CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, October 29, 2018 Conference Room 303 - Shoreline City Hall
5:30 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Salomon, Councilmembers McGlashan, Scully, McConnell, Chang and Roberts
ABSENT: None
STAFF: Debbie Tarry, City Manager; John Norris, Assistant City Manager; Jim Hammond, Intergovernmental Affairs Manager; and Allison Taylor, Deputy City Clerk
GUESTS: City of Kenmore: Mayor David Baker; Councilmembers Nigel Herbig, Brent Smith, Joe Marshall, and Debra Srebnik; Rob Karlinsey, City Manager
Lake Forest Park: Mayor Jeff Johnson; Councilmembers Catherine Stanford, Semra Riddle, John Wright, Phillippa Kassover, and Mark Phillips; and Phillip Hall, City Administrator
At 5:31 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Hall.
Mayor Hall welcomed the Cities of Kenmore and Lake Forest Park and expressed gratitude for the continued opportunity to discuss issues of shared concern.
City Updates
Debbie Tarry, Shoreline City Manager, reported on current City activities and initiatives. She mentioned the completion of the new Police Station, the City’s partnership with Ronald Wastewater District, new construction trends, budget review, Sound Transit 2 (ST2) design work, and the upcoming addition of a B&O tax.
Rob Karlinsey, Kenmore City Manager, shared updates on Kenmore’s growth, which includes continued exploration of development opportunities. He gave details on the approved walkways/waterways bond measure which will support sidewalks and bike lane expansion and improve waterfront access points. He said their downtown is growing and has benefitted from recent additions of the Town Square and Hangar (a gathering space).
Jeff Johnson, Lake Forest Park Mayor, gave an update on the new Town Center, their culvert upgrades, and the recent land acquisition of seven acres of park property. He spoke to the community spirit in Lake Forest Park, and voiced appreciation for the ongoing collaboration with Kenmore and Shoreline.
ST3 SR522/NE 145th Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project
Mayor Hall started the conversation with a discussion of the proposed project refinements to ST3, which he deemed potentially problematic. Mayor Johnson agreed, elaborating that without continuous Business Access and Transit (BAT) lanes along the BRT corridor, traffic would be severely impacted, defeating the purpose of the project. He reminded the Councils that voters wanted the dedicated lanes, and without them there was little point to the project. Councilmember Stanford said she was surprised when Sound Transit said they were considering non-continuous BAT lanes and reduced sidewalks as viable adjustments to the project. She said she recognizes the financial challenges of the project but also felt these refinements could decimate it. Councilmember McConnell commented that the Shoreline Council had told Sound Transit that without BAT lanes, the project would collapse. Mayor Baker agreed, saying the cities need to be vocal and advocate for the initially proposed project. Councilmember Kassover elaborated, saying Sound Transit risks losing the voters’ faith if this situation is not resolved. Mayor Johnson stated that Sound Transit did not assess the traffic on 145th realistically.
Frustration was expressed with the idea of the scope of the NE 145th BRT project being reduced, and Councilmembers compared the costs to ongoing Seattle projects. It was agreed that while this project is small in Sound Transit standards, proportionally the payoff of doing it properly would be huge. Mayor Baker wondered why the project changed so early in design and questioned why additions like the 130th St. Station were being considered if there were budget constraints.
Councilmember Stanford suggested revisiting conversations with Sound Transit and Councilmember McConnell offered the idea of drafting a joint letter to the Sound Transit Board. General discussion followed, with Councilmembers agreeing it is important to speak with a singular, united voice. It was recognized that consistent messaging from all stakeholders had worked before. It was determined that the letter should be forceful, not accusatory, and clearly express the shared vision for a successful project. With agreement from Kenmore and Lake Forest Park, Mayor Hall asked Shoreline staff to coordinate the logistics and draft a joint letter reminding Sound Transit of the importance of the success of the 145th BRT portion of the project. Conversation moved to involvement beyond the cities of Kenmore, Lake Forest Park, and Shoreline. It was decided the Cities would invite Bothell and Woodinville to join in signing, since the impact would be corridor-wide. All cities announced intent to write separate letters, as well.
Councilmember Chang wondered the steps being taken to secure state funding for the project. Mayor Johnson said they were in conversations with the legislature.
Councilmembers McConnell and Kassover offered to bring information of the scope reduction to SeaShore’s attention and include Rod Dembowski on the correspondence.
It was reported that it has been difficult for Cities to engage Seattle in conversation or to secure meeting time with Seattle Councilmember Debora Juarez to discuss this ST3 project, but that inroads had recently been made when members of her staff joined Shoreline staff for a tour of the 145th corridor. Ms. Tarry said her staff had made connections in the Intergovernmental Relations Office and were working on building bridges between the Seattle Department of Transportation and the Mayor’s offices. Several people reported they had expressed their concern to Mayor Durkan. The possibility of reactivating the community voice was discussed and tabled, with Councilmember Stanford mentioning she has drafted a strategy to do so, if needed.
Responses to Homelessness
Mayor Hall gave an update on the progress behind the 198th and Aurora Affordable Housing Project, with Ms. Tarry sharing design and management details. Mayor Baker mentioned the Fircrest site and the possibility of dedicating a portion of the site to affordable housing with community amenities.
Councilmember Phillips said he is seeing more homeless in their city’s parks, and he hopes Lake Forest Park can continue to address homelessness and affordable housing. Mayor Baker said affordable housing is a problem for more than just the homeless, especially as baby boomers, many with limited resources, reach retirement age. Deputy Mayor Salomon agreed, categorizing the parts of the problem as services and housing. Councilmember Stanford shared that Lake Forest Park is considering multifamily housing project tax exemptions to encourage high density, and commended Shoreline for their work around the Light Rail Stations. Mayor Hall said it is a fight to create high density housing. Councilmember Kassover reported on some of the work the North Urban Human Services Alliance is doing, and reflected that other countries think of housing as a public good rather than a private enterprise. Deputy Mayor Salomon said it is the role of leadership to plan forward as they predict future shortages, and Councilmember Roberts asked how Council can support keeping residents in their homes.
At 6:43 p.m. the meeting adjourned.
/s/Allison Taylor, Deputy City Clerk
CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, October 29, 2018 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall
7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Salomon, Councilmembers McGlashan, Scully, McConnell, Chang, 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. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Mayor Hall led the flag salute. Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present.
(a) Proclamation of America Recycles Day
Mayor Hall read a proclamation declaring November 15, 2018 as America Recycles Day. He recognized the importance of a healthy environment to society and called upon all citizens to celebrate this day by thanking those who contribute to protecting the environment.
Janet Charnley, Sustainability Coordinator from The Evergreen School, and students from the Sustainability Club accepted the proclamation. Ms. Charnley and her students recounted some of their Green School efforts to educate their community about waste reduction and the School’s recycling program.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports and updates on various City meetings, projects and events.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
There were no Council reports.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
There was no public comment.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Councilmember Roberts and seconded by Councilmember McGlashan and unanimously carried, 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of September 24, 2018
Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of October 1, 2018
(b) Authorizing the City Manager to Amend the Intergovernmental Agreement with the King Conservation District for Performance of Conservation Services
(c) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Memorandum of Agreement and Trademark Agreement for the City’s Participation in the EnviroStars Regional Green Business Program
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing the Proposed 2019-2020 Biennium Budget – Continued Department Presentations and Capital Improvement Program
Sara Lane, Administrative Services Director reviewed the schedule for the Budget and CIP Review and shared the ways in which the Budget Book could be accessed. She explained the approach to the departmental budget review, which began with incorporating all COLA/Personnel increases, and then moved to a scrubbing process that included review of adjustments and actual spending.
She pointed out that, based on Council’s suggestion, the slides have been adjusted to separate annual and biennial views to show comparisons as the City moves from an annual, to a biennial, budget.
· Public Works: Ms. Lane displayed the proposed budget and shared a graph diagramming the allocation of funds. She reminded Council that while the budget is biennial, the City has annual plans within the biennium. She shared the staffing trend, which includes the increase in staffing for the Unified Landscaping Team. Randy Witt, Public Works Director, detailed the services provided by Public Works in Operations, Engineering, and Transportation Services. He reviewed the logistical and budgetary challenges of contracting landscaping services that led to the recommendation to move landscaping services in-house. He elaborated that this move would involve absorbing some of the work the street and surface water staff currently do, freeing them up for other projects. He shared the planned timeline for building the Unified Landscape Team, which includes phasing out the contracted work in Parks Maintenance by late 2019. He noted the City will continue to hire seasonal staff. He stated the only ongoing budget change was for durable pavement marking maintenance, noting the work used to be handled by the County. He addressed the one-time budget requests, which include the purchase of a backhoe and funding for guard-rail repair and pavement marking catch-up, both of which also used to be the County’s responsibility.
Councilmember Roberts asked if the budget allocation for the Light Rail Station parking evaluation should be expanded to other areas, as well. Mr. Witt replied that although the City currently monitors parking needs and impacts in many locations, this study would specifically include long-term planning and surveying to manage the residential parking in the Light Rail Station areas, and once the systems were in place they could easily replicate the process for other parking assessments.
Councilmember Roberts asked about the the one-time cost of training some employees to qualify for a Commercial Driver’s License and wondered how many employees would be involved. Mr. Witt said the City has been challenged to recruit new employees at Maintenance Worker Level II, which requires a CDL, and that his department is interested in growing selected employees from Level I to Level II, and a component of this would include CDL training.
Councilmember Roberts said there have been many instances of price escalation in contracted work and asked why the City is contracting out guardrail repairs and durable pavement marking maintenance instead of handling the jobs in-house. Mr. Witt responded that the City does not have equipment for these projects and would need time to explore that route. Councilmember Roberts asked how the City determines when it is time to move jobs in-house to ensure quality and affordability. Mr. Witt said part of the budget process involves internal conversations on contracted services and elaborated that the City hires consultants for support in specialty areas or large projects. Councilmember McGlashan asked if all of the budgeted funds would be needed for these maintenance projects, and Mr. Witt said the extent of the backlog means need for repair exceeds the budget. He said that while the City receives some reimbursement from automobile damage to guardrails it does not cover all the repair costs.
Councilmember Chang asked for details on the maintenance agreements with King County and how it came to be that they were not doing the work anymore. Mr. Witt explained that the City had been paying for these services and King County no longer has the capacity to do the work. He warned that using a new contractor through a more formal agreement will be more expensive, but it is necessary.
Councilmember Scully thanked the City for performing an analysis and recommending adding the Unified Landscaping Team. He added that if the City were able to move away from seasonal employees, he would support it. Mr. Witt said they would continue to evaluate feasibility, but the growing season creates so much more work it is difficult to cross-train full time employees in a valuable way.
Councilmember Scully reinforced Councilmember Roberts’ request to expand the areas that may need parking evaluation before the Light Rail becomes operational, citing conversations with residents who live near the Seattle boundary and are impacted by spillover from Seattle in multi-family housing areas.
· Surface Water Utility: Ms. Lane displayed the proposed budget of this enterprise fund and shared a graph diagramming the allocation of funds for capital expenditures, operations, and debt service/City Maintenance Facility rent. The staffing trend for both Operating and Capital was shown, and she told Council that some staff were shared between departments. Mr. Witt reminded Council of the recently adopted Surface Water Master Plan and Fee Schedule. He shared the one-time budget requests for equipment, and detailed the eleven planned 2019-2020 Capital Projects, adding that 25 additional projects were scheduled for 2019-2024.
· Wastewater Utility: Mr. Witt commented that the integration of Ronald Wastewater staff to the City has gone smoothly. He said the City is under contract by Ronald for maintenance of operations, but that Ronald manages their own budget. Ms. Lane shared the expenditure comparisons and said the biggest change was the adjustments made to ensure proper staffing allocation, although actual staffing did not change.
Councilmember McGlashan asked why the budgeted backhoe and pickup truck needed to be purchased. He asked why they were not part of the assumption package. Mr. Witt responded that Ronald contracted out all their digging, so there was no equipment to share. Additionally, Mr. Witt mentioned that while the City is performing operations for Ronald, the Ronald Board has made it clear their equipment is only to be used for the Wastewater Utility. He said that once the Utility is fully assumed, the City will have the latitude to decide how equipment is used.
· Capital Investment Plan: Tricia Juhnke, City Engineer, presented the 2019-2024 CIP report. She stated that it included the General Capital Fund, the City Facilities Major Maintenance Fund, and the Roads Capital Fund. She mentioned that since the Surface Water Capital Fund was previously discussed it would not be included in her presentation. She clarified that while the CIP is a six-year plan, Council will only be authorizing two years of spending as part of the biennium budget. She displayed the 10 planned Parks projects and one Facilities project. She said it was worth noting that the minimum Capital Fund balance is thin at $8,000 in 2020, mainly due to the reductions in the Real Estate Excise Tax. She listed the seven City Facilities Major Maintenance Fund projects and mentioned that there were no changes to the Fund. She said the Roads Capital Fund included three projects categorized as either repair or replacement, one being the newly added Sidewalk Rehabilitation Program, funded by Vehicle License Fees. Finally, she reported on the 14 Capacity Construction projects and highlighted the new addition of adding school zone flashers. She said the Roads Capital Fund will have a minimum fund balance of $18,000 at the end of the CIP in 2024.
· General Fund Transfers and Fund Balance: Ms. Lane listed the General Fund Transfers Out to specific funds, totaling $6 Million. She shared the annual anticipated ending Fund Balances in General Reserves through 2020 and reminded Council that those predictions assume spending all contingencies, which rarely happens.
· Debt Service Payments: Ms. Lane listed the Debt Service Fund allocations and reported that $8.7 Million was allocated to support existing Bonds. She displayed a list of the additional Funds also included in the budget.
Mayor Hall asked when the 2006 Bonds would be paid off, and Ms. Lane said at the end of 2021.
Ms. Lane reminded Council that recommended amendments to the Budget were due by November 7, 2018 so they could be included in the November 19, 2018 meeting packet.
(b) Discussing Ordinance No. 845 – 2018 Comprehensive Plan Annual Docket Amendments to the Shoreline Comprehensive Plan
Steve Szafran, Senior Planner, presented the Staff Report. He explained that the State Growth Management Act limits review of the proposed Comprehensive Plan Amendments to once a year, with limited exceptions. He reminded Council of the Docket of eight amendments set by them in March 2018. He reviewed the amendments and provided updates on each one. He stated that the first two amendments need to be carried over to the 2019 docket because of delays in other agencies.
Mr. Szafran said Amendment 5 was withdrawn by the applicant. He elaborated on Amendment 6, which considers amendments to the Point Wells Subarea Plan to reflect recent changes to the Point Wells area that revise the total land area, remove reference to the upper bluff, amends maps and figures and zoning and land use designations, and make other administrative type corrections. Mr. Szafran stated that Council also received Public Comment requesting additional minor revisions to the Subarea Plan. He said these changes are administrative and clarifying in nature and Staff supports them.
Mayor Hall asked for more information on the height changes in the amendment, and Mr. Szafran explained the Planning Commission discussed the height issue and that Staff supports the amendment. Councilmember Scully said it is his understanding that the height amendment is being proposed to reflect Snohomish County’s current process, and Mr. Szafran said that was also his understanding. Mayor Hall reminded Council that the Point Wells Subarea Plan would only go into effect if Point Wells is annexed. He said any decision on height in the Plan is Council’s decision, that can be made regardless of what Snohomish County has adopted, but would only take effect in the event the City gains control of the site.
Mr. Szafran shared the Planning Commission’s recommendation to carry over Amendments 1 and 2 to the 2019 docket, and to approve Amendments 3, 4, 6, 7, and 8.
Councilmember Roberts suggested that in Amendment 7 the sentence listing specific commercial areas should be eliminated to prevent need for future policy clarification. Mayor Hall agreed, and Mr. Szafran said the sentence would be struck.
Mayor Hall confirmed that there were no objections to the incorporation of the suggested changes to Amendment 6 as an amendment to the final Ordinance.
9. EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 8:07 p.m., Mayor Hall recessed into Executive Session for a period of 30 minutes as authorized by RCW 42.30.110(l)(i) to discuss with legal counsel matters relating to agency
enforcement actions, or litigation; and RCW 42.30.110(1)(b) to consider the selection of a site or the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase. Staff attending the Executive Session included Debbie Tarry, City Manager; John Norris, Assistant City Manager; and Margaret King, City Attorney. At 8:38 p.m. Mayor Hall emerged and announced a 10-minute extension to the Executive Session. The Executive Session ended at 8:49 p.m.
At 8:51 Mayor Hall reconvened the Council Meeting following the Executive Session.
Councilmember McGlashan moved to authorize the City Manager to take the necessary legal steps to seek intervention in any appeal filed by BSRE of the Snohomish County’s decision regarding BSRE’s Urban Center development applications for Point Wells and to prosecute and defend the City’s interests in that legal action as deemed necessary. Councilmember McConnell seconded the motion.
The vote on the main motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
Councilmember McGlashan moved to authorize the City Manager to take the necessary legal steps to file a Declaratory Action, an Injunction, or other Actions challenging Woodway’s proposed annexation of Point Wells and to prosecute such Actions in a manner deemed necessary. Councilmember Chang seconded the motion.
Councilmember Roberts stated that it is unfortunate when jurisdictions are forced to take legal action against each other, and he feels all Cities and jurisdictions should work together.
Mayor Hall reiterated the hope that the situation could be worked out, but said he supports the motion in order to ensure the City is able to take action to protect the community interests.
The vote on the main motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:55 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk