2011, 05-24 Regular Meeting Minutes MINUTES
City of Spokane Valley
City Council Regular Meetings
Formal Meeting Format
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Attendance• Citv Staff:
Tom Towey, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Gary Schimmels, Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, Acting City Attorney
Bill Gothmann, Councilmember Ken Thompson, Finance Director
Dean Grafos; Councilmember Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief
Brenda Grassel, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Recreation Director
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Neil Kersten, Public Works Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Lori Barlow, Senior Planner
Steve Worley, Senior Engineer
Mary Kate McGee, Building O�cial
Mary May, Development Engineer
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
INVOCATION: Pastor A1 Hulten of Valley Assembly gave the invocation.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE: Mayor Towey led the Pledge of Allegiance.
ROLL CALL: City Clerk Bainbridge called the 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
COMNIITTEE, BOARD. LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS:
Councilmember Woodard: reported that he attended the Spokane City forum, the Shoreline Master
Program Advisory group meeting, the Spokane Regional Council of Governance meeting, and the two-
day Spokane River forum.
Councilmember Gothmann: explained that he attended the Housing and Community Development
Advisory Committee where they discussed grants for low cost and affordable housing; went to the
Valleyfest dinner and auction; visited the Heritage Museum; attended the Board of Health Executive
Committee meeting where they spoke of their accreditation process; said he received a nice thank-you
letter from Mark Mims expressing thanks for Mayor Towey's and Councilmember Gothmann's
participation in the "Bike to Work Day;" and said he attended the Council of Governance Meeting and
was pleasantly surprised to hear how well the HUB is doing.
Councilmember Grafos: said he attended the monthly Spokane Transit Authority Board meeting where
they heard a quarterly update on sales tax revenues, and said Spokane Valley is up from last year by about
1.5 %; said he also attended the Council of Governance meeting; and went to the Chamber of Commerce,
Liberty Lake Tech Center at Liberty Lake.
Deputv Mayor Schimmels: reported that he went to the Inland Pacific HUB Committee meeting; and
went to a follow up in Post Falls concerning the Burlington Northern Sante Fe Railroad personnel there;
Council Regular Meeting OS-24-2011 Page 1 of 5
Approved by Council: 06-14-2011
said he went to the Spokane Regional Transportation Committee meeting, and the STA meeting, as well
as the Valleyfest auction.
Councilmember Grassel: reported that she attended the tourism awards with the Visitor's Bureau; went to
a luncheon at the First Presbyterian Church with the former Mayors of Bellevue and Bremerton, and said
it was interesting to see how Bremerton has been transformed; that she attended one day of the Spokane
River forum where they gave a condensed discussion of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls); and also
attended the Valleyfest auction dinner and dance.
Councilmember Hafner: no report.
MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Towey reported that he attended the Council of Governance meeting
where they discussed the HLJB Sports Center and an update on Spokane Transit, as well as the solid waste
topic; expressed thanks to Mayor Harnois for her work in connection with the Rockford Scenic Bi-way;
said he attended the Mukogawa Graduation at Spokane Falls Community College and he and Mayor
Verner were commencement speakers for the 217 graduating students; and said he attended the River
Forum and said the information gained from that meeting will be beneficial as this Council works to make
decisions on the Shoreline Master Plan.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited general public comments.
Lannv Gre�o, 324 S. Bowdish voiced his concern about junk vehicles around his neighborhood, said he
realizes we have a policy about junk vehicles and what the criteria is to qualify as a junk vehicle, but said
there are numerous junk vehicles in his neighborhood and suggested the criteria be more strict. On
another topic, voiced his concern about traffic speeding down Bowdish and said he feels that eventually a
car will end up in his living room; and said something needs to be done to slow the trafFic.
1 PUBLIC HEARING• Draft 2012-2017 Six Year Trans�ortation Improvement Plan — Steve Worlev
Mayor Towey opened the public hearing at 6:25 p.m. Senior Engineer Worley explained that this is an
opporlunity for the public to comment on the draft six-year transportation improvement plan; and with
tonight's packet information, staff included a list of projects they anticipate pursuing grant funding for the
design and construction of road improvement. Councilmember Hafner asked for an explanation of the
term "preservation allotment." Engineer Worley said that notations are made on project descriptions for
either full or partial preservation; full preservation refers to situations where a road currently exists and
the project is to resurface or reconstruct its existing width; while an example of partial preservation is the
recently completed Broadway project, which was a two-lane road widened to three lanes with curbs,
gutters and sidewalks. Councilmember Grafos asked about the $4.2 million preservation shortage and
whether any of these projects would be reflected in that amount, and Mr. Worley said staff included the
amount of partial preservation where they were already doing as part of the funds to upgrade the streets;
that about $2 million of grants goes toward preservations and the $4.5 million is still the shortfall as that
amount was already deducted. Mayor Towey asked if most cities adopt a utility tax or transportation
benefit district (TBD), and Mr. Worley replied he is not sure what other cities have done; and
Councilmember Gothmann replied that another alternative to taxes or a TBD would be postpone or not do
the project. Mayor Towey invited public comment. There were no public comments and Mayor Towey
closed the public hearing at 6:30 p.m.
2. 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 attached listing of claim vouchers, with grand total of $$2,252,862.66
b. Approval of Payroll for Period Ending May 15, 2011: $245,752.42
c. Confirmation of Mayoral Appointment, Rhea Coble to Spokane Housing Authority Board of
Commissioners
d. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes of May 3, 2011, Study Session Format
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Approved by Council: 06-14-2011
e. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes of May 10, 2011 Formal Meeting Format
f. Approval of City Council Meeting Minutes of May 17, 2011 Special, Executive Session
It was moved by Depury Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the consent
agenda.
NEW BUSINESS:
3 Motion Consideration• Shoreline Master Pro�ram Grant — Lori Barlow
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to authorize the City Manager to finalize the
grant agreement with the Department of Ecology requesting $125,000 to assist with the update of the
Comprehensive Shoreline Master Program. Planner Barlow gave a brief re-cap of the proposed grant and
of the projects that funding would help with, which includes some staff costs; she explained that council
had requested additional information regarding DOE's (Department of Ecology) involvement, additional
staff time required to manage the grant, and identification of the projects required by the Act along with
what projects are optional, and Ms. Barlow addressed those concerns in her May 17, 2011 Memorandum.
Council commented on whether there would be "strings attached" if we accepted the grant, with staff
assuring Council there are no strings, that this is an opportunity to have funds provided to offset costs to
meet a state mandated requirement, and while other grant opportunities could come up in the future, there
is no guarantee how much grant funds, if any, would be available, and of Spokane Valley acquiring any
funds, or having $125,000 set aside for this city's project. Councilmember Grassel said she is leaning
toward putting this off until the next round of grant opportunities, and to have staff work on the required
projects only and not on those not required. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were
offered. Further council discussion included mention that those elements not required are still important,
and desired elements of the process; that this is this City's opportunity to have financial assistance with a
state mandate; and that there are no required matching funds. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor
Towey, Deputy Mayor Schimmels, and Councilmembers Woodard, Grafos, Gothmann and Hafner.
Opposed.• Councilmember Grassel. Motion carried.
4 Motion Consideration• Permit Software Replacement — MarvKate.McGee
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to authorize the City Manager to purchase the
Paladin Smart Gov permitting soflware and necessary hardware with funding estimated at $146,000.
Building Official McGee explained that as noted in earlier meetings, our current PLUS permit tracking
system, which has been provided through the County, will soon be extinct, and that our staff has explored
the possibility of using the Paladin SmartGov system, and that the County has explored using that system
as well; and that we have the opportunity of "piggybacking" on the RFP (request for proposal) work of
the city of Kirkland, which allows us to follow all the rules and regulations concerning purchasing, but
without having to repeat work already performed by Kirkland. Ms. McGee added that she spoke with staff
from other entities such as Bainbridge Island and Thurston County, which also use Paladin, and they have
been extremely pleased with the implementation, documentation and continued vendor support, and said
that Douglas County has used the system for the past five or six years and they only have positive
comments. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In
Favor: Unanimous. Oppose: None. Motion carried.
5 Motion Consideration• ParticiQation in PACE Program — Carolbelle Branch
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to authorize the City Manager to execute the
PACE "Partnership Pledge. " Public Information Officer Branch explained that we were approached by
Central Valley School District to participate in the PACE Program, which stands for "Partners Advancing
Character Education" and that the purpose of this program is to raise awareness throughout the
community about the importance of good character; and she added that there would be no budget impact,
and minimal staff time to post PACE information and share monthly PACE character traits with Council
and staf£ Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In
Favor: Unanimous. Oppose: None. Motion carried.
Council Regular Meeting OS-24-2011 Page 3 of 5
Approved by Council: 06-14-2011
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited general public comments.
Mike King commercial realtor; concerning the topic of Sprague Avenue and one-way vs. two-way; he
said in June 2010 he presented the City with a summary of factual information on a study he did between
University and Argonne, that the section is a blight more than any other section in Spokane Valley; that
one-way kills business dead, and he recommends not putting this on the ballot as the people will vote for
whatever will get them through to their destination the fastest; and by putting it on the ballot, it removes
the business decision; and said he feels that topic needs to be a stand-alone topic. Mayor Towey
announced that the topic will be discussed during the June 14 council meeting.
Mayor Towey called for a recess at 7:30 p.m. and reconvened the meeting at 7:44 p.m. Mayor Towey
explained that he wanted to make sure everyone who wanted to comment had an opportunity to do so and
he asked if there were any further public comments. Gordon Curry, 133 E Trent commented regarding the
area of Sprague and mentioned the unkempt lots, and said that people who see that area don't want to rent
or buy in an area where people don't take care of their property; and he said he wondered if it would be
possible to get a list of all vacant buildings in the area or throughout the entire city, see what their rental
schedule is, what they want to do with their property, and to come up with a program and with that, to
have a list available of potential property to buy or rent; and said getting these things in good condition is
a big part of the problem; and said it seems there are some other properties with wealthy owners where
the properiy needs some updating; and said he feels if these owners were approached, they would realize
the way others see their property. There were no further comments.
ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS
6 Spokane Re�ional Convention Visitor's Bureau — Cheryl Kildav, CEO
Cheryl Kilday, President and CEO of Spokane Regional Convention and Visitor's Bureau (CVB), gave
the CVB's quarterly report to Council via her PowerPoint presentation, and brought Council's attention to
the "Plan Spokane" guide to meetings, conventions, weddings, and special events; with Deputy Mayor
Schimmels mentioning his inability to locate information about Discovery Park, and said that he feels our
Parks Department would like a little more notoriety in future issues. Ms. Kilday noted there is mention in
the guide, and she will note Mr. Schimmels comments for future publications. Council thanked Ms.
Kilday for her presentation and extended thanks for their working relationship with the City.
7. Avista Energ�y Grant — Mary_May
Engineer Technician May explained that Council approved several projects in 2009 under the Energy
Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant; that one of the projects is a partnership with Avista Utilities for
residential energy audits; and last spring the participation in that program was so minimal we were asked
to increase the subsidy per audit, which we did resulting in an additional twenty-six audits to date; but
that Avista has now requested an additional increase in the subsidy from the $138 to $187, thereby
reducing the homeowner's cost from $99 to $50; which would have no budget impact but would lower
the number of audits that could be performed within the budget constraints. Councilmember Grassel
noted the information mentions the option of reallocating the remaining funds to another project, but
noted there is no mention of those other projects. It was determined this issue will come back before
council next week for as a motion consideration, and information on the other projects will be included at
that time.
8. Advance Agenda — Mayor Towey
Councilmember Grafos asked when council would begin discussion of the sign ordinance as he noted it
was not on the advance agenda. City Manager Jackson said that topic is listed on the advance agenda's
pending items while he and Community Development Director McClung work on a schedule, and that he
hopes to have a date within the next couple weeks. Councilmember Woodard mentioned a citizen asked
him about our policy and laws concerning graffiti as the citizen feels we need stricter laws and/or
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Approved by Council: 06-14-2011
enforcement; and Mayor Towey said that the law enforcement has a graffiti program, and Mr. Jackson
agreed that topic would be included on an upcoming agenda as an"information item."
Information Onlx Department Revorts Sprague Avenue one-wav vs. two-wav
The Department Reports and Sprague Avenue, one-way vs. two-way were for information only and not
discussed or reported.
EXECUTIVE SESSION: It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded, to adjourn into
Executive Session for approximately thirty minutes to discuss potential litigation, and that no action is
anticipated upon return to open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 8:17 p.m. At
approximately 8:52 p.m. Attorney Driskell entered the room and announced the executive session is
extended another fifteen minutes, or to 9:07 p.m. At 9:00 p.m. Mayor Towey declared council out of
executive session. It was then moved, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned at 9:01 p.m.
i �
ATTES . Tliomas E. Towey, Mayor
� . �
ristine Bainbridge, City Clerk
Council Regular Meeting 05-24-2011 Page 5 of 5
Approved by Council: 06-14-2011
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