennial Trail are the safest place for pedalcyclists. He said if you look in the April 17 Spokesman Review, there is an article about a man who was struck by a car resulting in severe injuries; he said putting all these bicycle lanes, and the Spokesman Review today they talk about how they want people downtown to ride their bikes, he said they can do this in the summer; and said they are trying to get people to ride bikes to work and said they had 1400 signed up to do this; and said we all know we won't do this in the winter; and in the previous plan with the SARP, it was "we're going to ride our bicycles down to the city center and everything" and he asked everyone, "you're going to go down there and you're going to go shopping for the week on your bicycle right? And you're going to go to Costco or maybe Rosauers or Winco or Wal -Mart and take all your groceries home for a week on your bicycle. It ain't going to happen folks." Deputy Mayor Schimmels said that he sees on some of this correspondence, that we are quoting the complete street name; and said that has been approached to the City of Spokane by the Spokane Regional Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 9 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 Transportation; that the City of Spokane is possibly going to adopt this; and said we have not talked about it out here to his knowledge; and said we are in a lot different area; we don't have the density and said he would like to calm citizen's fears and said he thinks that is not on our agenda at this point. Mayor Towey said he really appreciates all the comments tonight, and said this is what this council needs and this is why we put the public comment on the agenda; and said we need more citizens to tell Council about citizen concerns. 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 04 -08 -2010 3124, 3126, 3127, 3136, 19900, 19928- 19932 $246,752.51 04 -08 -2010 19933 - 19968; 401100016, 405100013 $1,592,536.87 04 -09 -2010 19969 -19973 $768.26 04 -09 -2010 19974 -19998 $99,875.00 04 -16 -2010 19999 -20013 $31,195.95 04 -19 -2010 3138 -3140 $57,679.09 GRAND TOTAL $2,028,807.68 b. Approval of Payroll for Period Ending April 15, 2010: $253,275.21 c. Approval of Study Session Format Council Meeting Minutes of April 6, 2010 d. Appr-eval of Fefmal Fefmat Couneil Meeting Minutes of April 13, 2010 Councilmember Gothmann asked that item 1 d be removed to discuss separately; and it was then moved by Councilmember Gothmann, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve items la through Ic. d. Approval of Formal Format Council Meeting Minutes of April 13, 2010 Councilmember Gothmann said that page one of the April 13, 2010 council minutes contains a definition for SNAP which is incorrect, and said that SNAP doesn't mean anything, and is merely the name of the corporation; and he moved to strike that parenthesis which follows SNAP; the motion was seconded and the motion passed unanimously. It was then moved by Councilmember Gothmann, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve item Id as amended. NEW BUSINESS 2. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 10 -007 Amending Comprehensive Plan - Mike Basinger After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve ordinance 10 -007. Planner Basinger provided an overview of the first reading of the 2010 comprehensive plan amendments which was held April 13, 2010; that council deliberated on CPA 01 -10 through CPA 08 -10 and advanced the ordinance to a second reading; he briefly went over the three proposed site - specific map amendments and the planning commission recommendations for each; and said at that April 13 meeting, there were no concerns expressed by Council with these amendments. Mr. Basinger said there were two specific council questions regarding the Planning Commission's recommended text amendments, and Mr. Basinger referenced the supplemental policy analysis prepared by staff, he said the first question was, would accepting the Planning Commission's recommendations and approving the proposal text amendments, create a conflict when later evaluating the SARP, and he said it is his professional opinion it would not; and said these proposed policies are not SARP related. Mr. Basinger said staff's purpose in developing these polices was to align our comp plan with regional, state, and federal initiatives to leverage for future funding opportunities; and said the other policies set the frame work for building an attractive community that draws people to live here; and other policies Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 10 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 promote protecting natural resources like the aquifer. The second question previously asked by Council, explained Mr. Basinger, was are these policies required. Mr. Basinger said these policies are not specifically required, but are consistent with RCW 36.70A. the Growth Management Act, and are consistent with the existing goals in the City's adopted comprehensive plan; and said in the policy analysis, he included the goal, then the policy and why the policy was included. Mayor Towey said he really appreciates the policy analysis as it gives a clear picture of why we spend so much time putting this together; and not so much staff time but it has to go through the Planning Commission and they have to have hearings, and there is a lot of time involved in just one sentence, and he said it gives Council a better picture of why this is being done and why that time is being spent; and said he thinks that in the future, these policy analysis would be helpful in any other future proposal; and said it can be narrowed down to whether it is mandatory or continuing for a future grant or public safety; and said if we did this, we would save a lot of time. Councilmember Grafos said his concern is the amount of time and effort and dollars, taxpayer dollars that we are spending on these text amendments; and he picked one out as an example; he said he appreciates knowing if these are mandatory or tied to a grant; and said under Capital Facilities and Public Services, goal #5, page 9, the existing goal that was in the Comprehensive Plan is "Promote the reduction, reuse and recycling of solid waste." Councilmember Grafos said that's the goal as it was existing; and said staff came back with "CFP 5.3: work towards reducing waste at city- sponsored events through the provision of recycling canisters and other means" and said the staff comes back with an analysis of "promote the reduction, reuse, and recycling of solid waste. This policy gives specific direction and a means to achieve the overall goal." Councilmember Grafos said he thinks it is all redundant, boilerplate, and a lot of this is a waste of time and tax dollars, and staff time. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Councilmember Grassel said she concurs with Mr. Grafos. Vote by Acclamation on the motion to approve the ordinance: In Favor: Mayor Towey, Deputy Mayor Schimmels, and Councilmembers McCaslin, Grassel, Dempsey, and Gothmann. Opposed: Councilmember Grafos. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 3 Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 10 -008 Amending Zoning Map— Mike Basinger After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve ordinance 10 -008. Planner Basinger said this ordinance takes the site - specific map amendments and changes the zoning map to be consistent. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. Mayor Towey called for a recess at 7:30 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7: 44 p.m. 4 Proposed Resolution 10-0 10 Adopting, Solid Waste Comprehensive Plan — Mike Connelly It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve Resolution 10 -010 adopting the 2009 update of the Spokane County Comprehensive Solid Waste Plan. City Attorney Connelly explained that state law requires counties and /or cities to develop a comprehensive solid waste plan that guides the specific agreements they enter into, and the regulations they pass; he said that Spokane County has been organized regionally and adopted its solid waste plan on a regional basis and has been the lead in the development of that plan; he said state law also requires that the plan be periodically updated, and Spokane County has updated the Comprehensive Solid Waste Plan and is now asking cities to affirm that plan on their behalf; and said the only option the City of Spokane Valley would have is to develop its own comprehensive solid waste plan, which would be a significant undertaking. Attorney Connelly said this particular plan is notable that it is not an interlocal agreement dealing with structural changes that may exist in the solid waste system, or an interlocal agreement which would change the method of waste disposal, nor it is an interlocal agreement which would adopt the financing proposal that the City of Spokane has been discussing; he said this Plan is a basic planning guideline that we will use as we move ahead to develop new interlocals with Spokane County and possibly the City of Spokane. Attorney Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page I 1 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 Connelly said the document is approximately 300 pages, and is in the Clerk's office for those who wish to review it; and said he has attached in tonight's packet the summary of the changes; and he said the changes are not alarming or overly significant, and he went over some of the changes listed in the summary. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Deputy Mayor Schimmels commented that at 9 a.m. on May 10 at Spokane City Hall Briefing area, a meeting will be held where the Liaison Board and a facilitator will accept comments concerning the governance structure. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited general public comments. Grant Rodkey, 424 S Sullivan Road: said he has gone to a few of these meetings and said he appreciates Council's decision on the meals; he said he wanted to comment about having fellowship over dinners making it easier to facilitate things; he said things he has done in the past is like have a "potluck dinner, where people are wanting to be involved in the dinner, you know, you find something you like and you get a recipe from somebody, and that makes it sort of a fun event; it's a team building thing. The challenge for me is, the issue of generosity was brought up before, and you know, I've heard it said it's easy to be generous with other people's money, especially when they are compelled by taxation to give it to you; and you know, the, I found that, you know, talking about the joy of giving that Jesus and others knew that, I found, when I give something out of my own heart, and out of my own resources, to help somebody else, I get a great feeling of joy from that. It sort of reminded me of my nephew. We were at a restaurant the other night and they have a little box for giving to kids in Haiti or something like that, and he said `Uncle Grant, can I have a dollar' you know, and so he came over and wanted a dollar from me, and I think somebody else gave it to him to put in the box but I wasn't quite so generous; but he needed to pull it out of his own pocket; but he pulled it out of my friend's pocket; and put it in; but my nephew didn't have the joy of giving of himself to the resources to help somebody else out; he relied on the resources of somebody else; and he needed to be asked the question `where's your money to give to put into the potT and so, another thing that was brought up, the issue of benefitting businesses. I don't have any problem with benefitting business but I think the employees, they earn money, they are able to go across the street, get a hamburger or bring a sack lunch whatever; I don't mind helping other businesses but I don't think that we need to be doing, using the private citizens' hard earned money to benefit the businesses. I don't think that should be at the expense of the taxpayers. Most of these taxpayers just would love to have that feeling of being so compassionate, but they don't even know how compassionate they are being by the direction of somebody else. So I think, you know, it's the kind of thinking that really we need to change the paradigm of being generous with somebody else's money. We need to be generous with our own money. It's real easy to be generous with somebody else's, and so, you know, again, I think that, you know, the issue of satisfaction that comes from helping somebody else comes from when we give of ourselves; and anyway, I'd like to put a plug in for a book that is written probably about sixty years ago by a guy named Friedrich Hayak, called The Road to Serfdom and as I come to these meetings, the things that he wrote about are very evident, and if you read the book you will see exactly what he is talking about; but he is talking about some historical things that happened around the 40's that were real tragic; and we all get sort-of trapped into that as we get into more and more efficient government. And again, I'd like to put a plug in again for a motion to suspend that Broadway project. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS 5. Council Broadcasting_ Greg Bingaman, Morgan Koudelka IT Specialist Bingaman discussed broadcasting options in follow -up to previous council request for additional details. Mr. Bingaman described three options for council consideration: option 1 is a recorded, posted edited, product DVD with delayed playback; option 2 is to produce final product while recording with delayed playback, and option 3 is live broadcast with recording and delayed playback; and he explained some of the costs associated with each option, and explained the current use and cost of working with Community Minded TV for broadcast of Tuesday's council meetings on the following Monday at 7:30 p.m. on Channel 14; including adding internet with such things as a hosted, on -demand Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 12 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 service such as is provided by the company Granicus, which he explained is a popular system with many county and city governments. Deputy Mayor Schimmels asked what the City of Spokane has, and Mr. Bingaman said their system would be closest to his proposed option 3 with the full live broadcast, and added that Spokane has a larger budget including a full broadcast studio, with at least 1.5 staff. Councilmember Gothmann said it appears option 1 would be able to be uploaded to the web and citizens could replay that at their leisure. Mr. Bingaman confirmed that is the case and that the hosted internet is an option within option 1; and said the advantage of Internet over cable broadcasting, is once it is on the Internet, it can remain until such time as we use up the storage space offered to us; and said that same option is included in his option 2 and 3. Mayor Towey asked if this were on the Internet, could a person select the portion of the meeting they wanted to view instead of viewing the entire meeting, and Mr. Bingaman said the Granicus system is capable of handling such viewing, and their system ties into the agenda and is a convenient way. Mayor Towey asked how much it would cost if we only used Internet, and Mr. Bingaman responded that it would depend if it were hosted or live; and the $36,000 upfront cost of producing the signal would still be needed; and he said the difference between option 2 and 3 is that option 3 adds in the capability of a live broadcast in the 6 -9 p.m. Tuesday timeslot. Councilmember Grassel asked if channel 14 were the only option for television. Mr. Bingaman said the public sector, PEG includes public, education, and governmental; and our provider Comcast has set aside one channel, channel 5 in their viewing market; and that is currently being used by the City of Spokane; he said we would do an arrangement with Channel 14 for broadcasting which serves the public side of broadcasting (the "P" part of PEG), and said we could broadcast with them contractually; and said the other broadcasting options are limited without investment of hardware; and said if we want our own channel, we would need a commitment of a certain number of programming hours; which means more than just broadcasting a three -hour Tuesday night council meeting, but that it would require additional hardware, and we could include such things as a city bulletin board for announcements; and /or get additional content from the County and/or the City of Spokane to re- broadcast. Councilmember Dempsey asked if additional personnel would be needed for any of these options. Mr. Bingaman said that direct cost is not included, and option 1's $36,000 is all labor; and option 2 and 3 has dramatically less labor costs as those options are less time - involving; and said if we started to move forward with this, it would require some of his time and perhaps we could have a temporary person to help get the project started; but said he does not anticipate the need for another full -time person. Councilmember Grafos asked if the option 2, $24,000 annual cost is the service the SVBA is paying for through June; and Mr. Bingaman indicated that is our cost, but that SVBA has an arrangement with Community- Minded TV which is substantially less then what we are looking for as they contract for one - hour a week; but the options include a three -hour time slot. Councilmember Grafos said SVBA is making a DVD at the same time they are making the broadcast, and he asked since Mr. Bingaman is the "Tech Guy" for Mr. Bingaman to tell him why we could not do likewise with Mr. Bingaman putting it on the city's website. Mr. Bingaman responded that he is not the professional when it comes to TV broadcasting, and the uploading is not the issue; that what Council does not see is what happens after the broadcast: that Community Minded TV has one cameraman who is recording a three -hour program with two cameras; and said that gives them six hours of footage to go through and edit; that the person from Community Minded TV takes the two cameras and the three -hour film per camera, and ingests that into the system, edits it, includes the graphics, do some titling, then they have to take that product and encode it to make it playable for television; he said it is not the same system as what is produced when they record and what they use for broadcasting; so that output gets sent to a DVD, and once the DVD is made, the uploading is no problem and there is no cost to upload. Councilmember Grafos asked if the $2,000 a month includes the editing since it includes the editing for SVBA; and said at $2,000 a month, there would be an edited program and the six hours they spend would be included in that $2,000 a month; and Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 13 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 then have the DVD and from there we would put it on the website. Mr. Bingaman said that is mostly correct; that it would be $36,000 divided by twelve or $3,000 monthly, and said the $2,000 per month is when we include the hardware up front; and he explained that option 2 has the real time production; and said council doesn't see a list of hardware that includes, but that provides multiple cameras within the council chambers, and a video switcher /mixer; and said someone would run that board and produce that production of the meeting live, inject the graphics and titles during the meeting, so at the end of the meeting, the DVD is already made. Councilmember Grafos said he is not suggesting to do it live, he suggests do the same system we have now; and Mr. Bingaman said that is the $36,000 option, option 1. Councilmember Gothmann said the reason the meeting is shown the following Monday night is the time involved to get it ready for broadcasting; and that now we are investing money in the post- editing, and that option 2 removes that and inserts instead, the hardware for someone to operate on -site; thereby more efficient from a manpower perspective. Mr. Bingaman said there are two options of option 2: one is the labor savings and the second is the time to air. Mr. Bingaman said there is another option for broadcasting on cable, that Channel 5 City of Spokane said they would offer us a 12:30 slot on Saturdays; but added there isn't currently a way to get them the DVD to meet the time requirements, as they would need the DVD by 4 p.m. Wednesday in order to ingest into their system for Saturday; and with the option 1 that is not possible due to the time it takes for the post- editing. Councilmember Grassel asked why the current arrangement with SVBA is $1400 a month; and Councilmember Gothmann said the current arrangement is $1320 a month; that there is no contract just an oral agreement; that Community- Minded TV gave an estimate and SVBA committed to doing this through the end of June, and in the original discussion, it was to tape for one -hour; and said when he spoke to Community Minded TV about editing the meeting from its original length to one hour, Community Minded TV agreed to do the taping for three hours, and emphasized this is an informal, temporary arrangement; and said Community - Minded TV is 'a non - profit institution. Councilmember Grassel said then that fee was based on an hour and now it's approximately $36,000 annually because it would include the full three hours. Councilmember Gothmann concurred, and added that the Lynnwood Mayor stated that "to the best of our knowledge, 25 -30% of our citizens watch the delayed video. Our current budget for TV broadcasts is about $15,000 a year. It is worth every penny in my opinion." Mr. Bingaman said the costs also are based on staffing levels, and presently we are outsourcing almost all labor to keep the headcounts down. Deputy Mayor Schimmels asked what is the City's direct cost and the direct cost to Comcast subscribers; that Comcast has offered an aggregate amount and "so -much a month to offset this" and he asked Mr. Bingaman if he could differentiate that. Mr. Bingaman said Comcast PEG agreement is that we use the funds generated through the PEG fee strictly for capital purposes; we could use the PEG funding for the $3,050 for the hardware in option 1 and also use it for the $35,000 in option 2 and 3; and could also use it for the $15,000 fiber head end build if we ever wanted to go with live broadcasting; and said the reoccurring costs shown in his far column, would be items not covered by any of the franchise agreement fees, the PEG funding. Councilmember Dempsey said she favors broadcasting the meetings, that channel 14 serves one group and by putting it on the Internet would serve another group thereby having a wider range of people; and said several people have remarked about the meetings on television. Councilmember Grassel said she does not have a problem with broadcasting, but feels we are not solidified in our budget and said she has a problem in advancing anything until after the financial retreat this summer; and said we just cut dinners and said she doesn't know if this is appropriate to put in $36,000 or $45,000 proposal without having a handle on the budget, and she cautioned that this be postponed until council knows where the budget stands. Councilmember Dempsey said she would like to pursue this to see what we can come up with instead of postponing it; and see if there is a way to pay for it. Councilmember McCaslin said the information he has is we have declining revenues; and if that is the case, he said "I don't know why we are sitting here talking about spending more money; we went through the meals project and got rid of the $833 a month if the figures were accurate, so we are saving money there, and now we are discussing Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 14 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 adding to our expenditures which doesn't make sense to me when we don't know what the demand is for broadcasting" and said he would be opposed to any expenditure whatsoever. Mayor Towey asked if there is any way to find out how citizens are viewing this. The gentleman filming the meeting said Comcast indicated there is not a way to determine how many people view the meeting broadcast. Councilmember Gothmann said he favors moving forward and sees this as the cost of doing business, to tell the public what we are doing, and to use 21" Century tools to communicate with constituents; and he said we are the largest city in the state that does not broadcast; and according to this handout of "excerpts from a TV survey" which includes data from about two years ago, of which cities broadcast; and in reading comments from mayors of other cities, it appears they agree that this is the cost of doing business. Councilmember Grafos said he doesn't mind pursuing just looking at the options, but until council looks at the budget during the summer retreat, since we are in declining revenues, he would not be in favor of signing up for this; and said it is wonderful that the SVBA has graciously agreed to fund this through June at their expense. Deputy Mayor Schimmels asked how many people have and don't have Comcast; and Councilmember Gothmann said there are 22,000 subscribers in the Spokane Valley; and said he does not know how that compares with Direct TV or Dish subscribers. Deputy Mayor Schimmels said he has called around and cannot ascertain those figures; and Councilmember Dempsey said that is why the Internet should be used so that those who do not have Comcast or Direct TV or Dish, could access the programming. According to an informal survey he conducted, Councilmember Gothmann said it is his opinion that the citizens in general want this service. City Manager Jackson said next week's agenda item concerns Comcast and the collecting of PEG fees; that Council can still deliberate on the broadcast issue, but this means that the hardware cost, if Council elects not to have Comcast collect the PEG fees, will come from city funds instead of Comcast; and said at this time we have asked Comcast not to collect those fees for us; and said in addition to the government component of PEG, there is the public and education components; so Council will want to consider whether to collect those fees to distribute for public and education uses as well; and said the issue of PEG fees should probably be determined within the next thirty days or so. Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka explained that currently Comcast has several channels set aside for all the PEG uses, there are multiple channels for educational programming for K -12 and for the colleges; that Community Minded Television operates channel 14 which is for any member of the public to provide programming that is of benefit to the community, and channel 5 is what the City of Spokane currently uses; and as part of our franchise agreement with Comcast, there is the ability to take advantage of a multi jurisdictional governmental channel or replace Spokane Channel 5 with our own government channel; that both Community Minded Television and the organization CABLE which is the operator for the educational channels, have both made requests of our City to share in any PEG funding provided by Comcast; and said these fees are separate from the franchise fee. Councilmember Grafos asked if the PEG fees are the $150,000 that they would give us for capital equipment only; and Mr. Koudelka said the current arrangement with Comcast is that the equivalent of 35¢ per subscriber per month would be provided, which equates to about $92,000 annually; however, Comcast would provide $150,000 of that amount upfront and divert some of the subsequent revenue flow to paying off that initial payment; but it still would equate over the five -year period to $92,000 annually. Mr. Koudelka said that is has taken a little more time to get the approved franchise agreement back from Comcast, and we hope to have that soon; and said should Council decide to go a different direction with the PEG fees; that would open at least the one section of the franchise agreement to re- negotiation with Comcast, and they may change the terms; even if we don't decide to permanently delete that but to reserve it for potential future use, Comcast may decide to change the terms. City Attorney Connelly said we have a signed agreement, and if Council wants to change the agreement we always run the risk of them coming back with things they want to change. Councilmember Dempsey asked how long it took to get that initial agreement; and Mr. Koudelka said it took many years. Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 15 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 Mayor Towey said the question is, if there are three or more councilmembers who want to move forward with this on an upcoming agenda, and if asked if there was consensus; and Councilmember Grassel said the answer depends on when council wants to discuss this, whether before or after the summer retreat. Mr. Jackson said the discussion on whether to broadcast the council meeting can happen at any time council wishes, and the issue that has a time frame is whether to accept the PEG fees from Comcast, or to permanently defer those fees; and even though we would have about sixty days, he recommended that decision be made within the next month or so in order to avoid coming right up to the deadline; so in terms of bringing this back, he asked for Council to give staff direction, that what he hears is that Council would like to know how we might pay for it; or council can delay this until after July; and adding that any new money spent will have a budget impact. Mayor Towey again asked if there were three or more councilmembers to have this move forward on a future agenda; and at least three councilmembers said they would like to discuss it on a future agenda. 6. Advance Agenda Councilmember Grassel said the public comment tonight about the zoning changes brings her back to a question that came up at the February council retreat; and said what she hears from these citizens is that there is a time constraint, and a financial constraint; she said it was presented they could make a request for zoning changes at a cost of $2,000 and said that is not a guarantee a zoning change would happen; and said she would like to consider RCW 35A.63.220 which addresses interim zoning controls; and she explained that RCW states that "A legislative body that adopts a moratorium or interim zoning ordinance without holding a public hearing on the proposed moratorium or interim zoning ordinance, shall hold a public hearing on the adopted moratorium or interim zoning ordinance within at least sixty days of its adoption" and she asked if the City Attorney could address that issue of putting in an interim zoning change; for example, to go back to commercial zoning, and have those hearings, and in the meantime to give these constituents the zoning they need to move forward on their projects. City Attorney Connelly said the problem is that simply going back to commercial zoning, assuming in the entire SARP zone, would be inconsistent with the comprehensive plan, which adopted the zones which are set forth in the SARP map; and by law we cannot, not even on a interim basis, do something which is inconsistent with the comprehensive plan; and explained that he had identified that in his last memo and said he would be glad to revisit that and take a look again at some more precipitous way to resolve a macro problem; but said he thinks his conclusion was that the only way to move forward and be consistent with state law was to take a look at each zone and examine what changes can be made that are not inconsistent with the comp plan, and then make those, and those could be done either by interim zoning or by going through the planning commission and back to council provided they are not inconsistent with the comp plan, and then defer those that will require a comp plan change; and said he would be glad to revisit that issue and procedures. Councilmember Grassel said she reviewed some of that memo, but said it seemed it was not in conflict with the Growth Management Act in the comp plan as long as a hearing is held within sixty days, so we could go back and do the interim zoning ordinances without. City Attorney Connelly said the sixty days is, if you are going to pass an interim zoning ordinance, or pass an ordinance on an interim emergency basis, you must hold a hearing within sixty days; it allows the ordinance to be passed without a hearing, but then states that a hearing must be held within sixty days; and he said the purpose for that is, if generally there was a problem if you had a properly noticed, publicized hearing it would result in a flood of applications that might be detrimental or inconsistent with the overall planning process, you pass the ordinance then have the hearing so you don't have that problem. City Attorney Connelly said for example, if he were going to pass a moratorium and he spent a month telling everybody that he was going to impose a moratorium, that might result in a flood of applications prior to the moratorium date; so that ordinance allows you to pass the law first, then have the hearing and then go through the whole process; and said he feels his analysis last time was that a radical change like that would be inconsistent with the comp plan and would be contrary to state law; a specific change within each zone as to what use would be allowed may be consistent with the Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 16 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 comprehensive plan and could be done either on an emergency basis or go through the planning commission; and said he could expand on that aspect for Council; and Councilmember Grassel agreed that Council needs something brought forward in an urgent manner. Councilmember Grassel said there were two citizens here tonight, and she wondered how many people went before the planning board and didn't think to come before Council, and were just told they could apply for a zoning change, that by the way it will cost $2,000 and probably when you are done closer to $10,000; so there might be a lot more of these individuals that Council can be helping. City Attorney Connelly agreed it is difficult to know without looking at the zone as a whole and giving all of the property owners a chance to comment; and said we also don't know if people have purchased their property in reliance of the SARP and the development code and of things allowed within that SARP; and said if we don't have a hearing and give notice, we really won't know what the property owners feel about that particular zoning area. Councilmember Grassel said then Mr. Connelly is suggesting staff could bring to council, making a zoning change that would not be in conflict with the comprehensive plan; and Mr. Connelly said uses allowed within the zones can be adjusted that may not be in conflict with the comprehensive plan, but a radical zoning change to commercial for the whole SARP would clearly be in conflict with the comprehensive Plan. Councilmember Grassel asked if Council could get a list from the planning department of perhaps the last ninety days, all of those permits which were denied because of zoning conflicts; and Mr. Jackson said he would look into that; and added that staff will also provide in addition to the legal aspects, all the procedural aspects and history on these cases so council has all the information, and said staff will try to do that as quickly as they can. Councilmember McCaslin said therefore, he understands that Council cannot adopt this RCW; and Mr. Connelly said he does not feel Council can use that RCW to change the whole SARP back to commercial; no. Councilmember McCaslin asked even though that grants that right in the RCW; and Mr. Connelly said he does not believe it grants that right, it allows you to do certain things but does not allow you to do that. In other matters for the advance agenda, Mayor Towey said he had a request to for our Council and Liberty Lake's council to hold a joint meeting since the challenges of both cities are mutual; and Mr. Jackson said staff will ask council for some suitable dates and contact Liberty Lake for dates as well. Councilmember Dempsey commented that one of the citizen comments tonight was about the traffic lights, and Councilmember Dempsey suggested if someone has a problem with traffic lights, they make Traffic Engineer Inga Note aware of the issue. INFORMATION ONLY: The library quarterly report, fire department quarterly report, department reports and Broadway Avenue Safety Project were for information only and were not reported or discussed. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting adjourned at 8:51 p.m. ATTEST- Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Regular Meeting 4 -27 -2010 Page 17 of 17 Approved by Council: 05 -11 -2010 SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: April 27, 2010 GENERAL CITIZEN COMME "OUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE Please sign in if you wish to make public commel19,0. NAME PLEASE PRINT TOPIC OF CO YOU WILL SPEAK iABOUT, YOUR' COMPLETE ADDRESS TELEPHONE Tom. "Ae t' 6 4 SQ6,k ,1 . c� vex S G N. - id S d ack ., N N 5' k�_ e _ - (E . �F' 6 2 2J /3 7_ s s� 911t y f . woe-9 dool E. 3Ave- �a ° ✓i WA- 94 9a� ?P?4 G L SIGN -IN SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING DATE: April 27, 2010 GENERAL CITIZEN COMMEN 'OUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MD Please sign in if you wish to make public commentc_ R NAME PLEASE PRINT TOPIC OF CONCERN YOU WILL SPEAK_ ABOUT YOUR COMPLETE ADDRESS TELEPHONE *�a -�- i I�cry � � _11 5;ai1vE;,h cr2Y -Qjd�� Ali' ) I)ANIEL ./ • ALLISON 1203 N. Warren RD. Spokane Valley, WA. 99216 PH. # 509 - 921 -0307 CEL # 509 - 280 -6872 FAX # 509 - 921 -9239 Allisonsfab@msn.com 4- 27 -'10 Council Meeting of the Spokane Valley. My name is Daniel Allison. I reside at: 1203 Warren Rd, Spokane Valley, 99216 I am a lifelong residence of the Spokane Valley. My business is also located in Spokane Valley. 1s ... I would like to comment on the cancellation of the staff dinners before the council meetings. It was said that the council should do something for the staff. You did... You gave them a 5.5% raise in Dec. When all other cities and counties are taking cuts we gave out raises. 2 nd .... Tonight on the agenda there is a proposal to change Broadway from the 4 lanes as it is now to 2 lanes as it is from Pines to Sullivan. The traffic dept will tell you that it should be changed for safety reasons. They will show you studies on the accidents and the severity of those accidents and how changing it will be safer. They will show you a study of the accidents before the changes. That study takes in the full length of Broadway from Freya to Sullivan. But the fact is that they will only be changing a section of it. And then they will show you a study of the short section and tell you how much safer it is. Broadway from Pines to Sullivan was the 1s change to Broadway. The study used to sway the minds of the previous council were again from Freya to Sullivan. Not quite an apples to apples comparison. If the Traffic Dept. was truly concerned about safety on Broadway then they would install the blinking crossing lights at all school zones and not just the ones that we got grants for. We could still spend the money on the ADA improvements to the intersections and check for grants for that portion of the work. 3" d ..... As for the grants that are to be used for this traffic change. The Traffic Dept. seems to be grant driven. This project would not even be on this agenda if it weren't for the grant. It still means that it is tax dollars funding this project. For those who think that grants are free money... They are not, it is just tax dollars from another source that we all are paying into. .. If we have staff that are collectively looking for grant money that can be plugged into projects that are truly not needed at this time, then I would have to say..... "We have too many staff employees." 4 I for 1 and many others think that instead of a safety concern for Broadway that it goes much deeper than that. We think that it is in a round about way part of The Sprague /Appleway /Revitalization Plan. By slowing traffic down it would push traffic to Sprague and show an increase of traffic car count on Sprague thru the proposed City Center area. The prior City Council thought up every trick they could so they could spend money on a city center. We think this is just another one of their methods. 5 This council and the city manager needs to let the staff know that the spending needs to stop because of the pending shortfall that we will have next year and get in line with them on reeling in the SARA That council was voted out and if staff can't seem to fall inline. Then they need to leave. I Would urge this council to vote NO ... on the lane changes to Broadway and save spending the money on a project that is not needed.. A / Daniel]. Allison Allan E. Hinkle, D.D.S. 11916 E. Sprague Avenue Spokane, WA 99206 April 6, 2010 (509) 924 -1325 aehinkle(@comcast.net " SAFETY PROJECT " ? ?? BROADWAY AVENUE SAFETY PROJECT FROM PINES ROAD TO PARK ROAD. So any project road or otherwise can get a "SAFETY PROJECT" MONIKER and thus stifle any input or complaint by the public, about what is being done, at the whim of the Public Works Department. What a clever ploy, after all who could be against safety ?? Turning a four lane road into a two lane road is a regressive gridlock idea, that I am against & also a majority of the driving public. Bicycles & cars do not mix well regardless of a "Safety Project" moniker, this will not change reality. Bicyclists need to ride the Centennial Trail & then they will be safe. Broadway avenue is a main East /West arterial that needs to be 4 lanes, two in each directions. The Valley population, & thus the number of drivers are increasing, not decreasing. So the Road Department needs to stop decreasing the vehicular capacity of our roads. It would be great if Broadway avenue could run 4 lanes from Liberty Lake on the East to at least Government Way on the West. I was told that Mr.Ken Knudsen was the Road Project Manager of the next phase of Broadway Ave. from Pines to Park Rd. I called him & inquired about who approved the change? He was kind of vague, and then he said the "Council of Advisors "? He thinks, it is the Spokane Valley City Council. He said he has been around only since 2007. He said that between 2003 & February 2008 there were 216 REAR END ACCIDENTS on Broadway. I asked him about statistics to prove the two lane road was safer. He has NO statistics to prove his point.... THE SPOKESMAN- REVIEW _.. ; .. APRIL lOf 201.0_ SATURDAY PAGE',BS 'U� 7 Lt 4 1 1Z y << g ; ` F " R CO + FEEDBACK •e MME Idf0y o . =a °LETTE SR� p !� .x * k• 1y r Ay w 5 fl f •H 1lEST 'PINION,. ' =' �'_. canbesecured- andwlierethey' `..Support�rs,of;theComplete { 4 are appropriate: To that end, Streets;programt,,have saidthe Coplete Streets maybec ome a::�m additional cost;forbcycle and . useful tool: • ' pecfestrianenhancements, when :. th@ s 111" r s ` StfU 2 n It is clear that the Complete gWlt@ y are Cori ct d i as.:a z Streets policyproposedby.City ToTsuk rnit t co s$ree x j si o t Coun ilinan Jon Snyder and c�btlitt 8 Ir�C` re iabilita'�ionaprogrt would• supported by the majority of° IS$UC, dl tok ' bmnxiral "old alfordabl In: �conncil members contains many glJ1dE1141C�5,�J o +Csraitesth we t is pi fi r; usef Land desirable ideas that icit i d re s m �l C P .; ti e snail tcf '�, Y p y' of: ICJ re_�./ y can all embrace and support j r i . edtp as�5o strpin�af tree x d'd abike �.. Co`iisiderable e me Burin the b con�eriti ; = larihe are�iWersome #'' council s,discussion "on Mond'a Y Guest Coin ; - 3oti oin ' mailigenaiice;costs that ` , . . s A i "< l Westto gather pbhc, ^opinion ° evening.was taken up describing Spokesm' will nee'do,lie"coveed each u r a . p... U; --r... . By Dallas Hawkins ``w. $ and support for the street.bond <` the benefits to our community. g dp�nlon pag x 'year in. addition to'the. initial Special to The Spokesman -Resew ,program. • l . _ " ' 4 } , related,to transportation ; F2laier5idesAve . cost People ;were '. mo re iiiterested�r - blkes ulilicsafe `,okie USIA 9 R a., r many projects plannedfor i vas o , p tY, economic Are "Complete. Streets" a ' in Z0Q2i in finding a way to f and improvement; jab growth,.:' eistiig stleS;�itiLnr orating; ood idea for S okane? " �r . the repair and >inainteiiance of better health' and:nei hborhood. " "se�ba�olt "s� , , i e�w'alit; 61W lan'"s g . Spokane is considering a city streets as' a first riori walkabili and environmental continues to'discoe`rt ,' U "' la ti stri �s °::and "atreet trees. P S t3' p ty.. tl 1? �g P� Complete Streets program, It is impo, rtantto;understand sustainability. These.goals are funding continues be tke; i " >while still permitring treet which the City Council could that when new streets are built, all worthy ones. ,. persistent problem' ust � , p�arl�ing will, J olveahe , adopt after further discussion. the. city ofSpokane currently It isimportant to understar orCo w; �s ; purchase ofad'dit<onal right,of1 11 As chairman of the Citizens: incorporates well however; that the Complet When Spokane comp" I the ,qyj,. well saengirte ring ; 11 Streets Advisory. Commission, I design as described i'n Streets program as presented [( , Current l0 year program in . ; redesign"ifor the relocation of ! T� 2014 ..; F3+ r»ai L l �a .+Nt►:t yti., a4,: "A" x�i" believe that the residents of the .Comprehensive does not offer funding solunbns , we hope Fl r { sidewalks, draiii age; curb m& S.pokane n: use some to bicycle and:.pedestr an This should be of concern tows �•�r'ehabilifated one�third,offliers` catcli�laasms�;an tstorin water additional' information before �:��enhancements such as sidewalk as we consider approval`and. i .a � stree£sjm s �, b6he"which need vaults,.whieh will m6stcertainly sucha ro ainliecomesthe �.setbacksand�streettrees When. ; fm lamentation,,Itwill�bevery ° 'tobe�rebuilt:, ntheend many ` ";''a.addsgnificantlytothetotal p .. .. ,, ae t a ar' , r r as a - city's official policy. we Took to improve andyt important o work together people feel't the next street ,' �" cii Even "though; As a practical matter; the rehabilitate °existing streets iii regionally and collaboratively rehabilitation,prograin should Complete S'treets'with its y q g ho ' . ' ding for pedestrian enhancements and current.l0- ear street bo d our nei hborhoods .we_run into. with all stakeholders if we ho e' include "furl program .is designed to: difficulties:securing funds for. fo' create a Complete Streets and bieycle enhancements. and � improvements is.. appealing And. rehabilitate streets from curb 'to pedestrian and bicycle, that .is beneficia s, '. program l a n &i m r . s i e ei"l l d y b esirable from: many curb and did not intend:to pay, improvemen't`s and appropriately funded 4t .1 o „ µ s t4 at o e ofd] ef� '.perspectives d rii th�" to ugh' fOr enhan 'cem entsor amenities. enhancements. wy Recentlyimayor Mary erneL ci • f Sp a an . U t z ey. '-;econonuc t t rite i possi le; ,.. : ,;. w r. , to street° ro ects -lt xs , I "support a global approacH o established the Design Review, ; , . an o nc an' h e y i :: thaGmany ma re f� orgo P .. J , #a , s h. ch M Co irikfa �lf .. c : - e" noteorthv that'the public did ", '.' ,Street rehabilitatiori,,vinwill mmittee to strady,s _., a. city `staff and�then=Mayor Jim improver Y' . CHRISTINE O. GREGOIRE Governor o� 51ATg O a 0 y L 188b STATE OF WASHINGTON OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR P.O. Box 40002 • Olympia, Washington 98504 -0002 • (360) 753 -6780 •TTYITDD (360) 753 -6466 A Message from April 26, the Governor 2010 I am delighted to congratulate the Cities of Spokane and Spokane Valley, Spokane County, and Avista Utilities on their collaborative Home Energy Audit Program. This exciting partnership is a tangible example of stimulus dollars at work in your local community. I applaud Avista and each local government for pooling their resources to increase energy efficiency, which will not only help us reduce our overall energy consumption, but will also help local residents see real savings in their energy bills. It truly is a win -win for us all. Today, more than ever, we face environmental and economic challenges that require change, and your work nicely complements our statewide efforts to reduce our carbon footprint; create family -wage, green collar jobs; and achieve sustainability. I hope your example will motivate and inspire others to exercise leadership in energy efficiency measures. Thank you for your hard work and dedication, and please accept my best wishes for continued success in the years ahead. Sincerely, e4i_ 4 Christine O. Gregoire Governor S pukan� jUalley 11707 E. Sprague Ave. • Suite 106 • Spokane Valley, WA 99206 (509) 921 -1000 • Fax (509) 921 -1008 • cityhall @spokanevalley.org April 27, 2010 Peggy Doering 11522 E Sunview Circle Spokane Valley WA 99206 Dear Peggy: Please accept my sincere congratulations, on behalf of the City Council of Spokane Valley, for your nomination and well deserved receipt of the Washington Recreation and Park Association Citation of Merit Citizen Award for 2010. The enthusiastic commitment you have demonstrated through Valleyfest has helped make Spokane Valley a better place to live. Your selfless dedication and involvement in our community not only benefits the citizens of the Inland Northwest region, it exemplifies the hard work, caring and connectedness that makes Spokane Valley such a great place to live, work and play. Thank you for all you do each and every day in support of our community. We look forward to recognizing your accomplishment at the May 11, 2010 City Council meeting. Very t Regards, Thomas E. Towey, Mayo`F R TET /skp Distribution: City Councilmembers Mike Jackson, Acting City Manager Mike Stone, Parks and Recreation Director Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk 8 NATION'S CI WEEKLY APRIL 19, 2010 Legislation, from page 1 the rights established by these mandato- ry , collective bargaining bills. Finally, every state — even if it currently rec- EECBG, from page 3 Technology upgrades to the data center have resulted in considerable savings, having more than doubled the center's efficiency rating — from 35.6 percent to 73.7 percent ` mak- ing the site one of the greenest data centers in Georgia. More than 30 entities have shown interest in replicating the inno- vative design of this project that allows for equipment to be cooled directly by a mechanical system combined with a high - efficiency chilled water air han- dling system built into the unit. Henderson, Nev. City budgets typically do not leave room to retrofit pub- lic buildings. That is why, like many others, the City of Henderson is using this unique opportunity to obligate funding primarily to municipal facility improvements. The city will install enough Solar PV Arrays at the North Community Police Station to double the kW produced by an existing 30 kW solar PV sys- tem on the building. Energy- saving retrofits are also sched- ognizes employee collective. bargaining rights — would have to conform to fed- eral regulations within two years of the bill's effective date without regard to state or local laws. NLC has made it clear that its oppo- uled for seven additional municipal facilities. A remaining 2 percent of total formula allocation will be directed to a contractor energy audit training program, HomeFree, to increase the availability of certified contrac- tors to perform residential ener- gy audits and set the ground- work for local government energy efficiency rebate pro- grams. Colorado Springs, Colo. The city is using EECBG funds to support a total of five programs, including an innova- tive student - administered ener- gy audit program. Colorado Springs Utilities employs qualified students from the city's three public colleges to administer com- plex audits as a means of prac- tical hands -on education directed by Farnsworth Group, a local engineering company. In addition to edu- cating the next generation of adult decision makers, the audits directly benefit small to mid -sized commercial, non- profit and education facilities not normally reached through existing programs. sition to this legislation has nothing to do with its views on collective bargain- ing. Rather, NLC opposes this legisla- tion because it believes that the deci- sions affecting the employment rela- tionships between employers and So far, 13 facilities have received initial assessments with full commercial -grade audits on two facilities. The program is anticipated to reduce greenhouse gasses by 450 metric tons over ten years. Spokane, Wash. The City of Spokane is investing in a wide range of energy efficient technology improvements aimed at munic- ipal facilities, but the city's pri- mary EECBG- supported pro- employees are best made at the state and local level by the elected officials who represent the citizens of the states, local governments and school systems in which these individuals work, and not the federal government. gram will be a residential ener- gy efficiency audit and loan program through a partnership with a privately owned local utility, Avista Utilities. It is estimated that more than 5,000 residential audits will be performed under this program. Participating home- owners will receive ceiling caulking, door sweeps, com- pact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) as needed, and additional on- site audits. Participants will then be provided with a final report containing recommend- ed energy efficiency retrofits, cost - benefit analysis, next steps to seek bids from contractors, and information on incentives available through the revolving loan program. NLC continues to collect examples of city leadership around energy efficiency, espe- cially those utilizing EECBG funding. If your city has received EECBG funding please e-mail zborel @nlc.org to share updates of projects completed, planned, or in- progress. Senators supporting FYI funding for EECBG: • Robert Menendez (D -N.J.) • Bernard Sanders (I -Vt.) • Richard Lugar (R -Ind.) • Joseph Lieberman (I- Conn.) • Sheldon Whitehouse (D -R.I.) • John Kerry (D- Mass.) • Mark Begich (D- Alaska) • Herb Kohl (D- Wisc.) • Ron Wyden (D -Ore.) • Kirsten Gillibrand (D -N.Y.) • Carl Levin (D- Mich.) • Kay Hagan (D -N.C.) • Charles Schumer (D -N.Y.) • Jeanne Shaheen (D -N.H.) • Debbie Stabenow (D- Mich.) • Russ Feingold (D- Wise.) • Frank Lautenberg (D -N.J.) • Sherrod Brown (D -Ohio) • Daniel Akaka (D- Hawaii) • Christopher Dodd (D- Conn.) • Roland Burris (D -Ill.) • Blanche Lincoln (D -Ark.) • Barbara Boxer (D- Calif.) • Robert P. Casey Jr. (D -Pa.) • Jeff Merkley (D -Ore.) • Jeff Bingaman (D -N.M.) • Benjamin Cardin (D -Md.) • Patrick Leahy (D -Vt.) • Ted Kaufman (D -Del.) commwfiit of C rist April 27, 2010 Inland West USA Mission Center Creator God, This group is gathered to consider the business of the people. I pray your spirit upon them. May their deliberations be civil and productive. May the isseus that are difficult to understand become clear and the decisions that are difficult become easy. And may all decisions provide the most good for the most people. These people have chosen to serve this community, may that service be magnified in the things that they say and do tonight. I pray this in the name of the One who showed us how to be a servant when he washed his followers feet. In the name of Jesus, Amen John G. VanDerWalker II Inland West USA Mission Center President 11515 E Broadway • Spokane Valley, WA 99206 • www.cofchrist- iwest.org • 800.918.8335 i) Allan E. Hinkle, D.D.S. 11916 E. Sprague Avenue Spokane, WA 99206 (509) 924 -1325 aehinkle0comcast.net April 6, 2010 " SAFETY PROJECT " ? ?? BROADWAY AVENUE SAFETY PROJECT FROM PINES ROAD TO PARK ROAD. So any project road or otherwise can get a "SAFETY PROJECT" MONIKER and thus stifle any input or complaint by the public, about what is being done, at the whim of the Public Works Department. What a clever ploy, after all who could be against safety ?? Turning a four lane road into a two lane road is a regressive gridlock idea, that I am against & also a majority of the driving public. Bicycles & cars do not mix well regardless of a "Safety Project" moniker, this will not change reality. Bicyclists need to ride the Centennial Trail & then they will be safe. Broadway avenue is a main East /West arterial that needs to be 4 lanes, two in each directions. The Valley population, & thus the number of drivers are increasing, not decreasing. So the Road Department needs to stop decreasing the vehicular capacity of our roads. It would be great if Broadway avenue could run 4 lanes from Liberty Lake on the East to at least Government Way on the West. I was told that Mr.Ken Knudsen was the Road Project Manager of the next phase of Broadway Ave. from Pines to Park Rd. I called him & inquired about who approved the change? He was kind of vague, and then he said the "Council of Advisors "? He thinks, it is the Spokane Valley City Council. He said he has been around only since 2007. He said that between 2003 & February 2008 there were 216 REAR END ACCIDENTS on Broadway. I asked him about statistics to prove the two lane road was safer. He has NO statistics to prove his point.... THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW W111*100PI'M 0 1 11 onsl • er cost of streets plan West to gather public opinion By Dallas Hawkins and support for the street bond Special to The Spokesman- Review program. People were more interested Are "Complete Streets" a in 2002 in finding a way to fund good idea for Spokane? the repair and maintenance of Spokane is considering a city streets as a first priority. Complete Streets program, It is important to understand which the City Council could that when new streets are built, adopt after further discussion. the city of Spokane currently As chairman of the Citizens incorporates well-established Streets Advisory Commission, I design standards as described in believe that the residents of the Comprehensive Plan related Spokane can use some to bicycle and pedestrian additional information before enhancements such as sidewalk such a program becomes the setbacks and street trees. When city's official policy. we look to improve arid. As a practical matter, the rehabilitate existing streets in current 10-year street reet boqd our neighborhoods, w 'e"'itin into program is designed to difficulties securing funds for rehabilitate. streets from curb to pedestrian and bicycl4't curb and did not iiitend to pay improvements and for enhancements or amenities enhancements. to street projects. It is I support a global approach to noteworthy that. the public did ', street rehabilitation, which will 1 a Streets policy propos ed by City TO b'ULATIIL d,' ;44 useful tool. 0 It is clear that the Co mplete glo"g-, � U98it 1" councilman Jon Snyder and '6b I ar " bca or, r ru e supported by the majority of issue onto council members contains many , 'guidelines,p ' ldasr.% 4— 3, useful and desirable ideas that e-mail rt to ` pi T 1 '-s we can all embrace and support. ed1tbr@spo , ".1a, IT Considerable time during the by conven'ti' I p I , ­N council's discussion on M onday Guest gn Nygl J evening was taken up describing Spokesmah W the benefits to our community Opinion page , �7 related to transportation 999 W.'RiVersile A choices, public safety, economic Spokane, VA'l 992o improvement, job growth, better health and neighborhood "walkability" and environmental continues to discover that sustainability. These goals are funding continues to be the all worthy ones. persistent problem th6y must It is important to understand, overcome. however, that the Complete When Spokane completes the Streets program as presented current 10-year bon&prograrn in does not offer funding solutions. 2014, we'hbpe,to have, This should be of concern to us .:rehabilitated one-third of the as we consider approval and streets in Spokane which need implementation. It will be very to be rebuilt, the end, many . important to work together people feel Kt. the, street regionally and collaboratively rehabilitation program should and bic anme with all stakeholders if we hope include funding for pedestrian to create a Complete Streets ycle, enhancements . and ­,,IT.* Ii. �� ­�," ., " L - . progranithat is; beneficial.and irnProyehY6n`t's '. " ?e'X­Lt&b'ffi61 appropriately fdrided. thiftlie 6ft1i Receiitlyi�iayor Mary Verner t "'..�."ci,K.6 "�"f Soo a e- e m us at tli`e�y e s t ablished the Design k i6w , wan oinclude and "'" d ` w _ h ,, , at they Corftmitte6to study § ingto pay , f or. ,y,6,ieis ;,Ci + A + APRIL 10 2010 • SATURDAY - PAGE 135 Supporters of the Complete Streets program have said the additional cosif8i,bicycle and pedestrian enhancements, when 'they ' constructed . ' , ' in cdnjucti6nwith a street ' r ehabilitation , :pr would b6 marginal 'and affordable. In �,Ao I me . instances that is true, restrip -, ., ing - � - .a str add, , .1 -' bike lane, Tl'ere are, . e some ongoing mamtena&6 costs that Willnee ' cl tb,be cover6d"each. year I . in addition to the initial cost. For many projects planned for ,existing streets, ' ' ncorporating set-'back sia0walks,bike lanes, planting strips and' street trees while still. permitting street parking will involve pu,rchase'of additional, right of way as well as-engine'er ing redesign. for the relocation of sidewalks, drainage, curbing, catch basins and storm water vaults, which will most certainly add significantly'to the total construction bill. Even though ,Complete Streets with its enhancements and improvements is appealing and pedestrian orbicyc16 roadway systeil + and could y" a V pedestrian'; what '.d. i. opportunities to add' domp e e�§&i enhancements during th&seven r ifijah'&` include t traffic C, prograrn.w.1 ook dining and bicycle lll like4ndthei D Ads public meetings I attended with bicyc1b and p6d6gtrian enhancements. That eoffimitte6' - Py fin . find the cit) city staff and thenMayor Jim .'improvements when funding continues to meet monthly and, worthy .: Streets maitures, in tavorpt-,a "tical ap acl' pro -L twkrris is chairman of Commission. RCW 35A.63.220 - `oratoria, interim zoning controls — Public hearing — Limit m on... Page 1 of 1 Access Washingtone tlRlstsl V.I. 0—f—w Wa�aiSs 4/27/2010 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35A.63.220 RCWs > Title 35A > Chapter 35A.63 > Section 35A.63.220 Inside the Legislature * Find Your Legislator 35A.63.215 << 35A.63.220 >> 35A.63.230 Visiting the Legislature Agendas, Schedules and RCW 35A.63.220 Calendars * Bill Information Moratoria, interim zoning controls — Public * Laws and Agency Rules hearing — Limitation on length. * Legislative Committees Legislative Agencies * Legislative Information A legislative body that adopts a moratorium or interim zoning ordinance, without holding a Center public hearing on the proposed moratorium or interim zoning ordinance, shall hold a public E -mail Notifications hearing on the adopted moratorium or interim zoning ordinance within at least sixty days of (Listserv) its adoption, whether or not the legislative body received a recommendation on the matter * Students' Page from the planning agency. If the legislative body does not adopt findings of fact justifying its History of the State action before this hearing, then the legislative body shall do so immediately after this public Legislature hearing. A moratorium or interim zoning ordinance adopted under this section may be effective for not longer than six months, but may be effective for up to one year if a work plan Outside the Legislature is developed for related studies providing for such a longer period. A moratorium of [or] interim zoning ordinance may be renewed for one or more six -month periods if a subsequent * Congress - the Other public hearing is held and findings of fact are made prior to each renewal. Washington TVW [1992 c 207 § 3.] * Washington Courts * OFM Fiscal Note Website Access Washingtone tlRlstsl V.I. 0—f—w Wa�aiSs 4/27/2010 http://apps.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=35A.63.220 Gerald & Ratree Shadduck 18 N. Bowdish Rd. Spokane Valley, WA99206 50- 926 -2519 Spokane Valley City Council April 27, 2010 We bought two properties located at #16 & #18 N. Bowdish Rd. in the fall of 2008. Our intention was to fix up #18 and then live in it while we converted #16 into a coffee shop. Just prior to the purchase, we contacted the city planner to confirm that one of those houses could be used as a coffee shop and we were told that the zoning would indeed allow for a coffee shop. We have put the coffee shop on hold to work on our new home ( #18), which was a rental property and in need of many repairs and upgrades. We are on a limited budget and are trying to do what we can ourselves in order to save money. A death in the family further delayed the work as I had to go to Thailand to care for my father and attend his funeral last October. Family obligations kept me in Thailand for four months during which time only a limited amount of work could be done because Gerald works full -time. We are reaching the last of the necessary renovations on our home and have been looking forward to the new chapter in our lives. It has always been my dream to have a small coffee shop that serves as an oasis of creativity and fine living and I have long looked forward to being my own boss. We hired a builder to start the renovation on the coffee shop only to find out that the zoning has been changed and that we can no longer go ahead with our original plan. We have invested our retirement fund into a goal that seems unreachable now and if we are not able to continue as planned our financial future will be in great jeopardy. Our properties are currently surrounded by businesses, including: A Quilt Cottage - 17 N. Bowdish Rd. Tom's Barber Shop - 101 N. Bowdish Rd. Opportunity Body Shop - 106 N. Bowdish Rd. En Vogue Hair & Nail Design - 112 N. Bowdish Rd. Z -Coil Pain Relief Footware - 122 N. Bowdish Rd. Sam's Stop N' Shop No. 4 - 11505 E. Sprague Ave. Harmon Glass - 11421 E. Sprague Ave. We understand that the revitalization plan for the Sprague and Bowdish area is meant to improve the overall appeal of the city and we believe that our unique business will contribute positively toward that end. Our goal is to have a place that celebrates culture and beauty, which will most certainly be an asset to the City of Spokane Valley. Thank you and please consider amending the zoning so that I may have the chance to follow my own American dream. Ratree & Gerald Shadduck A Quilt Cottage Torti s Barber Shop �* opportunity Body Shop En Vogue Hair &Nail Design Z Coil Pain Relief Footware+ Sam's Stop N' Shop No. 4 • Glass Doctor / Harmon Glass Our Proposed Coffee Shop r area. Please consider an exception to the permitted use. Harmon Glass Simply Kits Quilt Shoppe 17 N. Bowdish Tom's Barber Shop 101 N. Bowdish Opportunity Body Shop 106 N. Bowdish Opportunity Body Shop 106 N. Bowdish EnVogue Hair & Nail Salon 112 N. Bowdish 16 N. Bowdish Behind Sam's Mini -mart Harmon Glass Sprague Avenue i Allan E. Hinkle, D.D.S. 11916 E. Sprague Avenue Spokane, WA 99206 April 6, 2010 (509) 924 -1325 aehinkle comcast.net Bicycle Safety in the State of Washington & Spokane County Over 40 years ago the Powers that Be decided that bicycle safety was NO big concern for the state or cities to codify or regulate. So what we have is a benign neglect and a given number of injuries & deaths happen every year. Other states take a much more Proactive approach. 1. They teach children the "Rules at the road ". 2. They require bicycle licenses annually. 3. They require an annual bicycle Safety Inspection. 4. If a kid does not park his bike in a bike rack, he can receive a bike traffic ticket. 5. If a kid is riding at night without proper bike lights, he will be given a ticket by the police. So the latest fad is, "complete streets ", and "Go Bonkers for Bicycles ", with bike lanes everywhere. This does not enhance safety for bicycle riders! I measured the width of a bike lane near my home in the valley. It was 3 feet wide. So here is reality: A 4000 pound car going down the road, four feet away is a 40 pound bike with a rider this is NOT real safe to say the least. Scenario: The cyclist may not know the rules of the road, and even if the cyclist knows the rules, they frequently DO NOT OBEY the rules. Just watch a cyclist at an intersection. They most often do not stop at stop signs, but just ride right on through. They seldom do turn signals with their arm. Now the car drivers; talking on the cell phone & maybe drinking a latte. The driver & cyclist are four to six feet apart, 40001bs/40 lbs, any collision & the cyclist will be in injured or killed. CELL PHONE- CYCLIST - CEMETERY NOT GOOD. I am sometimes cyclist & a place like Centennial Trail is a safe place to ride my bike. A bike lane with lots of vehicles and Traffic; IS AN ACCIDENT WAITING TO HAPPEN.... 1- DOT - BRIOYRSUM STATE OF WASHINGTON - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION DATE TIME *PDO (Property Damage Only) STANDARD COLLISION SUMMARY 04/21/10 10:55 AM BY YEAR REPORTED PEDALCYCLIST INVOLVED COLLISIONS THAT OCCURRED IN SPOKANE COUNTY 'UNDER 23 UNITED STATES CODE - SECTION 409, THIS *DATA CANNOT BE USED IN DISCOVERY OR AS EVIDENCE 1/1/2005 -- 12/31/2009 *AT TRIAL IN ANY ACTION FOR DAMAGES AGAINST THE *WSDOT OR THE STATE OF WASHINGTON TOTAL RESULTING FATALITIES / INJURIES g FATALITIES I SERIOUS EVIDENT 2 8 73 01 10I 49 49 POSSIBLE TOTAL INJURIES MOST SEVERE INJURY PER COLLISION I YEAR '` TOTAL j FATAL ' SERIOUS EVIDENT POSSIBLE I TOTAL 8 51 4 � . _ - 2005 127 2f INJURY INJURY INJURY FN �PDO 2006 € 91 0 �_... 73 39 10 46 28 120 84 .,� ).., 5 2007 10 0 35 94 m .. .,.. 5 2008 1 12 1 9 57, 371 103 g 2009 102 0 - 8 50 97. 5 . 5321 41 _39 40 280 178 X498 30 TOTAL RESULTING FATALITIES / INJURIES g FATALITIES I SERIOUS EVIDENT 2 8 73 01 10I 49 49 POSSIBLE TOTAL INJURIES _ 4 2E 30 , 123 5 58 6 37 38: 100 107 8 51 4 � . _ - 39 � 99 292 186 518 So from the Washington State Department of Transportation The data shows that there are over 100 injury accidents in Spokane County every year, including some fatalities. The more of these bike lanes that are created, the CLOSER the bicycle riders are to the vehicular traffic, and the greater the RISK for INJURIES and FATALITIES. I do believe that the sidewalks & Centennial Trail are by far the safest place for PEDALCYCLISTS........ Excerpts from TV Survey of Washington Cities Bill Gothmann 4 -26 -10 Auburn Many more people are interested in what we are doing. Strangers approach me regularly to comment that they saw me on TV. More people are expressing interest in running for office. There is far more understanding of what we are doing. We have a better opportunity to inform the community. Bainbridge Island It influences the Council- community in a very positive manner. People feel part of the communications loop. Burien Anyone of us on council would say that TV is a critical part of our community outreach, both on our good and bad days. DuPont I would strongly urge you to do this, making council meetings available on tv or streaming video online is an effective way to increase communication and participation. Ellensburg I am frequently surprised by how many people watch the proceedings. I'll hear "yeah, I saw that discussion on TV last night.." I believe it helps people to stay informed about City issues and how their Council operates. Enumclaw Making council meetings readily accessible to your community via telecast or webcast is a visible and tangible commitment by the council to meeting the intent of the open meetings act and transparency in governmental activities. Everett The community has viewed our telecasting in a very positive way and we have received praise for our recent addition to live- casting ... it has been a very positive influence on community relations. Kelso My advice would be to embrace this or any other opportunity that helps demystify the council meetings for your citizens. Kent Go for it - I think it is a good thing. Kirkland We believe it to be a significant additional service that brings the citizen closer to their government and to their electeds. Lynnwood To the best of our knowledge, 25 -30% of our citizens watch the delayed video Our current budget for TV broadcasts is about $15,000 per year. It is worth every penny in my opinion. Pasco It makes the meetings more productive. More people are now watching the meetings. We are closer to our constituents. New people are seeing the meetings. Port Orchard ... we have more citizens attending our meetings. Port Townsend I have seen citizens on several occasions get out of bed or off the couch come down to testify about an item under debate because they saw us on TV- that obviously is the good news! Redmond It is amazing the number of people ... will say to you, I know who your are or I saw you on TV last week.... having the meeting televised has increased community awareness of issues a great deal. I view having the meetings televised (and webstreamed as of a little over a year ago) a huge plus for our citizens, a very positive experience. Go for it, especially as a newer City. Sammamish ... televising council meetings is positive for community relations since it provides more openness which increases trust and understanding. We have had a number of comments from citizens who did not realize all the issues we deal with and the complexity of those issues. It also provides an avenue to reach citizens who are not able to attend meetings but are interested in city government. Seatac Telecasting has greatly enhanced community relations. I hear from many people how much they enjoy watching the meetings. Many of our citizens are elderly and can't get out so this lets them see what's going on with the city. ... The more citizen input the better. Seattle IT GIVES PEOPLE A GREAT OPPORTUNITY TO SEE WHAT WE ARE DOING, AND HAS BROUGHT US A LOT OF GOODWILL -- I WOULD ENCOURAGE YOU TO GO FULL STEAM AHEAD -- IT IS A GREAT WAY TO BUILD BETTER CITY - COMMUNITY RELATIONS Tumwater I'd certainly encourage you to consider broadcasting meetings. I think it has helped us connect with our community. Vancouver This has worked well for us. I've had a lot of people come up to me and say they had seen us on TV -- mostly people who would never attend a City Council meeting. So it is working from a community outreach and education perspective. I find myself explaining why I'm taking a position on an issue a bit more when I'm aware we are on TV. Woodinville It has been a benefit to help us educate our citizens to the process of their government. I would endorse it for council meetings at all levels of government. If you do it, you will be surprised to find how many citizens will tune in to it. I know I was. Yakima It allows citizens to see what is happening in our city and provides an opportunity for us as a council to cast vision as to where we are going Broadcast and Webcast Poll Feb. 19 -23, 2010 Bill Gothmann On Feb. 19 1 sent the following email to the 332 addresses on my Spokane Valley email list. To: [recipient] From: Bill Gothmann Subject: Should we televise council meetings? Good Morning: The SVBA is now televising Spokane Valley Council meetings but will discontinue the practice at some time. Please answer yes or no to questions 1 and 2 below: 1. Should the City of Spokane Valley televise their council meetings? 2. Should the City of Spokane Valley webcast their council meetings? Add any comments you wish and send a reply to this email. Thank you, Bill Gothmann Councilmember I received 74 replies, a 22.4% response rate. There were many, varied forms of answers. Some answered the question, "should we televise council meetings ?" leaving the question of webcasting unanswered. Where one type of media was not addressed, I left it blank, treating it as a "no response." I have listed the responses along with the answers on the attached sheet. The results were as follows: Bill Gothmann 2 -24 -10 Page 1 Percent Excluding Ratio of Responses of Total Blanks Yes:no Yes, TV 53 71.62 72.60 2.65 No, TV 20 27.03 27.40 Yes, Web 35 47.30 66.04 1.94 No, Web 18 24.32 33.96 Yes to either 60 81.08 81.08 4.29 No to both 14 18.92 18.92 Total Responses 74 100.00 % Responding 22.36 Bill Gothmann 2 -24 -10 Page 1 Sample of Comments on Poll of Residents on Broadcasting Council Meetings Bill Gothmann, Feb. 19, 2010 I like the web cast!!!!!!!!!! its stored on the net viewable on demand. Yes to both, people need to see and read how the city of Spokane Valley is being governed. Thanks! how much does each option cost? #1 Yes Not all citizens have internet access at home. #2 Yes Not all citizens are connected to Comcast cable. Televise Bill, I think we should televise every meeting, so the people can see government in action In my case either webcast or televised would work. The answer to both questions is yes. Yes and yes_ This practice adds genuine transparency and good faith to the reputation of the Council and the City. Yes and yes. The more transparency the better... besides, not very many can fit into the chambers! 1. Yes, in real time. 2. Yes, in real time. I strongly support the televising of Spokane Valley Council meetings. It is the best way to disseminate information concerning the city and gives us a inside look into how the city functions_ ... If the cost of this service is approximately .35 per month on my Comcast bill please consider my vote an emphatic yes to continue televising. I think it is a great idea for the many of us that can't make it to the meetings. Transparency is critical these days and televising meetings is an excellent step toward accomplishing more open government. I think the council meetings should be televised. .... Most seniors have access to television, maybe not computers /internet. We vote an over - whelming YES on televised council meetings. Webcast is fine, but we would not like it to take the place of televised meetings; I would say yes to televising the meetings. I think it is time for them to be live during the meeting. It would help the citizens of our city stay more in touch with what this new council in doing. Page 2