CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, April 8, 2019 Conference Room 303 - Shoreline City Hall
5:45 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Deputy Mayor McConnell, Councilmembers Chang, McGlashan, Roberts, Robertson, and Scully
ABSENT: Mayor Hall
STAFF: Debbie Tarry, City Manager; Eric Friedli, Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director; and Allison Taylor, Deputy City Clerk
GUESTS: Seattle Parks Foundation: Thatcher Bailey, President and CEO and Allegra Calder, Board President
City of Kirkland: Lynn Zwaagstra, Parks & Community Services Director
Kirkland Parks Foundation: Sally Otten, Executive Director
At 5:47 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Deputy Mayor McConnell, who welcomed the guests from Seattle and Kirkland. Eric Friedli, Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director; explained that the goal of the conversation for the evening was for the City Council to gain a common understanding of Parks Foundations as the City researches ways to create philanthropic opportunities for funding Parks projects.
Thatcher Bailey, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Seattle Parks Foundation, reviewed the process the twenty-year-old Parks Foundation followed to initially build on identified emerging conservancy efforts. He shared observations on establishing an identity and cultivating a relationship with the City and said there is enormous value in how a Foundation can engage community members.
Sally Otten, Executive Director of the four-year-old Kirkland Parks Foundation, offered that her Foundation did not employ a consultant for their initial feasibility studies, saying that technology allowed them to enable and mobilize their community. She shared her early realization that donors were interested in funding specific projects, rather than contributing to a general fund. Ms. Otten gave examples of some of her Foundation’s initial projects and corporate connections and described their use of crowdfunding.
The ways in which both organizations gauge community interest and keep donors engaged and committed to the broad, flexible mission of their Foundations were discussed, as was the appeal of offering opportunities for legacy gifts in the forms of planned giving and estate planning.
Lynn Zwaagstra, Parks and Community Services Director for the City of Kirkland, described the City’s role and growing teamwork with the Kirkland Parks Foundation. She shared examples of collaboration between the two entities and the ways in which she has been able augment projects because of the support of the Foundation. It was expressed that a foundation increases constituency connections, bridges stakeholders, and creates new networks.
The evolutionary path of the growth of Foundations were discussed and the makeup, roles and contributions of foundation boards were listed. Ms. Otten gave advice on identifying partners and establishing confidence within the community, and Mr. Bailey impressed upon Council the importance of having community leaders who are strategic thinkers.
Deputy Mayor McConnell thanked the visitors for sharing their time and expertise.
At 6:44 p.m. the meeting adjourned.
/s/Allison Taylor, Deputy City Clerk
CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, April 8, 2019 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall
7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Deputy Mayor McConnell, Councilmembers McGlashan, Scully, Chang, Robertson, and Roberts
ABSENT: Mayor Hall
1. CALL TO ORDER
At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Deputy Mayor McConnell who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Deputy Mayor McConnell led the flag salute. Upon roll call by the Deputy City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present with the exception of Mayor Hall.
Councilmember McGlashan moved to excuse Mayor Hall for personal reasons. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Scully and passed unanimously, 6-0.
(a) Proclaiming Volunteer Week
Deputy Mayor McConnell read a proclamation declaring the week of April 7 through April 13, 2019 as Volunteer Week. Robin McClelland, an active Shoreline volunteer, accepted the proclamation. Ms. McClelland said she is grateful for the thousands of volunteers in Shoreline and thanked the City for recognizing their efforts.
Deputy Mayor McConnell recognized outgoing Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Tree Boardmembers Cindy Dittbrenner, Katie Schielke, and Betsy Robertson. She elaborated on each of their accomplishments and presented each with a clock in gratitude for service to the City.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports and updates on various City meetings, projects and events.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Councilmember Scully described the work the Continuum of Care (CoC) Board does as the regional homelessness coordination body to help steer federal grant money. He said there is a need for a governing body to direct and coordinate services regionally, and that in September the CoC Board is scheduled to release a Regional Action Plan for the Central Authority, which is planned to function as a joint body controlling funding and policies on how homelessness is addressed.
Deputy Mayor McConnell said she attended the SeaShore Transportation Forum and heard updates from Community Transit. She said she appreciates the way Community Transit and Metro are coordinating schedules to best serve riders. She urged mass transit users to give feedback to Community Transit to help them continually improve services.
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, seconded by Councilmember McGlashan, and unanimously carried 6-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of February 25, 2019
Approving Minutes of Special Meeting of March 1 and 2, 2019
Approving Minutes of Special Dinner Meeting of March 18, 2019
(b) Approving Expenses and Payroll as of March 22, 2019 in the Amount of $1,821,566.16
|
*Payroll and Benefits: |
||||||
|
Payroll Period |
Payment Date |
EFT Numbers (EF) |
Payroll Checks (PR) |
Benefit Checks (AP) |
Amount Paid |
|
|
2/10/19-2/23/19 |
3/1/2019 |
83355-83599 |
16151-16176 |
73365-73370 |
$737,736.93 |
|
|
2/24/19-3/9/19 |
3/15/2019 |
83600-83851 |
16177-16197 |
73462-73467 |
$711,099.23 |
|
|
$1,448,836.16 |
||||||
|
*Accounts Payable Claims: |
||||||
|
Expense Register Dated |
Check Number (Begin) |
Check Number (End) |
Amount Paid |
|||
|
3/13/2019 |
73371 |
73398 |
$119,277.33 |
|||
|
3/13/2019 |
73399 |
73403 |
$715.00 |
|||
|
3/13/2019 |
73404 |
73412 |
$15,362.68 |
|||
|
3/13/2019 |
73413 |
73442 |
$68,125.86 |
|||
|
3/15/2019 |
73443 |
73443 |
$9,653.75 |
|||
|
3/15/2019 |
73444 |
73445 |
$77,878.94 |
|||
|
3/21/2019 |
73446 |
73453 |
$855.50 |
|||
|
3/21/2019 |
73454 |
73461 |
$76,823.42 |
|||
|
3/22/2019 |
73468 |
73480 |
$4,037.52 |
|||
|
$372,730.00 |
||||||
(c) Adopting the 2019-2021 City Council Goals and Work Plan
(d) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Construction Contract with Watson Asphalt Paving Company in the Amount of $1,669,285 for the NE 175th Street Pavement Preservation Project
(e) Adoption of Resolution No. 436 - Authorizing the City Manager to file with the King County Boundary Review Board a Notice of Intent to Assume that Portion of the Ronald Wastewater District Located in King County Erroneously Omitted from the 2014 Notice of Intent
8. ACTION ITEMS
(a) Appointment of New Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services/Tree Board Members
Eric Friedli, Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services (PRCS) Director, reviewed the qualifications of all finalist candidates and stated that the Council Subcommittee has recommended the reappointment of Bill Franklin and the appointment of Bruce Amundson, Jeff Potter, and Sara Raab McInerny as PRCS/Tree Board members.
Councilmember Scully moved to adopt the recommendation of the Subcommittee and appoint Bill Franklin, Sara Raab McInerny, and Jeff Potter to four-year terms and Bruce Amundson to the remainder of Councilmember Robertson’s unexpired term. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Robertson.
Councilmember Scully said there were 18 phenomenal applicants. He said the four finalists bring unique strengths to the committee and all share a passion for parks, have an ability to collaborate, and are creative thinkers. Councilmember Robertson expressed appreciation for Ms. Dittbrenner and Ms. Schielke’s contributions to the Parks Board and thanked Mr. Franklin for his continued involvement. She welcomed Mr. Potter, Ms. Raab McInerny, and Dr. Amundson to the Board.
It was established that not all the candidates were interviewed for the position, and the Council Rules pertaining to appointments to Boards and Commissions would need to be waived.
Councilmember Roberts moved to amend the motion to waive Council Rule 2.4, which was seconded by Councilmember Robertson, and passed unanimously, 6-0.
The main motion as amended passed unanimously, 6-0.
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing Salmon-Safe Certification
Miranda Redinger, Planning and Community Development Senior Planner; delivered the Staff Report. She was joined by Dan Kent, Salmon Safe Co-Founder and Executive Director of Salmon-Safe, and Anna Huttel, Salmon-Safe Certification Manager, who were available via telephone for consultation. Ms. Redinger reminded Council that achieving Salmon-Safe Certification is one of Council’s 2018 -2020 priority recommendations. She displayed Salmon-Safe’s identified 10 principles for developing ecologically functional urban sites and explained the addition of Salmon-Safe certification to the expanded Deep Green Incentive Program. She reviewed the Salmon-Safe assessment process for Shoreline and explained the contributions of the science team in the assessment. She described the gap analysis and the identified areas of alignment and opportunities for improvement.
Ms. Redinger outlined next steps for the Certification process and stated that if approved, Shoreline would become the first certified city in Washington. She displayed a list of questions for Council’s feedback and direction.
Ms. Redinger listed the specifics of the two pre-conditions and twelve conditions required for the certification. She explained that the additional seven continued improvement recommendations are not requirements of the certification, but additional elements that are suggested for incorporation in the City’s Salmon-Safe work. She outlined the benefits of certification and displayed examples of ways to message the Salmon-Safe certification to the public. She said that with completion of the preconditions, the City would gain the status of Salmon-Safe Certified and would have five years to complete the certification requirements. She added that there is a fair level of flexibility in defining realistic benchmarks for implementation.
In describing the proposed implementation process, Ms. Redinger outlined the way the standards would be categorized and acted upon by the City. In conclusion, she reminded Council of the opportunity to make proactive environmental changes with the certification program.
Councilmember McGlashan said he prefers Option A because it has fewer related costs. Ms. Redinger recognized the costs to the certification and explained that the payoff to this certification would include the City being more competitive in funding for restoration projects and initiatives, as well as establishing Shoreline’s position as a regional leader in environmental activism.
Councilmember Scully said that Salmon-Safe certification is not necessary to do the work that will save salmon. He expressed concern with committing to a list of priorities because he thinks it may skew some of the decisions already made towards prioritization in other projects. He confirmed that the only consequence of not maintaining Salmon-Safe certification is losing the certification and that there are no other contractual penalties. He asked for a commitment from staff that prioritizing projects would continue to be done based on the already established criteria, and not driven by obtaining Salmon-Safe standards. Ms. Redinger said the level of commitment would not supersede other criterion but be incorporated into processes.
Councilmember Chang asked how upholding the Salmon-Safe qualifications would affect the costs of projects like the scheduled sidewalk improvements. Ms. Redinger explained the comprehensive prioritization process and elaborated that the addition of Salmon-Safe certification qualifications to a checklist would be a way to make sure all potential options are evaluated while leaving room to select appropriate ones. Ms. Redinger assured Council that staff worked very intentionally to clarify guidelines and timelines that are achievable for the City. Randy Witt, Public Works Director, shared insight on the ways in which adjustments and accommodations would be made to projects in a manageable way for Shoreline.
Councilmember Roberts asked if it is the process of adjusting City projects to Salmon-Safe certification levels, or through the certification itself that would make the City more eligible for grants. Mr. Kent shared that once the City of Portland Parks committed to Salmon-Safe Certification they were able to raise funds for a restoration project that had not been previously highly prioritized by funders, but when it was communicated to funders that Salmon-Safe certification was contingent of the completion of the projects, they were funded. He said the certification sends a signal to key funders that an independent science-based organization has evaluated the operations and underlined the importance of specific projects. Councilmember Roberts said this is an opportunity to show our commitment to protecting our streams and wetlands, and that many of the associated costs are things we should be doing anyway. He said that while there are questions and concerns, they are ones that can be worked out over the long run.
Councilmember Robertson said that she is comfortable with the preconditions. She says she sees this as an aspirational plan with many components that the City should be doing anyway. She said she is aware of cost concerns surrounding the certification, but if opportunity and benefits for new funding greatly outweighs the cost, it will influence her decision. She is excited for the City to be a leader in environmental issues and gave a plug for pesticide-free Shoreline parks.
Deputy Mayor McConnell said that Mayor Hall asked her to communicate his support for moving forward with Salmon-Safe certification. She said the preservation of the environment is important and Shoreline should be a leader in the effort.
Councilmember Scully said that he wants the City to be a leader in salmon restoration, but he does not feel the certification itself is necessary to do this work.
It was agreed that the discussion would return to Council as an Action Item on April 22, 2019.
(b) Discussing the 2018 Year End Financial Report
Rick Kirkwood, Budget and Tax Manager, recapped the 2018 Financial Report. He shared data on the city-wide financial activity and said the difference between budgeted and actual income and expenditures usually is related to the status of projects in the Capital Fund. He showed the city’s performance at-a-glance and explained the details related to the analysis. He said that the citywide General Fund came in above budget, but much of that is due to a change in the revised accrual requested by the State Auditor’s office to the City’s accounting periods within the fiscal year. He listed the areas of savings in expenditures, compared the sales tax by sector for 2017 and 2018 and said the construction sectors receipts for 2018 increased significantly. He reviewed specific revenue streams compared the growth in certain program areas.
He reviewed the impact the revenues and expenditures had on the General Reserves and said the proposed carryovers would be presented later in the evening.
Upon questioning, Mr. Kirkwood said the decline in performance in each of the Utility Tax classifications is a general trend that makes sense and does not cause concern.
(c) Discussing Ordinance No. 854 – 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Amendment – Amending Ord. No. 852 for Uncompleted 2018 Operating and Capital Projects by Increasing Appropriations in Certain Funds (2018 to 2019 Carryovers)
Rick Kirkwood, Budget and Tax Manager, described the amendments to the Biennial Budget that Ordinance No. 854 would put into effect. He explained the carryover requests and associated financial impact and displayed a list of the affected funds. He enumerated the intended uses of General Fund Reserves and described the rationale for the recommended action of approving proposed Ordinance No. 854.
(d) Discussing Ordinance No. 855 – 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Amendment – Amending Ord. No. 854 by Increasing Appropriations in Certain Funds (2019-2020 Biennial Budget Amendment)
Rick Kirkwood, Budget and Tax Manager, explained the impact of Ordinance No. 855 on the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget and explained that the data was contingent on the adoption of Ordinance No. 854 for the appropriations. He reviewed the list of intended uses of General Fund reserves and described the financial impact. He explained the proposed amendments to the fee schedules and stated staff recommends approving proposed Ordinance No. 855.
Councilmember Roberts added that as part of the upcoming midterm budget review, staff should update the Council on the City’s preparation for supporting resident engagement in the 2020 Census.
It was unanimously agreed that proposed Ordinances No. 854 and 855 would return to Council as Consent Items.
9. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:37 p.m., Deputy Mayor McConnell declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Allison Taylor, Deputy City Clerk