2013, 02-05 study session minutes MINUTES
SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
STUDY SESSION FORMAT
Spokane Valley City Hall Council Chambers
Spokane Valley,Washington
February 5,2013 6:00 p.m.
Attendance:
Councilmembers Staff
Torn-Towey, Mayor Mike Jackson, City Manager
Gary Schimmels,Deputy Mayor Cary Driskell, City Attorney
Dean Grafos, Councilmember Mark Calhoun,Finance Director
Chuck Hafner, Councilmember John Hohman, Community Development Dir.
Ben Wick, Councilmember Mike Stone,Parks&Recreation Director
Arne Woodard, Councilmember Eric Guth,Public Works Director
Morgan Koudelka, Sr. Administrative Analyst
Rick VanLeuven,Police Chief
Carolbelle Branch, Public Information Officer
Chris Bainbridge, City Clerk
Mayor Towey called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
Roll Call: City Clerk Bainbridge called the roll; all Councilmembers were present.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels, seconded and unanimously agreed to approve the amended
agenda.
ACTION ITEMS:
1.Appointment of Candidate for Interim Council Position 41—Mayor Towey
After Mayor Towey explained the voting procedure, the opened the floor for nominations. Deputy Mayor
Schimmels nominated Linda Thompson for the interim council position 41; the nomination was
seconded. Councilmember Grafos nominated Rod Higgins;the nomination was seconded. There were no
further nominations and Mayor Towey closed the nominations. A vote by a show of hands was taken
three times with the following same outcome: voting for Linda Thompson were Mayor Towey, Deputy
Mayor Schimmels, and Councilmember Wick; voting for Rod Higgins were Councilmembers Hafner,
Grafos and Woodard. City Clerk Bainbridge then read the following section from the previously
approved procedure: "In the event the City Council fails after three rounds to arrive at a majority
vote for an applicant, then the City Manager shall flip a coin to determine who shall fill the
vacancy, with the applicant whose last name is closest to the letter A being assigned "heads" and
the other person assigned "tails," City Clerk Bainbridge stated that therefore if the coin shows
"heads," the toss would go to Mr. Higgins,and if the coin shows "tails," the toss would go to Ms.
Thompson. With the City Clerk acting as a witness, City Manager Jackson flipped the coin, and
it landed with "heads" facing up; indicating Rod Higgins as the new interim councilmember.
City Clerk Bainbridge administered the Oath of Office to Mr. Higgins, he was congratulated by
Councilmembers and others, and then took his seat at the dial.
2. Second Reading Proposed Ordinance 13-001 Code Text Amendment CTA 04-12—Marty Palaniuk
After City Clerk Bainbridge read the ordinance title, it was moved by Deputy Mayor Schimmels and
seconded to approve ordinance 13-001. Planning Technician Palaniuk explained that changes made since
Council Study Session Minutes 02-05-2013 Page I of 5
Approved by Council: 02-19-2013
the first reading included designating section 19.40.120 as Manufactured Homes on Individual Lots,
instead of manufactured housing; and that although there were no changes, section 19,40.130 was
included in the ordinance to show the difference between manufactured home parks, and manufactured
homes on individual lots, such as in subdivisions. Mayor Towey invited public comments; no comments
were offered. rote by Acclamation: In Favor: Mayor Towey, Deputy Ailayor Schirrmrels, and
Coutrcilmembers Hafizer, Wick, Gr•afos, and Woodard. Councilrrrember Higgins did not vote. Motion
carried.
3. ESRI interlocal for GSI Services with Spokane County—Morgan Koudelka
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Schiznmels and seconded to authorize the City Manager to Finalize and
Execute the "Interlocal Agreement for Participation by the City of Spokane, City of Spokane Valley,
Spokane Regional Health District, and the Spokane Regional Transportation Council in the
ESRI/Spokane County, Wa Reconsolidated Enterprise License Agreement No. 2004E5E6082 as Amended
and Reconsolidated Pursuant to Amendment 7."After Senior Administrative Analyst Koudelka explained
the interlocal much the same as noted last week, Mayor Towey invited public comments. No comments
were offered. Vote by Acclamation:In Favor: Unanimous. Opposed:None, Motion carried,
NON-ACTION ITEMS:
4.2013 Comprehensive Plan Docket—Mike Basinger
Community Development Director Holnnan said that staff is looking for feedback from Council as this
issue is explained. Via his PowerPoint presentation, Senior Planner Basinger explained that two items on
the 2013 Comprehensive Plan Docket include CPA 04-13,the re-evaluation of split land use designations,
and CPA 05-13, potential modifications to Comprehensive Plan Map 2.1 to ensure there are sufficient
locations for multifamily development. After Mr. Basinger explained each issue as noted on his February
5, 2013 Request for Council Action form, there were no objections from Council for staff to move
forward on the Split Zoning issue as a future Code Text Amendment instead of a comp plan amendment,
in order to add clarity in the Municipal Code; and for the milt-family zoning issue, to allow the market
and private sector to propose new Multi-family areas, and to take those issues on a case-by-case basis,
Mayor Towey called for a recess at 6:56 p.m., and reconvened the meeting at 7:10 p.m.
5. 2012 Accomplishments Report--Mike Jackson and Department Directors
City Manager Jackson said that this report is the result of a lot of teamwork, and that teamwork is one of
the reasons we get so much done with such a small staff. Mr. Jackson briefly went over the 2012 Budget
Goals, and then discussed the Legislative and Executive Services, including approximate number of hours
spent by Council in Regional Representation on various committees and boards; and mentioned the
number of council meetings held, and resolutions and ordinances approved, and mentioned the number of
public record requests handled by the City Clerk's office. City Manager Jackson went over the Council
Budget goals for 2012, some of which included acquisition of park land adjacent to the Park Road Pool;
placing the Sullivan Bridge replacement funding before the legislature once again in 2013; and creating
an economic development plan including options for a new city hall. Mr. Jackson mentioned some of the
completed projects, such as the Gateway Access Sign; and the interlocal agreements completed as we
work with other agencies, such as the County to develop the Old Milwaukee right-of-way, and Spokane
County Library District for a joint site development plan for land purchased for a park or other civic uses.
Mr. Jackson mentioned the media campaign, the number of letters sent to new businesses, the City's
online Citizen Action Request system, and the marketing and tourism support as well as other outreach
projects such as the City Hall at the Mall, and the State of the City events. Human Resources (HR), he
explained,falls under the Operations and Administrative Services, and Mr. Jackson went over some of the
accomplishments associated with HR, such as the Well City Award, and lastly, Mr. Jackson went over
some of the contract processes over the last year, such as animal control, prosecution services, criminal
justice, and public safety.
Council Study Session Minutes 02-05-2013 Page 2 of 5
Approved by Council: 02-19-2013
Finance Director Calhoun discussed the accomplishments of his department, which included
implementing State Auditor mandates and recommendations, and he highlighted many of the successes of
the IT (Information Technology) staff including adding conference phone capabilities to City Council
Chambers, and cost savings such as changing the City Hall Internet service and telephone service
providers. Mr. Calhoun also noted his department worked with Public Works concerning fleet
maintenance software; that hearing assistance equipment was acquired for Center Place; wireless
audiovisual equipment was installed in the Opportunity Conference Room, and proudly stated that there
were no system-wide outages during normal business hours in 2012, City Attorney Driskell discussed
various projects his office has been working on, such as the Shoreline Master Program in conjunction
with Community Development, analyzing the governance of solid waste management, participating in
formulating a City Economic Development Plan; review of the current City Hall lease and space design,
and the successful negotiation and competed agreements with such entities as Spokane Valley Fire
Distinct, Spokane County Library District, Geiger Work crews, City of Millwood for the Argonne Road
safety projects, Splashdown,and a review of approximately 190 general contracts for the City.
Chief VanLeaven discussed some of his Department's accomplishments, such as Intelligence-Led
Policing, Burglary and Vehicle Tasks Forces; implementation of their Lethality Assessment Program to
help victims of domestic violence; implementation of programs such as Aggressive Driving, and Spokane
Valley Traffic School; mentioned the success with their False Alarm Program, crime prevention outreach,
and implementation of their professional standards software system which catalogs, stores, and tracks
incidents. Community Development Director Holrman explained that the Community Development
Department's accomplishments included implementation of the "Roadmap to Enhanced Permitting,"
several code amendments, modification of the permit center to improve efficiency; completed a mapping
and hydrology study of the Forker Floodplain; reviewed the Saltese Flats Floodplain; and participated in
the development of Regional Wellhead Protection regulations; his department also developed a Shoreline
Master Program; participated in state-wide SEPA reform; completed the Annual Comprehensive Plan
Update; and Conducted Planning Commission Training. Mr. Holtman stated that Code Compliance
investigated 386 cases and closed 220 cases, and he shared some "before" and "after" photos of some of
the properties addressed by Code Enforcement.
Parks and Recreation Director Stone highlighted the accomplishments of his Department, including
installation of a new playground at Terrace View Park; the completed south landscape project at
CenterPlace; the administration of the West Entry Gateway Sign project; said they coordinated with
hundreds of volunteers for the National Day of Service to complete improvements to Valley Mission and
Appleway Trail; held the Grand Opening of Greenacres Park,worked with the County Library District for
Sprague property acquisition; partnered with State Parks for Centennial Trail riverbank repair project;
developed a walking trails map; coordinated with Valleyfest activities; renewed contracts with the
Community Colleges for leased space in CenterPlace; purchased acoustical panels to improve sound in
the Great Room; remodeled two small classrooms into one large room; held the first "Paws in the Pool"
dog swim event; held the 4th annual Valley Mission Haunted Pool; offered free summer park programs
and served over 1600 children; provided two free Saturday Outdoor Movies in the Park with over 1200 in
attendance; with the Rotary Club,hosted and coordinated the"Breakfast with Santa" event; and partnered
with Spokane Valley Partners, Liberty Lake and other ministries and schools to create the Spokane Valley
Hunger and Homeless Network. Mr. Stone mentioned that the Senior Center is very active as they
continue their emphasis on healthcare issues, as well emphasizing that they function as a place where
seniors can go for friendship, fun and a sense of community.
Public Works Director Guth went over some of his department's accomplishments, including snow
removal statistics such as adding a ninth snow plow, responding to over 200 citizen requests, using over
126,000 gallons of deicer and 960 tons of granular deicer; that for street maintenance his department
Council Study Session Minutes 02-05-2013 Page 3 of 5
Approved by Council: 02-19-2013
patched, repaired, sealed, upgraded and preserved miles of roadways using tons of materials; he listed
several major projects which have been completed, such as the Appleway between University and
Dishman Mica, University front Appleway to Sprague, Farr Road from Appleway to Sprague, and Boone
from Long to Greenacres. Mr. Guth said Geiger Work crews were of enormous assistance as they picked
up over 48,000 pounds of garbage, mowed over 100 acres of dry land grass, and cleaned up and mowed
the Appleway right-of-way. The Traffic Division, Mr, Guth explained, responded to over 160 citizen
action requests; modified some of the signing and signals, and said that flashing school beacons were
added to McDonald Elementary, and Evergreen, Bowdish and East Valley Middle schools; he said that
division also added almost five miles of new bike lanes, installed signal coordination plans for the
Sprague-Appleway couplet, as well as installed accessibility push buttons and audible and vibratory
notification and countdown heads to Sprague and Adams. Mr. Guth said that his department designed
and/or reviewed traffic control plans for sixteen projects; managed the design of Phase I Street
Preservation; and that the stonnwater utility section of his department included several retrofit,
maintenance and/or other reconstruction projects; they responded to over 40 citizen requests involving
flooding or drainage problems; and cleaned over 200 drywells, 1250 catchbasins, and almost 200
sidewalk curb inlets. The Public Works Department worked very hard to acquire grants, and Director
Guth said they received $667,000 in grants for the Sprague Swales Projects, and $885,000 for the
Regional Decant Facility; and that his department also developed an inspection-tracking database,
completed the Valley Corridor environmental assessment, as well as the 2013-2018 Six Year
Transportation Improvement Plan. As a recap, Mr. Guth highlighted several of the construction and
design projects completed over the year. CounciImember Grafos asked about the status of the Mansfield
Project, and Mr. Guth said a consultant has been hired to help with the real estate issue in obtaining right-
of-way, that the project will be put out to bid with construction anticipated for the end of fall. Several
councilmembers expressed thanks to all staff for their hard work.
City Manager Jackson thanked the department heads and outstanding staff for a productive year; and
Mayor Towey also extended his thanks, and commented that he feels this City has the best qualified staff
in the State of Washington.
6.Advance Agenda—Mayor Towey
Councilmember Woodard asked if we received any citizen calls concerning the rate increase of Waste
Management. Mr. Jackson said we have received a few, and he asked Council to let him know if they get
any calls, and said that per our Franchise agreement with Waste Management, rates are set by Waste
Management and the Washington Utilities Commission. Mr. Jackson said that the agenda for tomorrow's
joint meeting with Spokane County is a discussion by the Department of Ecology concerning solid waste.
Mayor Towey reminded everyone that there is no council meeting next week as members of Council will
be attending the Legislative Conference in Olympia.
Councilmember Grafos said regarding road preservation, that he would like to take another look at where
we are putting the emphasis on which projects; and suggested that some of the projects such as pavement
management and males could be done at the same time to save money. Mr. Jackson said that Public
Works is putting that information together and we will be discussing these projects prior to paving;
adding that a large portion of the Appleway project is actually landscaping. Councilmember Grafos again
mentioned the idea of paving the auto row section and of putting parking on the south side of Sprague
Avenue. Mr. Jackson said those issues can be re-visited, as parking on the south side was discussed
previously and Council elected not to try to add that; and he asked if there were any objections to pulling
out those issues for re-examination. Council had no objection.
7. Information Only: The(7a)Parks and Recreation Quarterly Report; and(fir) Stormwater Projects were
for information only and were not discussed or reported.
Council Study Session Minutes 02-05-2013 Page 4 of 5
Approved by Council: 02-19-2013
8. Council Check-in: Mayor Towey : There were no additional comments from Couneilmembers.
9. City Manager Comments--Mike Jackson
City Manager Jackson mentioned the dram letters before Council concerning legislative issues, and there
were no objections from Council to moving forward with both letters.
It was moved by Deputy Mayor Sclrinuneks, seconded and unanimously agreed to adjourn. The meeting
adjourned 9:03 p.m.
ATTESTS _
`Th mas E.Toy ,I Iayor
111 tee'c
hristine Bainbridge, City Clerk I
Council Study Session Minutes 02-05-2013 Page 5 of 5
Approved by Council: 02-19-2013