SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING

Monday, September 18, 2017 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall

7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North

PRESENT: Mayor Roberts, Councilmembers McGlashan, Scully, McConnell, and Salomon

ABSENT: Deputy Mayor Winstead and Councilmember Hall

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, with the exception of Deputy Mayor Winstead and Councilmember Hall.

Councilmember McGlashan moved to excuse Deputy Mayor Winstead and Councilmember Hall for personal reasons. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Scully and passed unanimously, 5-0.

(a) Proclamation of Mayor's Day of Concern for the Hungry

Mayor Roberts read a proclamation declaring September 18, 2017 as Mayor’s Day of Concern for the Hungry in the City of Shoreline. Tamarah Lee, Shoreline Hopelink Service Center Manager, accepted the proclamation. Ms. Lee thanked the Council for the proclamation and said Hopelink’s goal is to help people exit poverty. She said they have increased their client base and are continuing to look for ways to help people improve their lives.

3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER

Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports and updates on various City meetings, projects and events.

4. COUNCIL REPORTS

Mayor Roberts reported that the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Legislative Committee recommended to the Board legislative priorities for the 2018 Legislative Session. He said they included authorizing more affordable option tools for local government consideration and increasing funding for mental health and chemical dependency services.

5. PUBLIC COMMENT

Boni Biery, Shoreline resident, submitted a packet of information for Councilmembers to review. She talked about the value of Firlands Way and said it is a historic road consisting of businesses in the south end and neighborhoods in the north end. She said the south end is the equivalent of Seattle’s Pioneer Square, is under used, and can be upgraded to attract new residents and businesses to Shoreline. She offered recommendations on how Firlands Way can be improved to reduce street flooding and promote the history of Shoreline. She asked the Council to revisit the May 2017 Draft of the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space Plan, restore Item #41 Park/Green Space Development of Firlands Way, and create funds to develop the business district.

Janet Way, Shoreline Preservation Society, stated she supports the idea of recognizing and restoring Firlands Way for its historical and economic value. She then asked the Council to reconsider the proposal for a utility yard at Hamlin Park. She said Councilmembers did not tour the forest on their recent maintenance facility tour. She said it is a remarkable place, has habitat, hundreds of trees, birds, animals, walking trails, places for people to walk dogs, and serves as a gateway to the Park. She also noted that it is a migratory bird route, has plant life, and said destroying the forest will change the neighborhood.

Derick Sellers, Shoreline resident, asked the Council to remove Hamlin Park from consideration as a location for a utility yard, and said he strongly opposes any modifications to the Park. He said he supports a Shoreline City income tax and urged the Council to follow Seattle’s lead.

6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA

The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.

7. CONSENT CALENDAR

Upon motion by Councilmember Scully and seconded by Councilmember McConnell and unanimously carried, 5-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:

(a) Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of July 31, 2017

(b) Adopting Res. No. 416 - Amending the City's Business Expense Policy

(c) Adopting Ord. No. 793 - Amending the Shoreline Municipal Code Chapter 2.60 Purchasing Code

(d) Adopting Ord. No. 795 - Amending Shoreline Municipal Code Chapter 3.50 Sale and Disposal of Surplus Personal Property

8. ACTION ITEMS

(a) Public Hearing and Adopting the 2018 Community Development Block Grant Funding and Contingency Plan

Rob Beem, Community Services Manager, explained that the use of federal Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) funding requires a public hearing and a plan to allocate those funds. He said $280,296 is the projected CBDG revenue and the use of funds are guided by an Interlocal Agreement with King County and by local human services decisions and capital funding for housing activities. He noted the 2018 Budget will show an increase of $21,000 and reviewed the proposed uses for the CBDG funds.

Mayor Roberts opened the Public Hearing, and seeing that there was no one wanting to comment, he closed the Hearing.

Councilmember McGlashan moved to adopt the 2018 Community Development Block Grant Funding and Contingency Plan. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell.

Councilmember McGlashan questioned holding CBDG Funds over to subsequent years and asked if the funds can be lost. Mr. Beem replied that funds can be used in subsequent years and it is possible that they can be lost. Councilmember Scully stated he would like to see how these funds are going to be spent and prefers applying the funds to an Agency that needs help now instead of holding them over to subsequent years. Mayor Roberts stated that $34,000 for a building is not a lot of money and asked if it were to double in two years what percentage of funding would go towards the total cost of a project. Mr. Beem responded that block grant rules are specific on where funds can be applied and that it takes a savvy developer to weave block grant money into a project.

The motion passed unanimously, 5-0.

9. STUDY ITEMS

(a) Discussing the 2017 Second Quarter Financial Report and a Preliminary View of the 2018 Budget and 2018-2023 Capital Improvement Plan

Sara Lane, Administrative Services Director, and Rick Kirkwood, Budget Supervisor, presented the staff report. Ms. Lane stated that the City’s Budget supports Council's priorities and the City's organizational goals, and presented 2018 Budget Priorities. She stated that the City's 2017 General Fund will end with a $3.2 Million fund balance, and that 2018 will end with a $9.8 Million fund balance and $5.1 Million in revenue stabilization funds. She reviewed the Fulltime Time Employee (FTE) Summary for the last few years, salary and benefit considerations, supplemental requests, operating revenue forecasts, resources, fee schedules, and operating expenditure forecasts. She said the 10 Year Financial Sustainability Model has been updated and now projects a budget gap in 2020. She presented strategies that have been identified to address the budget gap. She provided a brief overview of Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) issues and projects planned through 2023. She concluded with reviewing the 2018 Budget and CIP schedule, and said budget adoption is scheduled for November 20, 2017.

Councilmember Scully expressed concern about implementing a Business and Occupation (B & O) Tax since the budget gap has been pushed out to 2020. Ms. Lane advised that 2020 is rapidly approaching and stressed the City should be proactive about implementing financial strategy and not wait until it is needed, and pointed out that there are still unfunded needs.

Councilmember Salomon confirmed that an additional 8.5 FTEs are included in the proposed budget and asked if the B & O Tax would be needed to support these new FTE's based on the budget gap anticipated in 2020. He questioned how the City will fund these positions if the B & O Tax does not pass. Ms. Lane responded that if funds are not generated to support the gap, the positions will go away and pointed out that the Model shows that. She explained that four positons will be funded with Surface Water revenue, two are currently extra help, and one is supporting the School District’s permitting process. Mr. Kirkwood added that one position is funded by Sound Transit. Ms. Tarry pointed out that the Council is supporting the Surface Water Proactive Management Strategy requiring additional planning and staffing. Councilmember Salomon requested that a plan be developed to address how those positions will be funded if the B & O Tax does not pass. He questioned why the City’s Transportation Impact Fees did not decrease based on the Washington State Department of Transportation Construction Cost Index (WSDOT CCI) fee reductions. He said it sends the wrong message when government increases fees based on cost indexes, but then does not decrease them when cost indexes show a decrease.

Mayor Roberts said he heard feedback from Sound Transit and the School District that it is difficult to find construction workers, which is driving up project costs. He asked if staff is making allowances for the increased cost for the City’s CIP projects. Tricia Juhnke, City Engineer, responded that it is difficult to make predictions about the labor market, but stated that staff escalates construction costs based on what is happening in the market. She said this year’s bids have come in higher than estimated because there are fewer bidders in the process which drives up the price. She said the City has increased engineering estimates to address this.

Mayor Roberts asked if Shoreline could share the cost of the Police K9 Unit with other jurisdictions. Ms. Tarry replied that the mutual aid agreements will not allow the City to be reimbursed by other jurisdictions. She shared that Police Chief Ledford does not think the Unit will get pulled out of the City that often.

Councilmember McGlashan asked clarifying questions regarding the need for the B&O Tax, and confirmed that the budget gap projected in 2020 will also effect city services and not just the new positions. Ms. Lane responded that is correct.

10. ADJOURNMENT

At 7:58 p.m., Mayor Roberts declared the meeting adjourned.

/S/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk