2005, 06-11 Special Retreat MinutesAttendance:
Councilmembcrs
Diana Wilhite, Mayor
Rich Munson, Deputy Mayor
Dick Denenny, Councilmember
Mike Flanigan, Councilmember
Mike DeVleming, Councilmember
Gary Schimmels, Councilmember
Steve Taylor, Councilmember
WORKSHOP NOTES
SPECIAL MEETING RETREAT
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
June 11, 2005
9:00 a.m. -3:00 p.rn.
Staff
Dave Mercier, City Manager
Nina Regor, Deputy City Mgr
Marina Sukup, Comm. Dev. Dir.
Ken Thompson, Finance Director.
Cary Driskell, Deputy City Attorney
Neil Kersten, Public Works Director
Mike Jackson, Parks & Recreation Director
Tom Scholtens, Building Official
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
Mayor Wilhite opened the workshop at 9:10 a.m., and thanked Councilmember Denenny for
allowing use of his cabin for the retreat.
1. Council Budget Goals for 2006
City Manager Mercier recapped the results of the recent voting activity to identify the top budget goals
for 2006, and asked for validation as to preferred verbiage. The following represents the final budget goal
decisions for 2006:
1..,S.tt~on Definition of a Street Mastcrplan, includjng funding.
Discussion of this topic: is a street masterplan the same as pavement management; a street masterplan
includes preservation of existing roads and plans for how to build new infrastructure, arterials, etc;
funding question of one -half million dollars in assets; the desire to identify some finance alternates; that
we can draft a masterplan in order to determine needed funding and revise if necessary after the first
quarter; the- funding priority should be in implementing the plan; begin building resources and put the
plan into those available resources; and staff perspective of what would be involved in keeping accurate
records /history. It was mentioned that a masterplan means as we adopt the Comprehensive Plan and its
20 -year capital facilities, we have to make a series of notations on arterials and other major projects that
will come up over the next 20 years, and reduce that to a rational Six - year Transportation Improvement
Plan; the idea of putting on the plan those things we think are reasonable to fund; that pavement
management would require inventory of all streets in the community and that such data was not keep
current by the County. The importance of inventory, the time necessary to perform such inventory, and
the need for additional full -time staff and/or summer temps; along with the idea of hiring a consultant to
do the initial inventory then give the process to staff to maintain; was also discussed. It was suggested
that a plan be defined then implemented to determine how to fund the program, what staff will be needed,
and what would be necessary to implement the program and perform the inventory, and hold discussions
with the County about their data, use of GPS, and perhaps have the completion of the inventory as a 2006
goal. It was also mentioned that we should try to get a sense of what the public might want and how
receptive it might be. Further discussion included separating out the City part of the streets from the
County as the streets don't stop at city limits; contracting with the County versus our own internal rates;
and having staff to perform the inventory. Tt was determined that staff will work with those ideas and
return to Council as the draft process continues.
Meeting: 06 -1 1-05 Page 1 of 5
Council Approved: 07 -12 -05
Z, thg std base_,Lxexitalizatia ith_tlie S__nrague—Corridor specifically in the
auto row area. to bring in a consultant to design a plan, and work with the area businesses between
Knixetsit, end tlte_freeway to enhance the area for economic development. (This combines goals #2
and # 3 as voted upon previously.)
Discussion of this topic: What is feasible to accomplish next year regarding the corridor; develop a City
Center and have it part of the Comp Plan; the need to determine what we are going to do; to have centers
and corridors, city center, and /or modify existing conditions; the need to determine the most efficient
place for the centers; to examine the north/south feeders into the area and look at the zoning along the
corridors; to take the Comp Plan and begin folding the method of what we can do on the corridor into that
Plan; the idea of approaching the developers to engage them in dialogue; funding concerns for the study
of the project and the project itself; contributions from Auto Row; the City of Spokane Valley, and others;
and the need for clear definition of what we want accomplished before getting groups involved. The
question was asked of what decisions can be made now, what can wait, what are the financial concerns,
how will the public react to any of this; have all alternatives been examined, and the question of whether
this process can be determined prior to finalization of the Comp plan process. Other discussion included
the idea of working toward the entire Sprague concept with auto row being the first step; and that other
area businesses might be interested.
3. Continue_to_nonitox_tlte_ :aslewater issue -and look for areas to continue to educate
selves; and pit rsucavenues_that best serve_citizen for capacity_ rates an.d overall costs.
Discussion of this topic: that the new problem of TMDL (total maximum daily load) group almost
prevents entering into this now; to wait until the TIVIDI.: is resolved to have this item as a goal; the
unresolved component: in the 2005 goal to analyze and takeover the plan; the permitting process to get a
new plant by November; keep the goal as a working goal in 2006; how to deal with staff resources as in
terms of governance, any wastewater system will require continued partnership with many jurisdictions;
is the issue of die TMDL, so all- consuming as to prevent attention to other wastewater issues;
responsibility, authority, liability of a plant or system; vested rights in a system; and assumption of the
infrastructure. It was mentioned that governance concerns the operation of the plant. Further discussion
included the benefits of having a system now or later, the desire to provide quality service with the best
rates; that the Board of County Commissioners has adopted a philosophy of management and ownership
of the enterprise and whether they want to retain that service; and that there are a series of issues to
consider concerning conveyance of ownership, only one of which is what happens to current. reserves.
The question was raised concerning how many employees would be needed to run such a plant, and
Public Works Director Kcrsten estimated at least 50 people would be necessary. Continued discussion
focused on the plant's ownership, whether the County would be interested in a plant construction if they
did not own the plant; a regional governance model with several owners; the lack of a strong voice from
the community on this issue; further financial components of the issue including bonding and the benefits
of ownership and possible future reserves; and to keep this as a goal to let the citizens know there are
many unknowns yet to examine; but it is important to keep the issue at the forefront and attend the many
wastewater meetings to keep abreast of the quarterly reports and constant updates.
4. Strong Emphasis on Internal and FxternaLC.otnulunicatiou
Discussion of this topic: Mr. Mercier mentioned he feels this goal addresses the desire to continue the
good lines of communications with council, community, and customers, and to stay in harmony with what
council wants to accomplish, and for Council to stay in harmony with what citizens want council to
undertake. ideas expressed included tactics to accomplish this goal, such as hiring a public information
officer, the use of the webpage as a tool to communicate with the community, making the website easier
to navigate, public hearings, and use of the website as a type of "blog." it was determined that the topic
of the public information officer and website suggestions would be a good study session topic.; and that
the goal as stated above will remain as written.
,Meeting: 06 -11 -05 Page 2 of 5
Council Approved: 07 -12 -05
4..xplore the infrastructure with reg,ard to telecoinmunicatio.ns, i.e.. the Hot Zone and the
Mpnet_agdrnter ,
Discussion of the topic: explore the idea of how to provide these services within our community; the use
of satellite coverage; partnerships with local providers; special funding; and of the desire to keep (or
become) a high tech area.; the idea of having a workshop with involved parties to brainstorm on how to
get this to develop a plan, and determine the role of our City. Other discussion included how to
get industry to examine our area; and where to concentrate a hot zone (perhaps Mirabeau).
2. Revised Council 2005 Goal on Wastewater
Mr. Mercier brought Council's attention to the Fiscal Year 2005 Goal #5 and the suggested change to that
goal as per the excerpt from the May 17, 2005 study session meeting minutes. After discussion of that
issue, it was Council consensus to proceed with the change.
3. Status of Current Employee Recruitments
Deputy City Manager Regor reported that with Council authorization last February of several new
positions, along with handling other vacancies, the Human Resource duties are close to being a full time
job. Ms. Regor went over the status of the various positions as per her June 11, 2005 Background
information memorandum. Ms. Regor stated that for a city of approximately sixty employees, human
resources tasks are large and that investing in human resources, is investing in employees; that there is a
need for assistance as there are many facets of human resources such as training, guidance counseling, the
FMLA and FLSA laws and rules and changes that occur, Americans with Disabilities Act, administrative
policies and procedures and keeping those current with laws, recruitment and recruitment monitoring; and
other facets pointing to the need for a dedicated full time, human resource person. Ms. Regor stated she
will draft a job description and that will come before council for further consideration at a future meeting,
adding that that position has been previously funded. Discussion followed on use of temporary
employees to assist in areas of engineering, records management, and planning.
4. Updated Financial Forecast; 5. Full -Width Paving; and 6. Stormwater Program
Finance Director Thompson went over the highlights of his handouts. Those highlights included mention
of a larger estimate for sales tax; that property taxes are one - percent over what we would have levied
without the library; estimated new growth which might be a little high; the idea of keeping estimates
conservative to account for any slump in the economy; that budgets for next year in several departments
arc corning in higher than he expected; that the legislative line factors in a salary change for Council if
that measure receives ballot approval; that future years still indicate we will have trouble in the street fund
although the figures show a surplus in 06 and 07, and those figures will be pumped back in in 08 and 09
to help pay for street costs; an increase of 6% in operating costs for the departments which includes a 4%
increase in salaries, 20% increase in medical insurance, and 6% for dental and vision. Mr. Thompson
indicated that the street fund is in a different format and the ending fund balance rolls over into the
beginning fund balance of the next year; and brought Council attention to the two million dollars from the
general fund. Concerning stormwater, Mr. Thompson stated that we increased that equivalent residential
fee last year, and with the projections of what that fee should be over a period of years, that provides an
additional $400,000 (although the figures show $350,000, the correct figure is $400,000); and he also
mentioned the two different six -year stormwater projections: one beginning with the rate of $17, then
increasing to $24 through 2010; and the other projection showing the $17 amount moving up annually to
$20, $21, $26 for 08 and 09; and $27 for 2010.
Mr. Kersten stated that he would like to see a decision early regarding paveback on next year's budget, as
it would expedite and better coordinate planning and contracts with the County. Further discussion
included the need to have revenues in place to assure future years can support paveback; full paveback
versus grinding and overlay, especially on Sprague; and that all that information will be gathered well in
advance of presenting the balanced budget to Council August 23, 2005; that Council previously
Meeting: 06 -11 -05 Page 3 of 5
Council Approved: 07 -12 -05
determined that it was fiscally logical to allocate stormwater funds to the STEP systems since the road
would already be torn up; the need to take a street inventory; and the estimated cost for paveback.
in returning to the rates for stormwater, Councilmembers DeVleming and Taylor indicated their
preference to stay the same as the County's schedule. Mayor Wilhite suggested having a $5.00 increase
now and keeping that over the next several years. Mr. Mercier added that these projections are in advance
of inventory completion. Mr. Thompson, in an overview of Problem Statements 1, 2, and 3, said that if
the deficits are not rectified, it may become necessary to go back earlier and reduce the transfer from the
general to the capital fund which could then flow to the different funds, but that any such change would
wait a year or more to determine if such change is needed. Mr. Thompson also stated that the projections
show that the deficits will shrink over time.
Everyone took a break for lunch at noon; and reconvened the workshop at 12:45 p.m.
7. Elements of Customer Service
Mr. Mercier said that he has questioned several municipalities, and can find no formal customer service
program; and that if no well- packaged program exists, perhaps a start would be to examine the elements
of what we all want in a customer service program, such as reporting customer service feedback;
employee training on customer service elements such as how to handle difficult people; and any other
elements thought appropriate. Discussion included mention that customer service is a mind -set; that our
employees all understand they are working for the people on the other side of the counter; the City of
Spokane's slogan "getting to yes;" and using the City of Spokane as a benchmark; whether we are getting
complaints from the public on specifics; that many tinges there are different expectations resulting in a
perceived lack of customer service, e.g. such as developers walk in, and not knowing the process, want
things done immediately; that sometimes the answer is no; that additional employees will make a
difference in terms of access; complaining about some things that are not in employee control — Iikc lack
of parks and recreation programs or some programs only being seasonal; plan review; projects and
permits and that some customers believe they should have permits issued immediately; unrealistic
expectations; and exploring on -line permitting.
Further discussion included logging in and tracking all calls; types of complaints; reporting inspections
live from the field; being pro- active in creating a program; turnaround time for returning phone calls;
solving vendor problems quickly; and ensuring that all areas are customer service friendly. It was
mentioned that with t:hc flowchart staff is working on, they hope to solve some miscommunication issues
and come up with a plan to try to reduce anxiety associated with any customer's problem. Additional
ideas discussed included a coordinated effort to measure customer satisfaction; citizens completing a
survey; ways to sample the market and report findings back to Council; staff keeping in contact with the
citizens they work with; the current Friday training sessions to familiarize employees with ne,v
ordinances, procedures, etc.; when confronted with complaints, encouraging Councilmembcrs to ask for
specifics; whether problems are due to lack of staff or lack of good attitude; creating a matrix to show
when we pay bills, and a philosophy on returning phone calls and /or answering inquires; that the Project
Coordinator position will be of immense help in areas of customer service; and that to get customers to
cornply ;staff should consider use of courtesy reminders. It was felt some of these issues will be resolved
as our staff numbers increase over time.
As an additional item, Deputy City Attorney Driskell mentioned the upcoming appeal of the Hearing
Examiner decision, that this is the first closed record hearing before Council, and in preparation for the
hearing, Mr. Driskell suggested Council familiarize themselves with the Appeal Notebook, especially the
first part of the appeals, the Hearing Examiner decision, and each party's brief; that during the hearing,
the parties will give oral arguments, and Council can take the matter under advisement for a future
meeting, or stark: deliberations at the meeting.
Meeting: 06-1 I -05
Council Approved: 07 -12-05
Page 4 of 5
8. 2005 Workplan Status
Ms. Regor mentioned that the workplan shows changes to the timeline in green; and the last page shows
some highlighted items. She also mentioned that there have been some changes to the capital
improvement projects which changed due to comp plan timelines.
The meeting ended at 2:15 p.m.
A1TES1':
Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk
( 64-540. WOJAktcL,
Diana Wilhite, Mayor
Meeting: 06 -11-05 Page 5 of 5
Council Approved: 07 -12-05