Loading...
2012, 09-25 Regular Meeting Minutes MINUTES City of Spokane Valley City Council Regular Meeting Formal Meeting Format Tuesday,September 25,2012 Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. Attendance: Clip Staff: Tom Towey, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager Gary Schiinmeis, Deputy Mayor Mark Calhoun, Finance Director Dean Grafos, Councilmember Cary Driskell,City Attorney Brenda Grassel, Councilmember John Holman, Community Development Dir Chuck Hafner, Councilmember Eric Guth, Public Works Director Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone, Parks & Rec Director Arne Woodard, Councilmember Rick VanLeuven, Police Chief Scott Kuhta, Planning Manager Christina Janssen, Assistant Planner Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer Christine Bainbridge, City Clerk INVOCATION: Pastor Al Hulten,Valley Assembly Church, 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 Schinmtel.s, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the agenda. INTRODUCTION OF SPECIAL GUESTS AND PRESENTATIONS: n/a COMMITTEE,BOARD,LIAISON SUMMARY REPORTS: Councilmember Hafner: reported that he attended the 9-1-1 Board meeting this morning and he summarized the work done so far in setting up the towers and other equipment in association with the 1/10 of 1% interoperability tax passed previously, which mechanism will grant the ability for first responders to communicate with each other; he attended an STA (Spokane Transit Authority) meeting where they discussed the drug and alcohol testing of drivers and employees and the related costs, and reported on the sales tax revenues for various cities. Councilmember Grassel: said she participated in the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee where local developer Pinecroft gave a presentation about projects they are working along the River; went to the Visit Spokane, formerly Convention and Visitor's Bureau, Annual Board retreat where they held a "brainstorming" meeting to discuss the restaurant industry and other topics and of the need for more networking so entities are not competing against each other; she mentioned that Washington State is not advertised anywhere in the United States and the Board is trying to come up with ways to get additional funding; said she was scheduled to be in the Valleyfest parade, but her driver got sick; and mentioned she also served at the Valleyfest Pancake Breakfast. Deputy Mayor Schimnrels: said he went to the Valleyfest breakfast; attended a couple meetings with SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council), one of which was a freight mobility meeting, including railroads and the truck situation; said he went to the STA (Spokane Transit Authority) meeting; Council Regular Meeting 09-25-2012 Page I of 6 Approved by Council: I 0-09-2012 attended the Hundred Years celebration for the Valley Museum and he encouraged people to visit the museum; and said he enjoyed the Valleyfest Parade. Councilmember Grafos: said he went to the Valleyfest Parade and it was well attended; attended the Valleyfest celebration at Mirabeau, and met with several citizens. Councilmember Wick: said he also attended the Valleyfest parade and feels that Valleyfest event was larger than previous years; said the pancake feed was very well attended and actually sold out this year, and he extended thanks to all the volunteers who worked at the pancake feed; said he went to the Heritage Museum 100`h year anniversary and that they have a wonderful museum; participated in the Economic Development Ad Hoc Committee meeting with the focus on residential builders/developers and that they heard from a few of those folks; went to the Interstate Fair and the Junior Livestock sale where youth from our region sell the animals they raised to help in handling college tuition. Councilrnermber Woodard: said he also attended the Interstate Fair; went to the Inland Northwest Community Foundation at the Davenport where they distributed over $1 million to the social service organizations as well as over$100,000 in college scholarships; said he also went to 100 Year Anniversary of the Museum; said the Valleyfest pancake breakfast was a remarkable event and he commended staff for their work; and said he enjoyed the Valleyfest parade. MAYOR'S REPORT: Mayor Towey reported that he went to an Aerospace presentation where a former Boeing CEO gave an update on the industry and the future roll of eastern Washington; said he was part of a community cleanup of approximately 250 volunteers from four churches who cleaned up a graveyard and local school property; had his monthly meeting with Central Valley School District Superintendent Small and Liberty Lake Mayor Pederson; said he went to a Washington Police Center presentation with a panel of legislators and civic leaders for a discussion about the impact the legislation will have this coming session on small businesses; attended the Association of Builders and Contractors meeting; gave a radio interview where he discussed the lodging tax; went to the City's Shoreline Master Plan (SMP) Open House, fourth in a series to help people stay involved in the SMP process, and he extended thanks to Community Development Planner Lori Barlow and other staff; attended the Museum's 100`"' Anniversary; went to the celebration of the Builders, Owners and Managers Association where he heard an update on the industry and how they impact our area; attended the Veteran's Center grand opening on Mirabeau Parkway; participated in the Valleyfest parade, served at the Pancake Breakfast and he extended thanks to high school students and others for their work. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towey invited general public comments. Jennifer Ellison, 18518 E Caley Ave, Spokane Valley: said she has lived here for 30 years and is concerned for the security of her home, that she choose a manufactured home for various reasons, and said she wasn't told when she bought her home that the most security she would have was twelve months; and she asked Council to consider a zone ordinance for 2013 while Council waits for the ruling from the Ninth Circuit; and asked not to wait another year. Jana Erickson, works at Pearle Vision, 509 N Sullivan: said their store was robbed on the 10; that the person came back the next morning and staff reported this to Crime Check but no one showed up; said for the initial incident, staff called 911 but no one from the police department showed up; and said she feels they were not served or protected. 1. PUBLIC HEARING: 2013 Budget Mayor Towey opened the public hearing at 6:34 p.m. and invited Finance Director Calhoun to explain the purpose of the hearing. Mr. Calhoun went through his PowerPoint presentation explaining the 2013 budget process and highlights, and said the ordinance adopting the budget is scheduled for later in October. Mayor Towey invited public comment. Rod Higgins, 13707 E 23rd Court: spoke in opposition to the 1% increase and said just because we can do something doesn't mean we should and that Spokane Valley taxpayer is being squeezed by national Council Regular Meeting 09-25-2012 Page 2 of 6 Approved by Council: 10-09-2012 circumstances, and suggested if there is doubt about whether the people want this, to place the matter before the voters. Shirley Rademacher, 19303 E Riverwalk Lane Spokane Valley 99016: said that she has confidence in the Council's desire to freeze the I% and to expand the tax base but not the tax rate; said the economy will get worse and we need to pull back on everything; that the increase is not necessary and said we need councilmembers who are committed to serving the people and not their own interests. City Clerk Bainbridge said she received two e-mails from people in opposition to the 1% property tax increase: one from Bruce E Foreman of 5004 N Keller Road Spokane Valley, Washington which stated that to include it would be sending a message that government plans on growing in the future and burdening the people even more; and the second from Judy Crowder, PCO 4003, Colbert Washington, co-chair of Sound Money of Washington, which explained that this is a time to reduce the tax burden to allow for expansion of private sector jobs. There were no other public comments and Mayor Towey closed the public hearing at 7:06 p.in. 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 following claim vouchers: VOUCHER LIST DATE VOUCHER NUMBERS; TOTAL AMOUNT 09/06/2012 5478-55 10 $3,300.00 09/07/2012 4059-4062; 4077;26924-26928 $234,553.60 09/07/2012 26861-26886; 831120056 $1,389,512.59 09/07/2012 26887-26923; 905120031 $295,147.07 09/14/2012 26929-27022 $989,816.46 GRAND TOTAL $2,912,329.72 b. Approval of Payroll for period ending September 15,2012: $268,219.46 c.Approval of Minutes of September 4,2012 Council Study Session Meeting d. Approval of Minutes of September 11,2012 Council Special Meeting e. Approval of Minutes of September 11,2012 Council Formal Meeting Mayor Towey noted that there is an amended copy of the September 11, formal council meeting minutes before each Councilmember. Councilmember Woodard asked to have those minutes removed from the Consent Agenda to be discussed separately. It was then moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the Consent Agenda minus the Formal Meeting minutes of September 11`1'. Councilmember Woodard explained that page two of the September 11 formal meeting minutes under his report, that the Spokane Realtors Association was separate from the SNAP presentation, which took place at a Home Base Business group meeting. The changes were so noted by the City Clerk. It was then moved by Councilmember Woodrlyd, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the corrected minutes. NEW BUSINESS: 3. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 12-022,Amending Zoning Use Matrix—Christina Janssen After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to approve Ordinance 12-022 amending Spokane Valley Municipal Code 19.120 and Appendix A. After Assistant Planner Janssen went over the proposed changes to the Code, Mayor Towey invited public comment. No comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed. None. Motion carried. Council Regular Meeting 09-25-2012 Page 3 of 6 Approved by Council: 10-09-2012 4. First Reading Proposed Ordinance 12-023 Setting Property Tax Levy for 2013—Mark Calhoun After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Sclllrnmels and seconded to advance Ordinance 12-023 levying regular property taxes for 2013, to a second reading. Finance Director Calhoun gave the background information on this ordinance, and said that this will set the 2013 property tax levy, and such a tax must be adopted by ordinance; he stressed the figures are still preliminary and said the values won't be given by the County until later this fall. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Councilmember Grafos said that Mayor Condon with the City of Spokane does not have a 1% property tax increase in their budget, and that Spokane County has banked about$7 million and is not proposing to take the 1% tax increase; and said he wants to bank that $108,000. Mayor Towey said he realizes we should not tax just because we can, that he spoke with many citizens who were not opposed to the tax but wanted to know how it would be used, said we have a high priority of street preservation, and if we were to apply that $108,000 to street preservation, while only costing citizens about 19 cents a month, it would save $47 million over a ten-year period. There was also discussion about the idea of dedicating the tax increase to street preservation and Mr. Jackson said that was possible and up to the discretion of Council. It was moved by Councilmember Grafos and seconded to amend the motion to change the property tax increase to zero percent. There were no public comments. Vote by acclamation to amend the motion: Ir7 Favor: Councilmembers Woodard, Grafos, Grasser and Haf rer. Opposed.'Mayor Towey, Deputy Mayor Schimrrlels, and Councilmember Wick. Motion to amend the motion carried. Vote by show of hands, on the fully amended motion to advance Ordinance 12-023 levying regular property taxes for 2013, to a second reading, and change the property tax increase to zero percent: In Favor: Deputy Mayor and Councilnrembers Woodard, Grafos, Hafiler, and Grassel. Opposed.' Mayor Towey and Councilmember Wick. Motion carried. At 8:05 p.m., Mayor Towey called for a recess; he reconvened the meeting at 8:15 p.m. 5. Proposed Resolution 12-005 Approving Planning Commission Rules of Procedure—Cary Driskell It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimniels and seconded to approve Resolution 12-005 adopting the Planning Commission Rules of Procedure. City Attorney Driskell explained the proposed changes to the Rules and of the background which lead to the proposed changes. Council discussion included the idea of having some type of automatic "trigger" for unexcused absences, which would result in the removal of a Planning Commissioner. City Attorney Driskell explained that the procedure to remove a Planning Commissioner is the reverse of the procedure used to appoint: that the Mayor would recommend and Council would vote; said to be consistent he would not recommend an automatic trigger as there are several scenarios that could cause a commissioner to miss a meeting, and that by having an automatic trigger, it assumes neither the Planning Commission Chair nor the Mayor would act to rectify any situation where a commissioner was excessively missing meetings. There was also discussion and ideas on various suggestions of such a trigger, with City Attorney Driskell suggesting that if this is the direction Council desires, he would like additional time to research this issue further. There was council consensus and Deputy Mayor Schimnrels withdrew his! otion. 6. Motion Consideration: Library Interlocal Agreement—Cary Driskell, Mike Jackson It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and seconded to authorize the City Manger to execute the proposed Iriter'local Agreement for Acquisition of Real Estate with the Spokane County Library District as drafted. Mayor Towey invited public comment; no comments were offered. Vote by Acclamation: In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None. Motion carried. At 9:00 p.m., it was moved by Deputy Mayor Scllimnrels, seconded and unanimously agreed to extend the meeting an hour. Council Regular Meeting 09-25-2012 Page 4 of 6 Approved by Council: 10-09-2012 7. Motion Consideration: Allocation of Funds to Outside Agencies--Mark Calhoun After Finance Director Calhoun went over the background of funding for outside agencies, Mayor Towey suggested Council consider a formula whereby all those agencies with only three or less votes would be dropped, and the funds recommended for those agencies be split among the agencies which received unanimous choices, minus the $503 award overages; said if these agencies came before Council one at a time and Council voted on them separately, those who failed to receive a majority vote would not receive funds. Councilmember Grassel said she has no objection to that method for this year, but would like to be able to adjust this from time to time. It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schinmels, seconded and unanimously agreed, to make the following allocations based on Mayor Totivey's recommended formula: For the Economic Development Agencies: (1) 534,582 to Greater Spokane , Inc.; (2) $9,514 to Greater Spokane Valley Chamber of Commerce; (3) $9,282 to International Trade Alliance; (4) $6,296 to Spokane Valley Arts Council; (5) $3, 429 to Spokane Valley HUB Sports Center; (6) $19,368 to Valleyfest; and to the Social Service Agencies: (7) $757.00 to Coalition of the Responsible Disabled; (8) $229.00 to Free Cakes for Kids Spokane ; (9) $1,643 to Greater Spokane Substance Abuse; (10) $18,368 to Project Access; (1 1) $1,429 to Spokane Valley Heritage Museum; (12) $2,000 to Spokane Valley HUB Sports Center; (13) $29,225 to Spokane Valley Partners; (14) $9,368 to Valley It'Ieals on Wheels; and $4,510 to the YWCA. There were no public comments prior to the vote. PUBLIC COMMENTS: Mayor Towcy invited general public comments; no comments were offered. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORTS: 8. Proposed 2012 Budget Amendment Mark Calhoun Finance Director Calhoun gave an update on the proposed budget amendments, all as listed in his September 25, 2012 Request for Council Action (RCA), including the budget detail sheets accompanying that RCA; and stated that the budget amendment public hearing as well as the first reading of the ordinance are both scheduled for October 9, with a second reading of the ordinance set for October 30. 9. Lodging Tax- Mike Jackson City Manager Jackson said that last week's Council meeting included a discussion about the Lodging Tax funds, and he noted the materials distributed tonight are for Council's future reading, and he summarized those materials as noted in his September 25, 2012 Memorandum to Council, which were given as an aid to Council should Council decide to set aside some lodging tax finds to use for tourism promotion of our City; and he also briefly discussed the budget estimates included as Attachment A to Public Information Officer Branch's September 20, 2012 Memorandum. Mr. Jackson said if Council wants to pursue this, it is his intention to hire someone to put this together. Mr. Jackson also mentioned that we have a draft Memorandum of Understanding for a gateway program; that we sent some changes back to the other partners, i.e. Spokane County, Washington State Department of Transportation, and Downtown Spokane, Inc., but that we just learned that they have applied for a grant with SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council) to do a gateway and wayfinding project to develop regional wayfinding signs, and said that our suggestion is to wait to see the outcome of that grant as they might be able to hire someone to do regional wayfinding, then we could use that plan and make any needed adjustments for our own City. Mr. Jackson said he and other staff members have discussed this and the discussion included various kinds of signage, such as signs on the interstate, wayfinding, regulatory signs; and other signs, and he said staff suggests doing a full signage plan which would include inventorying our existing signs, and to bring someone in to do a comprehensive sign plan for the City,which he said would likely take six months to a year to complete. The $30,000 set aside funds for CenterPlace were also discussed, and Mr. Jackson said the amount at one time was $90,000 and that the City had no problem spending those funds; that he is not advocating an increase at this time. After further discussion concerning setting aside funds, there was consensus from Council to keep the set aside amount for CenterPlace at $30,000; and to set aside $50,000 for the mobile phone app, advertising, and other suggestions given as part of Ms. Branch's memorandum. Councilmember Grafos also brought up the topic of the signage on east Sprague and about Council Regular Meeting 09-25-20I2 Page 5 of 6 Approved by Council: 10-09-2012 the idea of having a separate sign, or a business route logo. Mr. Jackson said he would discuss that with the City's traffic engineer. 10.Advance Agenda—Mayor Towey City Manager Jackson noted that staff will include a list of preservation projects to the 2013 budget, and said that the list will be subject to change depending on grants we might receive and other various factors. INFORMATION ONLY (11) Department Reports and (12) Sidewalk Project: 24`f1 Avenue were for information only and were not reported or discussed. CITY MANAGER COMMENTS: There were no additional comments. 13. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Pending/Potential Litigation [RCW 42.30.110(1)(1)]; and Land Acquisition [RCW 42.30.1 l0(1)(b)] It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed that Council adjourn into executive session for approximately thirty minutes to discuss pending/potential litigation, and land acquisition, and that no action will be taken upon return to open session. Council adjourned into executive session at 9:45 p.m. At 10:20 p.m., City Manager Jackson announced that the executive session will be extended to 10:45 p.m. At approximately 10:45 p.m., Mayor Towey declared Council out of executive session, after which it was immediately moved by Councihnember Wick, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. ( _ Tl omas E.Totvey, Mayor ATTEST w, ? !Arai.`i 1 l pristine Bainbridge, City Clerk Council Regular Meeting 09-25-2012 Page 6 of 6 Approved by Council: 10-09-2012 S`p'okane .0•OValley SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING Tuesday, September 25, 2012 Please sign below if you would like to speak at the Public Hearing for 2013 Budget PRINT NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE RECORD. There may be a time limit for your comments. Any documents for Council consideration should be provided to the City Clerk for distribution. NAME ADDRESS TELEPHONE PLEASE PRINT )41_(-52: Na)--5 C6-c- GPR- )A1 . • de? ,/11/ .L.d/opy/ ye/ico/i /g3ej /6---1)V1/6", e6w/L1-1 Lv [J Please note that once information is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. GENERAL PU LIC COMM 1 T SIGN-1N SHEET SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL MEETING \\* DATE September 25, 2012 GENERAL CITIZEN COMMENTS YOUR SPEAKING TIME WILL GENERALLY BE LIMITED TO THREE MINUTE Please sign in if you wish to make public comments. NAME TOPIC OF CONCERN YOUR COMPLETE TELEPHONE PLEASE PRINT YOU WILL SPEAK ADDRESS ABOUT 6O N 1/4)u_tar van 5 �j2 ?Jlr r�.Vi so, 911 ro r�xon5e ponce c stall ey,(�� t-. l_ -� - v.% s Please note that once iufornrutiott is entered on this form, it becomes a public record subject to public disclosure. Chris Bainbridge From: Sue Passmore on behalf of mayor/councilmembers Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 11:57 AM To: City Council; Mike Jackson; Mark Calhoun; Chris Bainbridge Subject: FW: 1 percent tax increase From: ircrowder @comcast.net [mailto:jrcrowder@comcast.net] Sent: Wednesday, September 26, 2012 8:43 AM To: mayor/ councilmembers Subject: 1 percent tax increase Dear Mayor and Council Members, Thank you for reading the below email at the council meeting last night. I would like the correspondence placed in the record and I believe my address is necessary. I have added my address to the previously sent letter. September 25, 2012 Dear Mayor and City Council members, Please do not approve the 1% property tax increase. This is a time for reducing the tax burden to allow for the expansion of private sector job creation. History has shown lowering taxes actually generate more revenue for the taxing authority. We cannot afford to keep increasing taxes every year. It seems the reason Spokane Valley was created was to create a more efficient less burdensome governmental structure, leaving the people to enjoy more of the fruits of their labor. Please resist the natural tendency to build a bigger and bigger political machine with the desire for more and more funds to increase levels of power and control. Blessings in Liberty, Judy Crowder, PCO 4003 (Colbert) Co-Chair Sound Money of Washington 20315 N. Yale Rd. Colbert, WA 99005 509-238-9430 From: lrcrowder(a�comcast.net To: mayor/councilmembers[a)spokanevalley.orq Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 12:19:01 PM Subject: 1 percent tax increase Please read at next council meeting. September 25, 2012 Dear Mayor and City Council members, Please do not approve the 1% property tax increase. This is a time for reducing the tax burden to allow for the expansion of private sector job creation. History has shown lowering taxes actually generate more revenue for the taxing authority. We cannot afford to keep increasing taxes every year. It seems the reason Spokane Valley was created was to create a more efficient less burdensome governmental structure, leaving the people to enjoy more of the fruits of their labor. Please resist the natural tendency to build a bigger and bigger political machine with the desire for more and more funds to increase levels of power and control. Blessings in Liberty, Judy Crowder, PCO 4003 (Colbert) Co-Chair Sound Money of Washington 509-238-9430 2 Chris Bainbridge From: Sue Passmore on behalf of mayor/councilmembers Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 2:45 PM To: Chris Bainbridge Subject: FW: Comments on 2013 Budget From: Bruce & Kathy Foreman [mailto:bkforeman©comcast.net] Sent: Tuesday, September 25, 2012 2:22 PM To: mayor/ councilmembers Subject: Comments on 2013 Budget Please read at tonight's council meeting September 25, 2012 Dear Mayor and City Council members, Please remove the 1% property tax increase from your proposed 2013 budget, otherwise it is a message government plans on growing in the future, burdening we the people even more and dampening a true economic recovery/growth in the private sector, where the jobs come from to finance government. Please propose plans to reduce the budget for 2013 compared to 2012, without sacrificing essentials such as maintenance of roads . Good job on the proposed reduction in headcount of 2.3%, while very small, it's in the right direction, if it is a true reduction in FTE employee costs, and a reflection of improved efficiency of city government. Thanks. Bruce E Foreman 5004 N Keller Rd Spokane Valley, WA 99216