CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, February 1, 2016 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall
7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Roberts, Deputy Mayor Winstead,
Councilmembers McGlashan, Scully, Hall, McConnell, and Salomon
ABSENT: None
1. CALL TO ORDER
At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Roberts who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Mayor Roberts led the flag salute. Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
Mayor Roberts read a proclamation declaring February 2016 as Black History Month in the City of Shoreline. Tashayla Ray, Black Student Union (BSU) President; Marcia Deurwarder, BSU Vice President; Yadiwa Cain, BSU Member and Multicultural Center Peer Navigator; Rezina Habtemariam, Director, Student Life; Janel Middleton, Customer Service Specialist II and BSU Advisor; and Dr. Yvonne L. Terrell-Powell, Associate Dean, Equity, Engagement and Counseling, from Shoreline Community College accepted the proclamation.
Ms. Deurwarder along with Ms. Ray thanked the City of Shoreline for the proclamation and for recognizing the contributions of African Americans. Ms. Ray announced that in celebration of Black History Month Shoreline Community College’s Black Student Union will be hosting a Black Film Festival, A Panel Series to Discuss Black Issues, and a Queer Film Festival. Dr. Terrell-Powell added that Shoreline Community College has a range of activities that support African American Students and student success. She invited Shoreline residents to the College’s Community Read, and said they are reading and discussing Octavia’s Brood: Science Fiction Stories from Social Justice Movement, every Wednesday from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports and updates on various City meetings, projects and events.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Deputy Mayor Winstead reported attending the Regional Law, Safety, and Justice Committee Meeting and shared that the theme was sex crimes. She said a briefing was provided on sex exploitation and trafficking, and she announced that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. She also reported attending the Light Rail Planning Meeting regarding the design of the Shoreline Light Rail Stations, and commented on the good turnout and great ideas shared.
Councilmember McGlashan reported attending the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) City Action Days Conference and hearing discussions on homelessness and Representative McBride’s Public Record Act Bill. He said he also attended the Sound Transit Board Meeting and received an update on the ST3 Project Process Timeline and met new Boardmembers.
Mayor Roberts reported attending the AWC City Action Days Conference and said he had good conversations with Senator Maralyn Chase and Representatives Cindy Ryu and Ruth Kagi. He shared that they are optimistic about finishing the 60 days of the regular Legislative Session but noted that they are not sure if all bills will get moved forward. He announced that the Ronald Wastewater Committee of Elected Officials Meeting is being postponed to later date.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
June Howard, Innis Arden resident and Chair of Council of Neighborhoods (CON), shared activities sponsored by CON. She talked about the Leaders Learning Together Series and announced that communications and engagement are future topics for discussion. She shared that they are hosting diversity training events to help foster cultural competence among the CON. She thanked the City Council for their support, and invited Shoreline residents to attend the CON meetings held at 6:30 p.m. on the first Wednesday of the month.
Brad Lancaster, Shoreline resident, talked about homelessness and shared that the King County One Night Count revealed that 4,500 people were homeless in King County. He suggested the City dedicate a year round place for homeless people with children and said it can start with the building of 30 tiny houses. He recommended having platforms on which to pitch tents that have power and portable toilets until the houses are built. He shared challenges homeless children face in school due to transitory housing arrangements and recommended permanent transient housing locations for families with children so their schooling will be uninterrupted.
Jessica Gesinger, Co-Director of Shoreline Cooperative Preschool, provided an update on the current situation with the School. She shared that approximately 400 families are in danger of losing early intervention education programs. She described the students that attend the School and education programs provided. She stated that the District has extended their lease through August 2016 and that they are exploring new location alternatives. She commented they are exploring King County’s Best Start for Kids Initiative, and conveyed that they need support from city partners to work together on obtaining levy money to help fund a new building.
Larry Owens, Shoreline resident, Co-Founder Shoreline Solar Project, and Adjunct Professor at Shoreline Community College, congratulated the City on having a discussion on Shoreline 2016 - 2019 Priority Environmental Strategies.
Ms. Tarry shared that the City Council is meeting with King County Councilmember Rod Dembowski on Monday, February 8, 2016 and that the Best Start for Kids Levy is on the Agenda for discussion.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Winstead and seconded by Councilmember Hall and unanimously carried, 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Minutes of Workshop Dinner Meeting of January 11, 2016
(b) Adoption of Ord. Nos. 737 and 738 - Amending Fee Table, Chapter 3.01 of the Shoreline Municipal Code to Correct Errors and Add an Additional Fee
(c) Motion to Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Contract with MJ Takisaki, Inc. in the Amount of $561,628.79 for the Shoreline Pool Long Term Maintenance Project
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussion of 2016-2019 Priority Environmental Strategies
Ms. Tarry introduced Miranda Redinger, Senior Planner; Rika Cecil, Environmental Services Analyst; and Thomas Puttman, President of Puttman Infrastructure, to provide the report. Ms. Redinger reported that 2016-2019 Priority Environmental Strategies are: 1) Adopt Living Building Challenge Ordinance and consider Petal Recognition through the International Living Future Institute (ILFI); 2) Examine feasibility of District Energy (DE); and 3) Conduct a Solarize Campaign. She reviewed components of the Living Building Challenge Ordinance and the Petal Recognition Program. She announced that ILFI is providing a presentation to the Planning Commission in February and anticipates the Commission will consider potential regulations in late spring/early summer.
Ms. Redinger recalled Council’s discussion about District Energy and its benefits for the Community and buildings. She discussed how DE value is determined and reviewed the steps to develop a DE in Shoreline. Mr. Puttnam reviewed energy projects his company has implemented and referenced a feasibility study conducted in Bellingham, Washington. He said the Study revealed that the implementation of a DE in Bellingham would yield a savings of 25% in energy and 54% in carbon emissions. He discussed the components of a DE Feasibility Study and explained that it addresses the performance, technical, and financial aspects to achieve energy savings and carbon emission reductions, and that it will also assess cost of savings.
Councilmember Hall commented that he understands the value of DE when all properties/projects are under unified control, and asked how a DE approach would apply when the development occurs over the span of a decade. Mr. Putman responded that public/private partnerships are important and explained that work is needed to develop enabling strategies that help move a system forward. He said mandatory connection policies, floor area ratio (FAR) connecting bonuses, and other tools can be used to help stimulate a DE, if value is there. He explained that the Study will look at what tools need to be developed to move a plan forward.
Councilmember McGlashan commented that the City’s direction is to assume utilities, questioned if a DE would be private, and asked if the City wanted to create a separate utility. He asked if the DE is private would the cost to the users be greater than a public utility. Mr. Puttman explained that the four utility delivery models are Fully Public, Fully Private, Public/Private Partnership, or Co-op made up of landowners, and said an evaluation would be made to determine which model makes the most sense. He explained that the Study will also evaluate the financial rates of return for each model.
Councilmember Salomon commented that a private developer may want to see a significant public partnership and investment to assume the risk due to the long payback time within the Station Subareas. He shared that a code structure can be developed to create a payback mechanism if it makes sense for the residents. He said he would be interested in moving towards a co-op model and shared that he would not be comfortable with the permanent private ownership model. He reiterated that he struggles with the idea that an investor would participate in a DE System due to the lengthy payback timeline. Mr. Putman replied that it depends on how you define the investment opportunity and that the Feasibility Study would explain value propositions and invite investors to participate.
Mayor Roberts asked if it is easy to expand a District Energy System. Mr. Putman replied that DE Systems are responsive to growth and said the comprehensive subarea plans would give guidance on how an area will grow and the systems would be planned accordingly. He said it is important to get the first catalyst node started.
Ms. Redinger reviewed that the Solarize Campaign options are: Streamline Permitting, Solar-Ready, Community Solar, and Household Challenge. She shared that the State has waived building permit requirements for solar systems that meet specifications. She said building code amendments would be required to become Solar-Ready and shared that it could be done this year. She then presented partnership opportunities supporting the Household Challenge.
Councilmember McGlashan expressed concern that a Solar-Ready requirement could cost developers more money. He asked clarifying questions about the State’s recovery incentives and the proposed Senate Bill to reform the State incentive. Linda Irvine, NW SEED, responded that the incentives are laid out in the Washington Administrative Code. Rates start at .15 cents/kilowatt hours and can go as high as .54 cents for property that use made in Washington Equipment. She shared that there is a caveat that if more applicants apply for the incentive than is budgeted, then the budget will be divided based on the number of applications in the pool. She shared that the Bill has passed out of the House Committee and said it has a much lower incentive and is guaranteed for 10 years.
Councilmember Scully commented that he supports implementing Community Solar incentives, but expressed concern about Solar-Ready and their related expenses. He said technology changes fast and that a Solar-Ready house in 2017 will probably not meet the solar ready requirements in 2037.
Councilmember Salomon commented that he wants to be clear about what we are doing and where we are going, and not mix electricity and hydropower with carbon reduction plans without knowing that is what we are doing. Ms. Irvine responded that NW SEED Solarized Program targeted electricity production shows people that they can create their energy locally. She shared that there are economic development benefits because local installers are employed, and added that people who use solar panels are also more likely to adopt electric vehicles.
Deputy Mayor Winstead said she would like to see the City proceed with the Solarized Campaign, with exception of the Solar-Ready Option.
Councilmember McConnell commented on the Solar-Ready Option and said the use of the word “mandate” in the Feasibility Study is too strong and recommended using “incentives” instead. She cautioned that solar technology changes so quickly and could quickly become outdated.
Councilmember Hall expressed that it is important to move all the ideas forward. He commented that a majority of the new construction in Shoreline will be multi-family housing and pointed out that Shoreline already has pretty good incentive program for energy and solar. He advised that rather than regulating the single-family market, the City should ensure multi-family projects are provided adequate incentives, and recommended the City invest resources into promoting them.
Mayor Roberts asked how technology might change in the future. Ms. Irvine responded that inverters, electrical codes, and panels are changing, but what will remain constant is panels will need to be south facing and free of obstruction. Mayor Roberts stated that he supports having the Planning Commission continue to study and evaluate whether Solar-Ready is an option that should be moved forward.
Ms. Redinger summarized that Council would like staff to pursue single-family housing incentives.
(b) Discussion of Capital Project Staffing
Randy Witt, Public Works Director, explained that the 2016-2021 Capital Improvement Program has more funded projects than personnel resources, and stated the 2016 Budget was not aligned with the staffing needs. He talked about position vacancies and explained the lack of continuity that played into the budget development. He reviewed the analysis used to determine appropriate staffing levels which revealed that the CIP is understaffed by three FTEs.
Tricia Juhnke, City Engineer, reviewed the Tier 1 high priority projects that are staffed and Tier 2 projects that are not staffed, or are will be worked on as time permits. She said 2-3 additional FTE's are needed to manage currently funded work.
Mr. Witt reminded Council that ST2 and 175th Street (Stone to I-5) are not on this list. He recommended hiring two (2) Engineer Capital Project Managers for a 3-year duration and said this will cover most of the Tier 2 projects. He stated that the positions will be funded by capital funds and will allow time for forecasting/planning for future staffing needs. He reviewed the next steps in the process.
Councilmember Scully expressed that if the projects in the CIP are priorities, then they should be supported by Council.
Councilmember McConnell commented that she empathized with Mr. Witt on the effects of staff turnover and said she supports increasing staffing levels.
Councilmember McGlashan said he does not support the recommendation because he has never seen a CIP get shorter or less costly, and three years from now there will be more projects that will also need more staffing. He said he supports hiring permanent employees.
Councilmember Hall asked clarifying questions about differences in employment types. Ms. Tarry responded that staff will verify layoff policies and said she does not think temporary employees stay on the re-hire list.
Deputy Mayor Winstead stated she prefers to hire FTEs. Councilmember Scully agreed and added that you get better employees when they are hired as an FTE.
Ms. Tarry explained that she recommended the limited term positions to allow more time to assess the ebbs and flows of the work. She said staff would prefer hiring full time employees if Council supports that route.
Councilmember Salomon asked if the funding for the FTE’s would come primarily from grants. Mr. Witt responded that Capital Improvement Projects come with their own funding.
Mayor Roberts stated that he is comfortable with either FTE’s or Limited Term positions, and Councilmember McConnell expressed that permanent positions would be better.
Mr. Witt stated that the item will be brought back to Council on February 22, 2016.
9. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:45 p.m., Mayor Roberts declared the meeting adjourned.
/S/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk