CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, April 6, 2020 Held Remotely via Zoom
7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Scully, Councilmembers McConnell, McGlashan, Chang, Robertson, and Roberts
ABSENT: None.
1. CALL TO ORDER
At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Hall who presided.
2. ROLL CALL
Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present via Zoom videoconference.
Mayor Hall asked for a moment of silence to pay respect for the Shoreline residents who have lost their lives to COVID-19. He recognized the good work being done within the community during this time of sacrifice.
(a) Proclaiming Volunteer Appreciation Week
Mayor Hall announced that he has signed a proclamation declaring the week of April 19-25, 2020 as Volunteer Appreciation Week in Shoreline. He expressed gratitude for all those who volunteer to make the City a better place.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided an update on the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including the extension of the Governor’s Order to “Stay Home and Stay Healthy” until May 4, 2020. She encouraged people to stay home, limit trips, and observe social distancing guidelines. She reviewed the status of City facilities and events. Ms. Tarry shared resources for information and support during the pandemic and shared information on the City’s Community Emergency Response Grant Program.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Councilmember McConnell said she and Councilmember McGlashan attended a remote Puget Sound Regional Council meeting that focused on grant application review. She expressed pleasure that two Shoreline projects moved forward in consideration.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he attended a remote meeting for the All Home Board. He said they are wrapping up final tasks before it is turned over to the new governing committee of the Regional Homelessness Authority. He added that they continue to look for people with lived experience to sit on the Board.
Mayor Hall said during a conference call with a group of mayors from the King County area he learned that about one third of participants on the call had already laid off or furloughed staff in response to the financial impacts of COVID-19.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Melody Fosmore, Shoreline resident and Chair of Save Shoreline Trees, spoke on behalf of members of the organization, asking that the word ‘significant’ (to describe the trees) be added to Goal 2 of the 2020-2022 City Council Workplan and Goals in order to protect tall conifer trees.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Scully and seconded by Mayor Hall and unanimously carried, 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Adopting Resolution No. 449 Expressing the City’s Support for the King County Cities Climate Collaboration (K4C) Joint Climate Commitments
(b) Adopting Ordinance No. 883 Amending the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget to Update the Salary Table to Add a New Position Classification
(c) Adopting the 2020-2022 City Council Goals and Work Plan
(d) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Contract with KPFF, Inc in the Amount of $590,011 for Design of a Sidewalk Project on 5th Avenue NE from NE 175th Street to NE 182nd Street
(e) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Contract with DOWL, LLC in the Amount of $341,792 for Design of a Sidewalk Project on 1st Avenue NE from NE 192nd Street to NE 195th Street
(f) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement Between King County, the Shoreline School District, and the City of Shoreline for Use of a Shoreline Park Area as an Assessment Center/Recovery Center for COVID-19
8. ACTION ITEMS
(a) Approval of Grant Requests from Sound Generations in the Amount of $50,000 and from the Center for Human Services in the Amount of $20,000 from the COVID-19 Community Emergency Response Grant Program
Colleen Kelly, Community Services Manager, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Kelly stated that the COVID-19 Community Emergency Response Grant Program was established to provide flexible and rapid response to local organizations that provide support to residents in need. She listed the eligibility criteria and shared the status of the applications received to date.
Ms. Kelly began with a review of the application for $50,000 submitted by Sound Generations on behalf of the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Senior Center to cover projected lost revenue. She said the Senior Center is striving to continue to provide critical support to seniors and recapped the services being offered.
Ms. Kelly stated the that Center for Human Services (CHS) applied for $20,000 in general support. She reviewed the services currently being offered and added that they are experiencing lost revenue for fee-based services that have been halted. She mentioned that CHS received $50,000 in funding from the Seattle Foundation recently and had provided an explanation of need for this request.
Ms. Kelly said staff recommends approval of both requests and added that representatives from both organizations were available for questions.
Mayor Hall opened the public comment period.
Beratta Gomillion, Shoreline resident and CHS Executive Director, told Council that currently the behavioral health needs of Shoreline residents are being responded to remotely. She said CHS has lost a significant amount of revenue because of the inability to offer billable services during the pandemic and thanked the City for being proactive in taking care of the needs of the most vulnerable.
Joanne Donahue, Executive Director of Sound Generations, said she is available should Council have any questions regarding the application.
There was no additional public comment.
Councilmember McGlashan moved approval of grant requests from Sound Generations in the amount of $50,000 and the Center for Human Services in the amount of $20,000 from the COVID-19 Community Emergency Response Grant Program. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell.
Councilmember McGlashan said that last week the Council generally agreed that this level of support may be a beginning point. He expressed concern with the information that grant funding for CHS may be used to purchase laptops and cellphones and asked if CHS could provide an amount for their food and diaper needs. Ms. Gomillion responded she had added the laptops and cellphones to the ask to demonstrate how CHS is attempting to provide telehealth options for residents but could remove them from the list of intended purchases. She added that CHS has a lot of operating expenses that they are unable to meet right now.
Councilmember McGlashan said Sound Generations is helping to assist with the vital need of keep our senior residents home and safe.
Deputy Mayor Scully and Councilmembers Robertson, Chang, and McConnell expressed support for approving the grant funding.
Councilmember Robertson said overall, she is happy to see this money being well vetted and quickly granted by staff. She said social services are very important and offered that she prefers the term ‘physical distancing’ to ‘social distancing’ because staying socially connected is critical.
Councilmember Chang recognized the food services the Senior Center is providing while having no income. She asked how the grant money would be spent. Ms. Donohue listed annual funding they receive from the City of Shoreline and King County. She said she is hoping rental revenue generation will resume in June, and the amount requested is to compensate for the revenue lost during the period they have been shut down. She said the grant money would be used for many purposes, a predominant one being staffing.
Councilmember McConnell said she thinks CHS may have greater need than the request indicates and that she would support an amendment to increase the funding. Ms. Kelly said that the established grant fund is not enough to cover all applications under consideration. Councilmember McConnell asked if Council wanted to consider authorizing additional funds in order to meet anticipated needs.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he intends to move to increase the COVID-19 Community Emergency Response Grant Program by $50,000 since he does not want to hinder the process of granting support to qualifying organizations. Councilmember McConnell agreed with his reasoning.
The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
Deputy Mayor Scully moved to amend the agenda to add Action Item 8(b) to increase the funding of the Emergency Response Grant Program in the amount of $50,000 from the General Fund. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell.
Councilmember Roberts said he would have preferred more discussion about this in advance of adding it to the agenda. He offered that while he appreciates the thought behind this, there is no sense of how many applications may be forthcoming, so it might be better to get a bigger picture of the situation before adding this as an agenda item.
Councilmember McConnell responded that the Council has had a week to think about the Emergency Response Fund and she does not want to have to play catch up with meeting funding needs in this unique situation.
Councilmember McGlashan said, if it is added to the agenda, he would propose an amendment to cap the allocation of funds to no more than $5,000 to any one entity so another big chunk does not come out all at once. Mayor Hall clarified that the current motion was to add the Action Item to the agenda, and discussion on amendments should come if the motion passes.
Councilmember McGlashan expressed support for the motion, stating that the Council was aware the original amount was a starting point.
Mayor Hall said he supports the motion but said he has procedural concerns with adding items with financial impact to the agenda without time to think about it in advance.
The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
(b) Increasing the Amount of the Emergency Response Fund in the Amount of $50,000 from the General Fund
Deputy Mayor Scully moved to add $50,000 from the General Fund to the Emergency Response Grant Program subject to the rules and procedures of that program. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell.
Deputy Mayor Scully asked Ms. Tarry to comment on whether there are available funds in reserve. She said she is comfortable with the additional allocation for this purpose.
Councilmember Robertson expressed support for the motion, and said it was clear that the original funding level would be a start, and it should not be a surprise that additional funding needs to be considered. She concluded that in recognition of the pending requests, increasing the cap makes sense to her.
Mayor Hall said his only concern is procedural, saying that budget decisions are not usually made on the fly in a meeting.
Councilmember Roberts asked if $50,000 is enough, recalling previous comments on need and resources. He said he thinks that if Council is going to increase the funding, doing it by an additional $100,000 makes sense.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he does not know if $50,000 is enough, either, but his goal is to make sure the City Manager has the ongoing authority to give out the small grants. He said he is trying to draw a line between making sure organizations are not prevented from getting the aid they need while not giving all available money away all at once.
Councilmember Chang said she is comfortable with supporting the $50,000 but she would like to have a staff report if any larger amounts are being suggested, because consideration of impacts should happen in a comprehensive manner. Councilmember McGlashan agreed, saying he wants to know how the total budget will be affected. He added that he would have preferred some warning that this motion was going to be made tonight.
The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
(c) Terminating Temporary Public Health Emergency Order No. 5 of the City Manager for Suspension of the Prohibition on Plastic Retail Carryout Bags During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency
Autumn Salamack, Environmental Services Coordinator, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Salamack explained that there was a recent request for a temporary suspension of the plastic bag ban in response to the COVID-19 public health emergency. She said that the request stemmed from concerns that reusable bags could transfer the virus to staff and other customers.
Ms. Salamack reviewed her research on both transmission of the virus via reusable bags for similar actions taken by other communities. She learned that there are no specific studies regarding reusable bags and COVID-19, but that there is evidence the virus could persist on surfaces up to several days. She said the King County Health guidance for grocery stores makes no mention of shopping bags, and that the State Department of Health believes that there is low risk from handling consumer-provided bags. She listed the State recommendations to address concerns. Ms. Salamack reported that actions by other jurisdictions in the region include suspension of existing bans, guidance to not enforce bans, suspension of the pass-through charges for the use of paper bags, and delaying implementation of new legislation.
Ms. Salamack said on March 31, 2020, the City Manager issued Temporary Public Health Emergency Order No. 5, suspending the prohibition on carryout plastic bags at retail establishments through May 31, 2020. While the City remains strongly committed to waste reduction and sustainable practices, it also wants to take every reasonable precaution to promote the health and welfare of retail employees and residents. She added that the Order is aligned with the actions of several neighboring communities. She said based on the request of Councilmember Roberts, she is asking Council if the Order should be terminated and concluded by sharing the reasons staff does not recommend termination it.
Mayor Hall opened the Public Comment period. Seeing none, he closed the Public Comment
Period.
Councilmember Roberts moved to terminate Temporary Public Health Emergency Order No. 5 issued by the City Manager on March 31, 2020, that suspends certain provisions of Chapter 9.25 of the Shoreline Municipal Code related to plastic retail carryout bags due to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. The motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Scully.
Councilmember Roberts said he appreciates all the work the City Manager and staff have been doing throughout the emergency and said Shoreline is proving itself to be a leader on many aspects of keeping people safe. However, he said this Emergency Order is not necessary at this time. He expressed that while protecting essential workers needs to be at the forefront, this Order does not seem to be based on science. He listed other methods retailers could use to protect their workers and said a more minimal approach to protecting the employees could have been taken.
Councilmember McGlashan said he will not support the motion. He said it is important to protect essential workers, and right now no one knows how long this virus lives on various surfaces. He observed that the impact would be significant if grocery stores start closing because of sick employees. He recalled that this was on a list of items considered by Council when they evaluated giving the City Manager the authority to waive them, and there was no objection at that time.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he supports the motion. He added that he agrees with everything Councilmember McGlashan said, but the reason he supports the motion is because the decision to repeal the ban was not backed by science. He said he worries about the Council shooting from the hip on public health guidance issues and he hopes that on issues related to best ways to stop virus transmission, the Council will wait until Public Health issues a recommendation, rather than making decisions through guesswork.
Councilmember Chang said anecdotally she has observed that local stores are not allowing the option of customers using reusable bags. She asked why only one retailer made the request, and why plastic is preferred over paper bags. Mayor Hall said he has heard from additional retailers.
Councilmember Robertson thanked Councilmember Roberts for providing the opportunity for checks and balances in decision making. She said she is not going to support the motion because it addresses the perceived health risks for grocery workers in the critical service they are providing, but environmentally speaking, it hurts her heart. She said she will be ready to lift this as soon as the time is right; and she hopes the stores can get back to allowing people to use their own bags if they bag their own purchases.
Mayor Hall said he will oppose the motion. He agreed that Councilmembers are not experts in the transmission of disease and should not pretend to be. He said in this case, whether there is science one way or another, grocery workers are scared. In response to Councilmember Robertson’s environmental concerns, he said even the environment groups who promoted the initial ban on plastic bags are fine with it being suspended. He read an email he received from the Executive Director of Zero Waste Washington that recognized the emergency and acknowledged the need to protect the health of grocery workers.
Councilmember Roberts said the information Mayor Hall shared is helpful, but it does not change his opinion. He noted that the Governor has signed a law banning plastic bags statewide. He said many of the arguments being raised now were raised when the bag ban was first put into place. He said the only safe options are not bagging groceries, or having the purchaser bag their own groceries.
Councilmember Chang said she is still wavering on this and is trying to understand why it is necessary to allow plastic bags into the mix when paper bags will do. Councilmember McGlashan observed that some paper bags do not have handles, which can be inconvenient. He said the grocery store employees he talks to are scared and feel safer using plastic bags.
Deputy Mayor Scully emphasized that he knows the entire Council wants to keep people safe, even if they differ in their reasoning. He said he would hate to see this motion characterized as anti-grocery worker. He said Mayor Hall’s comment about supply chain concerns made him think twice, but as of yet that is anecdotal. He concluded that right now there is not enough scientific evidence to indicate that plastic is better than paper.
The motion failed, 3-4, with Deputy Mayor Scully and Councilmembers Chang and Roberts voting in favor.
9. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing the 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP)
Nytasha Walters, Transportation Services Manager, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Walters explained the purpose of the Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP) and shared a graphic displaying how the TIP is plugged into the Capital Improvement Plan and budget. She listed the components that inform the six-year TIP and reviewed the TIP document format, describing the project sheets and funding categories and displayed a map of the 2021-2026 TIP identified programs and projects.
Ms. Walters reviewed the changes from the previous year. She said that no new projects were added, and she shared project updates and scheduled for completion and listed the projects that have been removed. She said the TIP total cost is $281 Million and is comprised of funded, partially funded, and unfunded projects. She noted that the City is being strategic in the evaluation of unfunded projects.
Ms. Walters said with the passage of State Initiative 976 (I-976) the City lost the ability to impose two vehicle license fees (VLF) for transportation purposes, one for pavement maintenance and one for sidewalk rehabilitation. She emphasized that the new sidewalk program is not impacted by I-976. She said because of this loss of funding staff recommends that the Sidewalk Rehabilitation Program funding be restored to the historic levels of $152,000 a year, and the Annual Road Surface Maintenance Program (ARM) be restored to $530,000 a year.
Ms. Walters displayed a list of TIP grant priorities and said the City is pursuing multiple strategies to fund projects. She said an ongoing challenge is that there is not enough Real Estate Excise Tax (REET) resources to support grant matching for all high priority needs and the City is looking for additional funding sources to provide adequate grant matches for these projects. She concluded that the Public Hearing on the TIP is scheduled for June.
Councilmember Roberts said he would like the next staff report to include the status of sales tax revenue for sidewalk bonds and that he would like more information on where funding matching grants fits into overall City priorities. He said he would usually ask for continued consideration of other unfunded programs, but he understands with the current financial situation this may not make sense. He emphasized that he thinks the City should continually look for Safe Routes to School funding. Mayor Hall said that the City Manager is working on a financial update for Council that will consider recent events.
Councilmember McConnell reiterated how great it is that two Shoreline projects moved forward in the funding competition. She thanked Ms. Walters for recognizing the impacts of I-976 and recommending the restoration of funding to the Sidewalk rehabilitation program and the ARM programs. She said she supports protecting revenue for matching grants and would like to hear staff recommendations.
Deputy Mayor Scully praised the work on the TIP. He noted that the Ridgecrest Safe Routes to School project was not a priority for matching funds, and he asked for clarification on the reason. Ms. Walters said it is a project that grant funding would be considered for, and it is within the partial funded projects. She explained that the highlighted priority projects displayed in the presentation are larger federal projects.
Councilmember McGlashan asked how a Public Hearing would be held if the remote meetings are extended to June. Ms. Tarry said the City would approach the Governor and either seek an extension of due dates and/or a waiver requirement that cannot safely be met. Mayor Hall asked if a Public Hearing could be held with people signing up in advance like is currently being done for public comment, and Ms. Tarry said at this point the City Attorney is looking into it.
Mayor Hall reviewed the process steps and reminded the Council to send questions to staff in advance of the Public Hearing.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:56 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk