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2010, 12-07 Study Session Minutes MINUTES SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING STUDY SESSION FORMAT Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers Spokane Valley, Washington December 7, 2010 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Councilmembers Staff Tom Towey, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager Gary Schimmels, Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, Acting City Attorney Rose Dempsey, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Ken Thompson, Finance Director Dean Grafos, Councilmember Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Brenda Grassel, Councilmember Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst Neil Kersten, Public Works Director Absent: Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Bob McCaslin, Councilmember Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk At the Mayor's request, City Clerk Bainbridge called roll; all councilmembers were present except Councilmember McCaslin. It was moved by Councilmember Grafos, seconded and unanimously agreed to excuse Councilmember McCaslin from tonight's meeting. ACTION ITEMS: 1. Public Hearing: Amending 2010 Budget - Ken Thompson Mayor Towey opened the public hearing at 6:02 p.m. and invited Finance Director Thompson to the podium. Mr. Thompson explained that the reason for the proposed amendment is to recognize the increase in premiums for liability, unemployment and property insurance for 2010, and to adjust for the accrual of December's debt service expense to be paid in 2011; that the debt service adjustment would be $25,000; and the insurance adjustment would be $60,000. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered and Mayor Towey closed the public hearing at 6:04 p.m. 2. First Reading Proposed Ordinance Amending Spokane Valley Municipal Code 2.75 (Public Records) Cart/ Driskell After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Dempsey and seconded to advance this ordinance amending Spokane Valley Municipal Code 2.75 relating to public records, to a second reading. Acting City Attorney Driskell explained that of the changes noted in the document, three are substantive: (1) adding the provision of providing an internet address and/or link to assist in record location; (2) that if the requestor is making copies, the City may stop such copying if records are being damaged or becoming disordered; and (3) removing the fees from the ordinance and placing them in the master fee schedule, adopted by resolution. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 3. First Reading Proposed Ordinance Amending 2010 Budget- Ken Thompson After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Councilmember Gothmann and seconded to advance the ordinance amending the 2010 budget to a second reading. Finance Director Thompson noted that the second reading is set for the December 14 council meeting. Mayor Towey Council Study Session Minutes, December 7, 2010 Page 1 of 5 Approved by Council: December 28, 2010 invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Oppose& None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. 4. Proposed Resolution 10-019 Amending Master Fee Schedule - Ken Thompson It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve resolution 10-019 amending the master fee schedule for 2011. Finance Director Thompson explained that each year we amend our fee schedule as necessary; and explained that the changes for 2011 include (1) new fee of pipe and drape rental at CenterPlace for $100.000 per day; (2) new fee of chair cover rental at CenterPlace for $3.00 per chair per day; (3) amending the binding site plan alteration fee from $1,474 to $278.00; (4) clarifying that the commercial site plan review of $550 includes $275.00 for one division review in planning or engineering, and $550 for two division review; (5) new fee of $50.00 for single family/duplex site plan review; (6) correcting a typographical error for a mechanical permit fee for heat pump/air conditioner from $437 to $37.00; and (7) adding in the aforementioned fees associated with public record requests. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed: None. Abstentions: None. Motion carried. NON-ACTION ITEMS: 5. Lodging Tax (Hotel/Motel Grant) Proposals for 2011 - Ken Thompson Finance Director Thompson explained that lodging tax receipts are used to promote tourism, and each year we ask the public to suggest methods to promote tourism; he said the lodging tax advisory committee reviews the requests and makes recommendations to council. Mr. Thompson said we usually have funds remaining at the end of the year as the agencies don't always spend all their allocation; and he estimated we would have $30,000 left over after these allocations, which motion is scheduled for next week's council meeting. It was mentioned that the HUB presentation was not included on the minutes, and Mr. Thompson said he will get those minutes corrected. Council concurred to have this brought forward at next week's meeting. 6. Street and Stormwater Maintenance Contract Renewals - Neil Kersten Public Works Director Kersten said that the Poe Asphalt Paving contract was in response to a Request for Proposal (RFP) issued in 2007; that the contract has seven, one-year renewal options ; that Poe requested a 4% increase to their unit bid prices for labor, and a 1.2% increase for equipment rates, which is the Consumer Price Index-Urban areas rate. Mr. Kersten said Poe has done an excellent job; that their contracts are based on actual labor and equipment costs; since they have union agreements, the labor went up 4%; he said Poe's workers are highly skilled and said that many times leads to the work getting done faster and more efficient. Councilmember Grassel said she would like to use as many local businesses as possible and perhaps that is something to discuss in the future; and Mr. Kersten agreed that would be a separate discussion in terms of purchasing and in keeping within code and state statute provisions. There was no objection from Council to move forward with a motion consideration for the contract at next week's meeting. 7. "AAA" Sweeping Contract - Neil Kersten Public Works Director Kersten said this RFP was conducted about same time as the Street and Stormwater Maintenance proposal; that this contract also has seven, one-year renewal options; that AAA has done excellent work; that we have increased the service from just sweeping in the spring and fall, to include sweeping the arterials every couple of weeks, which helps keep materials out of the drywells and keeps the dust down; and he noted the rates are going up by the CPI of 1.2% as noted in the contract. Mr. Kersten brought Council's attention to the corrected Exhibit A which contains this year's figures rather than last year's figures. Mayor Towey said he has received many citizen comments about how clean our streets are. There was no objection from Council to move forward with a motion consideration for the contract at next week's meeting. Council Study Session Minutes, December 7, 2010 Page 2 of 5 Approved by Council: December 28, 2010 8 "AAA" Vactoring Contract - Neil Kersten Mr. Kersten said this contract is similar to the sweeping contract, but this was done for only five years and this is the last year; he explained that vactoring cleans out the drywells much like a huge vacuum; and he mentioned the allowed increases at the rate of the CIP-U rate of 1.2%. There was no objection from Council to move forward with a motion consideration for the contract at next week's meeting. Mr. Kersten also mentioned that staff is working on the underground injection control program and that we have to meet certain guidelines; that we are on track but this cost will increase over time. 9 Quiet Zones (Railroad Crossings) - Neil Kersten Mr. Kersten said this information was included in a previous council packet as an "information only" item; that a group of neighbors in the northwest part of Spokane Valley submitted a petition with approximately 170 signatures, asking for the installation of a Quiet Zone at the Union Pacific crossings at Park Road and at Vista Road; he mentioned that the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) has very specific guidelines on how to go through this upgrade, and said it is very expensive. Mr. Kersten explained that because Park Road crossing does not currently have gates, the improvements would be substantial; and installation of a quiet zone at Vista would likely be less expensive depending on the option selected; and mentioned that the attached information shows estimates between $100,000 and $500,000 for each crossing. Mr. Kersten said that some options would require the closure of the intersection of Rutter Avenue at Park Road and Euclid Avenue at Vista Road because of their close proximity to the tracks. Mr. Kersten said there are no funding programs specifically for quiet zones, although the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission offers a small grant program of generally less than $20,000 for crossing safety improvements. Mr. Kersten said he spoke with the Union Pacific (UP) representative and their review time alone was 12-16 months, so this is at least a two to three year process and would require a lot of staff and consultant time, plus time to actually do the project, that there is a clear process and said he is looking for council direction; and said that he has been working for years with UP on the Pines crossing and it is still not resolved on who pays for what in fixing that, adding that it is a very slow process. Mayor Towey asked if there is anything that could be done to try to resolve some of the issues the neighbors have addressed. Mr. Kersten said there are specific guidelines on how to blow the whistle, that we could try to monitor that but that has never been done and they would need to research options; he said we don't have the authority to enforce regulations but could research to see about repercussions of UP not following rules. Councilmember Dempsey said she would like to start now and Councilmember Grafos agreed. Deputy Mayor Schimmels asked about the long period of parking the trains and Mr. Kersten agreed that too would have to be researched. City Manager Jackson agreed staff can perform the research but said we don't have authority and perhaps we could examine what other cities have done to address similar issues. Mr. Kersten said if we move ahead with a design and getting the approval, there would be costs associated with that, but that he can research that and bring Council those figures. Councilmember Gothmann agreed it would be good to get things started, and suggested Park Road is the higher priority of the two roads. Mr. Kersten concurred that the traffic volume is probably higher on Park and staff will research that as well. Mr. Jackson said staff will work on gathering the research and will schedule another administrative report to council with more detail. 10 Interlocal Agreements Amendments: Jail and Geiger Site - Morgan Koudelka Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka explained that the Geiger Confinement Work Crew Contract and the Jail Services Contract each have a proposed amendment; that beginning January 1, 2010, Spokane County combined the Jail and Geiger operations into one budgetary department and the Sheriff's Office implemented a new billing methodology, but it would conflict with existing agreements. Due to this conflict, he explained, the City has been paying the rates from the previous year as directed via contract. He explained that staff has been negotiating with County staff to develop a new contract for detention services, but in the meantime, staff recommends that the current agreements be amended to allow the City Council Study Session Minutes, December 7, 2010 Page 3 of 5 Approved by Council: December 28, 2010 to pay according to the County's proposed methods, adding that a settle and adjust reconciliation will still occur after the year is complete in order to adjust to actual costs. There was no objection from Council to move forward with a motion consideration for these contracts at next week's meeting. 11. Animal Control Regional Facility - Morgan Koudelka Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka went through the PowerPoint presentation, which was the presentation given by Spokane County to managers and elected officials November 3, 2010; and explained that the two issues driving the consideration of a new facility are (1) if Spokane joined the County Animal Control, they would be a large consumer and the current facility can't handle that; and (2) the current facility would need some major system improvements in the next few years which could cost millions as there are a lot of shortfalls with the current facility. He added Animal Control feels the facility is inadequate for long-term services; he said the land is owned by the County Road Department and they were told they'd have to begin charging for a lease to animal control for use of that land. Mr. Koudelka said we have been part of a committee that was formed to examine options for a facility moving forward; and said if they moved forward, they would be looking at $15 million over 20 years, and they could be looking at placing this on the August 2011 ballot. Mr. Koudelka said the County is looking at costs first; and if that is not possible, the other issues are not worth being pursued, and he said the City of Spokane doesn't want to pursue this unless everything else in line to make that happen. It was noted the regional committee will report back to the jurisdictions in March of 2011. Mayor Towey called for a recess at 7:20 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:30 p.m. 12. Senate Bill 6225 and Letter of Support - Mayor Towey Mayor Towey said he reviewed the proposed bill and the November 17 request for support letter from the City of Connell concerning the proposed legislation to address population issues as well as number of councilmembers in small cities; and he asked if Council was in favor of sending a letter of support to the City of Connell, adding that Connell and Airway Heights are the only two cities which would be affected by small city populations and including prison populations. Discussion included support from Association of Washington Cities on this issue; grant opportunities based on city populations; and of this Council's desire to assist sister cities in eastern Washington. Council determined it would be reasonable and justified to send both cities a letter of support, supporting the cities in their endeavors to enhance their citizens without getting into the details of the proposed bill; and that staff will draft two letters for next week's council meeting motion consideration. 13. Advance Agenda - Mayor Towey. Council decided not to meet December 21, 2010. 14. Information Only: Department Reports, Permit Tracking System, Hazard Mitigation Plan, School Zone Speed Limit, Response to Public Comment (Hotteez), Governance Manual Televideo Participation, and Coyote Rock were for information only and not reported or discussed. 15. Council Check In - Mayor Towey Mayor Towey mentioned he received a notice this afternoon that Parks and Recreation Administrative Assistant Patty Bischoff was recently awarded the 2010 Customer Service Award from the Park & Recreation Association. 16. Ci , Manager Comments - Mike Jackson. Mr. Jackson said he would like to give Council an update on the snow plowing effort; he said the new Citizen Request System is in and they recorded about 350 calls; and through this new system they are able to guarantee resolution on those calls as they track not only the call but where the call generates from; he said staff has done a very good job and emphasized the great work done by the front counter and public works staff. Mr. Jackson said they might not have made everyone happy, but the effort was made. Council Study Session Minutes, December 7, 2010 Page 4 of 5 Approved by Council: December 28, 2010 Public Works Director Kersten said they started to hit the streets over the weekend and on Thanksgiving day in the afternoon to try to have the roads ready for the 4:00 a.m. Black Friday shopping frenzy; he said they handled the arterials and keep the de-icing in pretty good shape and by Saturday could see that they would have to get the residential streets as well. Mr. Kersten said they felt they had almost every street completed by the following Wednesday, but it kept snowing and by Thursday night they were receiving complaints; he said they didn't want to plow again but after he and Mr. Jackson drove around they determined it would in fact be necessary to plow again, which was ultimately completed by Sunday. Mr. Kersten said they had one contractor decide not to work with us anymore; that there is a small but vocal group of people who don't like berms across their driveways and they made their displeasure known to the contractor, who informed Mr. Jackson that the job wasn't worth it. Mr. Kersten said they did get a replacement, adding that it's a tough job, that 80-90% of the population wants their street plowed but a very small but very vocal group do not. Mr. Kersten said he received a lot of compliments overall; that they did miss a few streets but went back out and got them, adding that all the crews did well and put in a lot of hours. There was some discussion about the 2-1-1 help line and Mr. Jackson said he will check to see if we can get some data on those calls. Mr. Jackson also mentioned that the information line is updated twice a day, even on weekends as staff can remotely access that voice mail. Mr. Kersten said he met with others in the area involved with road maintenance, and the system has improved and everyone is more organized, keeping in mind there's always room for improvement; and said one of the best improvements is the GPS units in the plows, which has proven to be a great system for management. 17. Executive Session: Pending Litigation [RCW 42.30.1106)] It was moved by Mayor Towey, seconded and unanimously agreed that Council adjourn into executive session for approximately thirty minutes to discuss pending litigation, and that no action would be taken upon return to open session. Council adjourned into Executive Session at 8:10 p.m. At 8:40 p.m. City Manager Jackson announced the meeting would be extended for approximately 20 minutes. At 9:05 p.m. it was announced the meeting was again extended for an additional 30 minutes. At 9:17 p.m. Mayor Towey declared Council out of Executive Session, after which it was moved by Councilmember Dempsey, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. 4omasowey, Mayor ATTEST: r 1 ~ - Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Study Session Minutes, December 7, 2010 Page 5 of 5 Approved by Council: December 28, 2010