CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, March 30, 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.
(a) Sexual Assault Awareness Month Proclamation
Mayor Hall announced that while formal presentations of proclamations have been suspended, he has signed a proclamation declaring April to be Sexual Assault Awareness Month in Shoreline. He urged all those affected by sexual assault to report the violation and seek support.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Prior to the report, Mayor Hall expressed thanks to all those following directives to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and encouraged everyone to practice social distancing. He reminded residents of the importance of completing the 2020 Census.
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports and updates on the City’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak, including reinforcing the Governor’s Order to “Stay Home and Stay Healthy” by encouraging people to stay home, avoid nonessential trips, and observe social distancing guidelines. She reminded residents of the restrictions and closures in the parks and recreation areas. Ms. Tarry shared resources for information and support during the pandemic and described the workplace protocols in place for City employees and the availability of city services.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
There were no Council reports.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Theresa LaCroix, Shoreline resident and Director of Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Center, shared updates on the Senior Center activities in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. She said that the center is closed, but they continue to provide meals through meals-on-wheels and an in-house delivery service. She stated the need continues to grow and since the Center is functioning without income, she asked for financial assistance from the City.
Ginny Scantlebury, Shoreline resident, spoke as a volunteer and Boardmember of the Shoreline Lake Forest Park Senior Center. She said the work being done by the Center to provide meals is an incredible service and added that the Center also has regular supportive email communications to the members. She added the Center needs funding and she hopes the City can continue to help fund the essential services.
Kelly Dahlman-Oeth, Pastor of Ronald United Methodist Church, said he is grateful for all that the City of Shoreline is doing in response to the pandemic. He expressed support for proposed Resolution No. 457. He said the church has suspended faith-based activities but has been able to keep the shelter program in operation. He described the services offered and said since they anticipate a shortfall in donations and income they are applying for funding to continue these services. He asked that the Council allocate funds.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Mayor Hall added an item to the agenda entitled Procedural Issues. The agenda as amended was approved by unanimous consent.
7. PROCEDURAL ISSUES
Deputy Mayor Scully moved to suspend Council Rule 5.3, which calls for meetings to be held in Council Chambers, for the duration of the emergency. The motion was seconded by Mayor Hall.
Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk, explained that the Council Rules of Procedure include a rule which states that all Council Meetings shall be held in the Council Chamber. She said that in order to comply with Governor Inslee’s Orders prohibiting in person meetings, the rule needs to be waived. Councilmember Roberts clarified that the suspension would last through the duration of the City’s declared emergency.
The motion passed unanimously, 7-0.
8. 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) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Agreement with the King County Wastewater and Treatment Division for a $50,000 Grant Through the King County WaterWorks Grant for the Hidden Lake Dam Removal Project
(b) Authorizing the City Manager to Purchase a Vactor Truck, Closed-Circuit Television Inspection Van and an Inspection Mini-Van in the Amount of $887,574 for the Public Works Wastewater Division
9. ACTION ITEMS
(a) Approving a Preliminary Formal Unit Lot Subdivision Dividing One Existing Parcel into Eleven (11) Unit Lots at 18512 Meridian Court N (No. PLN19-0037)
Prior to the staff presentation, Mayor Hall reminded all Councilmembers of the obligation to the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine. Upon questioning, no members of Council had any ex parte communications to disclose.
Caleb Miller, Associate Planner, delivered the staff report. Mr. Miller stated that the Hearing Examiner has recommended approval of the subdivision. Mr. Miller described the property, which is located in the 185th Street Light Rail Station Subarea. He displayed vicinity and aerial maps of the parcel and described the proposal to subdivide it into 11 unit lots for a townhouse project. Mr. Miller stated that all permit applications have been reviewed and approved by staff and their issuance is pending approval of the subdivision.
Mr. Miller shared the timeline of the process and noted that no public comment regarding the action was received after the notice of application or at the Public Hearing, and no agency comments were provided as part of the SEPA Planned Action Determination. He said both staff and the Hearing Examiner recommend approval of the application subject to the conditions listed in the Staff Report, and concluded that the proposed subdivision meets the applicable requirements of the Shoreline Municipal Code; makes appropriate provisions for public health, safety, and welfare; and serves the public use and interest.
Councilmember Robertson moved to accept the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation and approve the Preliminary Formal Subdivision PLN19-0037 subject to the conditions included in the Hearing Examiner’s recommendation. The motion was seconded by Mayor Hall.
Councilmember McGlashan said there is no reason not to support this subdivision. Councilmember Robertson agreed, and commented that in looking at the design of this project she notes the disservice to the neighborhood to not create access and community space. She said she hopes with the new townhouse design standards there are more opportunities to create community and opportunities to engage with neighbors.
The motion was approved unanimously, 7-0.
(b) Adopting Resolution No. 457 Establishing a COVID-19 Emergency Community Response Grant Program
Colleen Kelly, Community Services Program Manager, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Kelly started by recognizing the need for such a fund and reviewed the impacts the pandemic is having on all sectors of the community. She said the goals of the COVID-19 Emergency Community Response Grant Program are to rapidly deploy needed resources and to provide the flexibility to meet needs identified by those closest to the challenge. She said staff have reached out to the network of agencies to understand what each of them are individually struggling with, and all agencies report financial challenges.
Ms. Kelly reviewed the operational outline for the program, which consists of a proposed fund of $100,000 and a simple online application for established 501(c)3 organizations or faith communities providing direct emergency response to Shoreline residents. She said the approach has been evaluated by the City’s Administrative Services Department and includes authority for the City Manager to approve requests up to $5,000 and gives her delegation authority up to $3,500. Anything beyond those sums would require Council approval.
In listing the additional considerations for grant disbursement, Ms. Kelly said that staff will monitor allocations of other emergency funds to the organizations that apply, and listed examples of recent awards. She said organizations would be encouraged to request only what is known to be needed at the time of application, and that subsequent requests will be permitted. She stated that staff recommends establishing a COVID-10 Emergency Community Response Grant Program.
Mayor Hall opened the public comment period and recognized the earlier comments made during the general comment period. Seeing no additional comment, he closed the public comment period.
Deputy Mayor Scully moved approval of Emergency Resolution No. 457 as recommended by staff. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Robertson.
Deputy Mayor Scully said this Resolution addresses a concern he has had since the onset of the emergency. He recognized that a network of area human services providers is working to meet the expanded need brought on by the impacts of the epidemic. He said it makes sense to support the existing service partners rather than create a new program to meet the needs. He summarized specifics of the grant program and said he is confident it meets the goals and stated that he is prepared, should the need arise, to ask for additional funding. He added that this funding comes from the City’s General Fund, and if allocations beyond what this resolution establishes are needed the Council may have to make some tough choices to support them.
Councilmember Robertson thanked Deputy Mayor Scully for his leadership and partnership on this initiative. She said she believes this effort is a way to support the community. She stated that she likes that the City is not just directing people to service partners but is also putting financial support toward the efforts. She said she appreciates the flexibility and immediacy of the grant program, which has room for adjustments as needs evolve.
Councilmember Roberts said this Resolution is a tremendous first step toward helping residents.
Councilmember Roberts moved to add Section 1(c) to the Resolution to direct specific allocation of Grant Funds of 35 Thousand Dollars to Hopelink and 15 Thousand Dollars to Sound Generations. The motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Scully.
Councilmember Roberts said he reviewed the funding requests from Hopelink and Sound Generations for 2019-2020 and, since their asks have been vetted by Council and Human Services staff as known needs, there is no reason to wait on granting these funds. He added that his amendment would still leave $50 Thousand Dollars available to other applicants.
Councilmember Robertson said it is worth noting that Hopelink has been granted funds from the Seattle Foundation in addition to money already allocated by the City and questioned if Hopelink needs the full amount right now. Since the Senior Center did not receive support from the Seattle Foundation, she is interested in allocating additional funding to them.
Councilmember McConnell said that she had a conversation with Ms. LaCroix, Director of the Senior Center, who estimated costs for responding to this crisis and listed the funding efforts being made by the Center. Ms. LaCroix stated that this is the first time the Center has provided groceries to participants, which is an unbudgeted, but urgent need for many seniors, many of whom are making their first requests for support. Councilmember McConnell said Ms. LaCroix reports they have already exhausted the funding from a Sound Generations loan, so she is comfortable with allocating $15K now and would prefer to give more. She said Pastor Kelly stated that he is waiting to see the outcome of other funding asks before requesting money from Shoreline because he does not want to take away from other organizations with greater need. Councilmember McConnell asked Council to keep in mind that Ms. Tarry said establishing grant funding of up to $300K would be manageable.
Mayor Hall asked staff for an update on the Senior Center’s funding support options and for clarification on the impact the distribution of groceries has on their budget. Ms. Tarry shared details of available resources and needs that were conveyed to her during a recent conversation with the Senior Center and Sound Generations. Ms. Tarry said she did not know the financial breakdown of donated versus purchased groceries being provided.
Ms. Tarry elaborated that in the Seattle Foundation’s first round of funding, the City was limited to nominate two organizations, and based on the established criteria, felt ICHS and the Center for Human Services would be most eligible to qualify. She said she has told the Sound Cities Association representative that the Senior Center provides critical services in the community and Shoreline would like to see funding for the Senior Center considered in the second round of awards.
Deputy Mayor Scully confirmed that funds Councilmember Roberts is proposing to allocate to the Senior Center and Hopelink would be a portion of the $100K, not in addition to it. He said he is not inclined to support the amendment because he is not sure that Hopelink needs the funding. Additionally, he said he prefers that all providers participate in the application and review process to make sure accurate information is being evaluated and that he will be in favor of supporting the needs of the Senior Center.
Councilmember Chang asked for an explanation of why the Senior Center was not eligible for the funding from the Seattle Foundation, since other senior centers did receive grants. Ms. Kelly said that there is limited information available on the selection process. Councilmember Chang said it would be good to get more information on how to qualify for future available funds. Ms. Kelly said she is not sure that the ‘not eligible’ phrase is exactly right, and she thinks it is possible that at the time, the Senior Center was not sufficiently on the radar of the task force making the allocations. Ms. Kelly said she does not know details of the second round of the awards process so it is difficult to predict what will happen with future allocations.
Councilmember McGlashan said that the Resolution is a great idea, but he will not be supporting the amendment right now since the extent of needs is not known. He said that he wants to support the Senior Center, but for this first round of grants he wants to wait and see all applications because a lot of organizations need help.
Mayor Hall said he will be supporting the Resolution but will not support amendments to earmark funding for specific organizations with no opportunity for review ahead of time. He likes that the Resolution is structured to give policy direction and then let staff make the decisions about the merits of each application, like other grants the City awards. As much as the Council might think they know about a particular nonprofit, elected officials are probably not the right ones to be choosing how much money each organization gets. He said if there are specific needs down the road, he is open to considering them.
Councilmember Roberts said that the reason Hopelink and the Sound Generations are different than other potential grant applicants is that they have previously asked for this money through the normal process. He said this is not a new ask and stated that he thinks they will have future needs, so if Council is committed to supporting them, they should consider doing it now.
The motion to amend failed, 2-5, with Councilmembers Roberts and McConnell voting in favor.
Councilmember McGlashan asked if it is the intent that these funds only go to serve Shoreline residents, or if the service organizations would have discretion in this area. Ms. Kelly said the organizations that would be considered are those that are Shoreline-based and serving predominantly Shoreline residents. Deputy Mayor Scully pointed out the section of the Resolution that asks for affirmation that the funding be predominantly directed to Shoreline residents and said that it was worded that way to keep Shoreline money in the City. Councilmember McGlashan clarified that the intent of his request was to make sure organizations would not be charged with additional administrative requirements to put the funding to work.
Councilmember McConnell said she would want to make sure the grant money goes to the Shoreline branch of Hopelink. Mayor Hall emphasized to Ms. Kelly that the general Council policy direction is that they want to be confident that the City funding provided through the General Fund tax dollars will be used primarily to benefit people in Shoreline. Ms. Kelly responded that it would not be difficult to stipulate that a Hopelink request for funds from this grant money be used for services being offered out of the Shoreline facility.
The main motion carried unanimously, 7-0.
10. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing Park Improvements and Property Acquisition Priorities and Funding
Eric Friedli; Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director, delivered the staff presentation. Mr. Friedli shared background on the Parks, Recreation, and Open Space (PROS) Plan, including the work on park concept designs, the establishment of a Park Funding Advisory Committee, and stakeholder and community meetings; which ultimately resulted in Proposition 1 being added to the general election ballot in 2019. He recapped the scope of the proposition, which failed to pass. He described the strategic action initiatives established as part of the PROS Plan that relate to park improvements and acquisition and pointed out the 2020-2022 Council Goals and Workplan re-emphasize the importance of park improvements and land acquisition.
Mr. Friedli displayed the list of questions for discussion and stated that prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 staff was prepared to recommend that Council direct staff to prepare legislation and other materials necessary for placing a funding measure on the August 2020 ballot for parks improvements and acquisition. He stated that, given the current health emergency and the potential impacts it may have on the economy, staff recommends that Council delay putting this on the ballot any earlier than November 2020. He shared the timeline for next steps if the Council would prefer to place it on the August ballot.
Mayor Hall agreed that given the current emergency and related guidelines for Council actions, it is prudent to postpone a ballot measure. Mayor Hall proposed that the Council delay consideration of a ballot measure until the November 2020 ballot at the earliest, and to direct staff to continue moving forward with other routine elements of the PROS Plan and acquisitions for which funding is available, to which the Councilmembers shared consensus.
Deputy Mayor Scully emphasized that the Governor’s Order in place for governing bodies is to only take action on necessary, routine, or COVID related items, and staff is amending the meeting agendas appropriately. He reminded Council that if any one of them sees an item rescheduled that they think meet the criteria, bring it to the Mayor’s attention. Mayor Hall concurred and explained that, in the case of this study item, it was determined necessary to bring the question regarding the ballot measure forward.
Councilmember McConnell asked if the topic would be brought back to the agenda in time to be eligible for the November ballot, and Mayor Hall and Ms. Tarry stated that it depends on when the Governor’s Orders are lifted. Ms. Tarry emphasized that it is important to give the public full opportunity to participate in a ballot measure and the current circumstances somewhat limit participation.
Councilmember Robertson thanked Mr. Friedli for his work and advocacy and shared a recent conversation with a resident who said he has never felt more strongly than now about the need to access parks and open spaces. She said she looks forward to being able to move forward on this later.
Councilmember Roberts agreed with the importance of a robust conversation on
the matter when the time comes, not being short circuited in any way to make a
deadline. Mayor Hall expressed a similar opinion, and the Councilmembers
generally recognizing that if they move forward with a ballot measure it must
reflect what the community and Council want.
Mr. Friedli told Council there are a few active opportunities that staff continues to pursue, and that the City will continue to look for opportunities to fund what they can from other sources. Mayor Hall said it is his opinion that if there is something in the PROS Plan that has been discussed as something Council wants to move forward, then the final approval that comes back to Council would fall within the ‘routine’ category. Councilmembers generally agreed with his interpretation.
11. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:45 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk