CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, May 11, 2020 Held Remotely via Zoom
7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Scully, Councilmembers McConnell, McGlashan, Robertson, and Roberts
ABSENT: Councilmember Chang
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, with the exception of Councilmember Chang, were present via Zoom videoconference. Councilmember Robertson moved to excuse Councilmember Chang for personal reasons. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell and was approved by unanimous consent.
(a) Armed Services Appreciation Day Proclamation
Mayor Hall said he proclaimed May 16, 2020 as Armed Services Appreciation Day in Shoreline and expressed gratitude for the contributions and sacrifices of the members of the military.
(b) Mental Health Awareness Month Proclamation
Mayor Hall said he proclaimed the month of May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Shoreline. He said the proclamation recognizes the importance of mental health and promotes awareness to support people getting the help they need.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided reports, resources, and updates on the COVID-19 outbreak and the City’s responses, including the cancelation of summer events and recreation classes, and the upcoming redesign of summer camps. She issued a safety reminder about crossing train tracks to access the Shoreline beaches and shared information on an upcoming virtual gardening class.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Deputy Mayor Scully said the Continuum of Care Board unanimously seated three lived experience Executive Board members to the Regional Authority for Homelessness and explained that the existing Board will now turn over responsibilities to the new entity, the mission of which is especially important in this time of COVID-19.
Councilmember McConnell noted how busy Councilmembers have been participating in remote meetings and recognized their work. She said local jurisdictions are learning from each other and getting things done. She added that she finds online meetings an efficient way to do business and thanked residents for staying in communication with Councilmembers. She reported on the recent Association of Washington Cities (AWC) Nominating Committee meeting and said shared logistics of the summer meeting moving to an online forum. She described her recent work with the Transportation and Infrastructure Services Committee of the National League of Cities.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Major General Raymond Coffey, on behalf of the United States Armed Forces, thanked the Mayor for recognizing the 70th annual Armed Services Appreciation Day.
Kara Pomeroy, Shoreline resident and member of Save Shoreline Trees, urged the City to not permit removal of the tall conifer trees on N. 155th and N. 160th and thanked the City for working to reduce the number of trees to be removed on Dayton Avenue North.
Kathleen Russell, Shoreline resident and representative of Save Shoreline Trees, shared updates on the community activity supporting the retention of public trees surrounding the Washington States Department of Transportation renovation site. She asked why the City would issue a permit for removal of trees when mature trees are part of the solution to the Greenhouse Gas emissions goal.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Scully and seconded by Councilmember McGlashan and unanimously carried, 6-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approving Special Meeting Minutes of Annual Strategic Planning Workshop on February 28 and 29, 2020
Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of March 16, 2020
(b) Approving Expenses and Payroll as of April 24, 2020 in the Amount of $1,664,663.24
(c) Adopting Ordinance No. 886 - 2019-2020 Biennial Budget Amendment - Amending Ordinance No. 872
(d) Authorizing the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 2 to Contract 9404 with The Blueline Group, LLC in the Amount of $300,000 for Development Review Services for the Sound Transit Lynnwood Link Extension Light Rail Project
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing the 2019 Police Services Report
Shawn Ledford, Chief of Police, delivered the staff presentation. Chief Ledford shared the department’s Organizational Chart and said the current count of 54 employees, which includes 40 uniformed officers, works well for day-to-day operations. He described the specialized support for major crimes received from the Sheriff’s office. Chief Ledford said the 25,926 police related actions in 2019 included dispatched calls for service and self-initiated activity, and then he shared data on the average response times by priority.
Chief Ledford said the North Sound Response, Awareness, De-escalation, and Referral (RADAR) Program is used predominately in addressing issues with people with behavioral health issues, the homeless, and substance abuse related situations. He said there is a program manager and four part-time navigators and spoke to the regional partnership and funding sources. He shared highlights of the recent analysis of the officer survey of the effectiveness of the RADAR program and noted successes such as a reduction in incidents that require use of force and connecting people to needed services. He shared data on RADAR contact incidents for the first quarter of 2020 and described the populations of individuals served.
Chief Ledford said that in support of promoting and enhancing the City’s safe community and neighborhood programs, the Police focus on four areas, School Safety, Park Safety, Traffic Safety, and Property Crimes, and shared details on each one. He shared a list of the retailers that have the highest number of repeat calls for services and described the most frequent violations. He said there had been a meeting planned for April with some of the retailers to develop ways to decrease incidents and involve the police earlier.
Chief Ledford said generally, law enforcement is having a hard time recruiting new police officers and described the reasons why. He shared details on the departmental efforts to support officer resilience and wellness as the pressures of the job increase.
The Councilmembers expressed general gratitude for the service of the Police Department and the information in the Police Services Report.
Deputy Mayor Scully praised the relationship the Police Department has with the community. He confirmed that most types of crime are decreasing, even with the new, more accurate data collection, and asked if the increase in aggravated assault incidents reported could be a result of the data collection change. Chief Ledford confirmed that this could likely be the case, but he could not confirm it. Deputy Mayor Scully urged the department to continue to work on connecting with people through the Nurturing Trust program. Chief Ledford said he would like to gain more interest in the program and shared ideas on identifying communities.
Councilmember Roberts suggested working with the School District administration, in addition to the PTA, to identify candidates for the Nurturing Trust program. He asked if the Police Department works with the retailers who have a significant amount of repeat calls for service to help reduce the amount of crime. Chief Ledford said that was the goal of the planned meeting, which will be rescheduled after the COVID crisis calms down, and added that the Police Department wants retailers to call the police as soon as they notice shoplifting in progress instead of waiting until the theft has occurred and the perpetrator has left the property. Councilmember Roberts asked if the types of calls for services have changed since the Governor issued the coronavirus stay-at-home order. Chief Ledford said overall there is a decrease in calls and added that while domestic violence is generally up in the County, in Shoreline there is no overall spike.
Councilmember Robertson said she looks forward to doing a comparison with the 2020 report since many community members have been home more in response to the stay-at-home orders.
Councilmember McConnell said the reduction in crime is reflective of the good work of the Police Department. She urged the police, as essential workers, to stay safe during this time.
Chief Ledford said it is a pleasure working for a City Council that supports public safety and the Police Department.
Mayor Hall expressed appreciation for the flexibility of the police force with the additional response needs to keep the community safe during the COVID-19 crisis.
(b) Discussing 2020 City Sponsored Summer Events and Summer Programs
Eric Friedli, Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Director, delivered the staff presentation. Mr. Friedli said the City has been working to determine how to offer summer events and programs this year and reviewed the parameters and components of the state’s four phase approach to reopening. He listed the events that the City sponsors or supports that have been canceled and shared a list of ideas for new events. Mr. Friedli said all summer camps as originally planned have been canceled in order to implement the extreme adjustments that are needed to accommodate social distancing. He said he is still finalizing dates and locations for the camps and he hopes to have the summary of new offerings finalized in a week to start registration in May.
Councilmember Robertson said she wished the Council had been able to have a discussion about the cancellations of programs and events before the press release went out last week. She said the loss of camps has a huge impact on people. She asked what the new enrollment capacity would be, and Mr. Friedli said a little under 1,000 slots. She wondered if it would be possible to give the people that were already registered priority in registering for the new programming. Mr. Friedli said the priority they have established is, in order: scholarship recipients who were previously registered, then the participants who were previously registered, then all Shoreline residents, then all Lake Forest Park residents, then the general public. Councilmember Robertson asked if, as restrictions lift, there will be an ability to increase capacity. Mr. Friedli said it would be a challenge, but if it is early enough, they might be able to recalibrate later in the summer. He explained that because the protocols and systems that need to be put in place early, it is challenging to adjust. He said there is more flexibility to adjust camps than events and explained why. He noted that even if the City has moved to Phase 3 it would only allow groups of 50 or fewer and still requires social distancing, so larger summer events would be difficult to coordinate with those restrictions. Councilmember Robertson urged staff to engage with the neighborhood organizations to creatively collaborate on developing smaller gatherings to foster connections. Mr. Friedli said he is working with Constance Perenyi, the Neighborhoods Coordinator, to involve the neighborhood associations.
Councilmember McGlashan asked if it would be feasible for the City to help facilitate neighborhood-hosted Movie Nights. Mr. Friedli said the City would be able to help with the technical efforts and that it is researching the cost of buying an inflatable movie screen to loan to neighborhoods. Ms. Tarry said the City has been exploring the potential for pop-up drive in movies with the Shoreline/Lake Forest Park Arts Council.
Councilmember McGlashan asked if the City has been actively notifying the organizations that typically put on summer events that they will not be issued permits this summer. Mr. Friedli said he has talked to the North City Business Association about the Jazz Walk, and made it clear that the City is not cancelling their event, but would probably not issue permits for it, so it is up to them to decide if they want to offer the Jazz Walk in another way. Councilmember McGlashan confirmed with Mr. Friedli that the City would allow the event if the organization finds a way to do it in compliance with social distancing criteria in place.
Councilmember Roberts asked if the limitation of 1,000 camper slots is based on staffing and only siting camps at Ridgecrest Elementary School and Spartan Recreation Center. Mr. Friedli said it also includes Richland Highlands Recreation Center and Hamlin Park and said this model would call for 50 staff members. Councilmember Robertson asked if there is a possibility of expanding the sites and Mr. Friedli answered that it is possible, but the current limitation is the capacity for staffing. Councilmember Roberts said he likes the ideas that are being talked about and asked how the City is going to promote the activities to give people ample opportunity to participate. Mr. Friedli says he is working with the Communications Department to create a multifaceted marketing and communications plan specific to the summer events.
Councilmember McConnell recognized how difficult decision making and planning are during the pandemic. She said she likes the idea of drive-in movie nights because it is hard to make children social distance. She said she is sure we will get more than one wave of this illness and she wants people to stay healthy. She encouraged the City to err on the conservative side, while recognizing the need for childcare and opportunities for gathering.
Deputy Mayor Scully said as a parent of young children, the most important thing is getting students back in school in the fall. He encouraged the City to be cautious since he does not want this situation to be extended or repeated. He said he is concerned about the long-term impacts of the loss of social bonds as children go protracted periods without seeing friends. For those reasons, he prefers to err on the side of caution by cancelling events, offering that if things change for the better the City can figure out new ways to gather this summer. He commented that he would like the camp registration prioritized for essential workers and encouraged families who can do without the camps to leave the slots available to people who are having greater childcare challenges. He said he loves the creative ideas for connection the department has brainstormed and said if the City is able to support them with City resources, it should be done.
Mayor Hall said he appreciates staff’s creativity and flexibility in finding ways to offer some forms of enrichment over the summer and he strongly agreed that exercising caution is important in order to have the best chances to reopen schools and businesses safely. He commented that the same amount of effort that we spend on traffic safety should be focused on implementing health safety considerations when planning events to make sure we are not creating new clusters of COVID-19.
Councilmember McGlashan echoed that we need to be responsible as a community and said he is shocked to see how many people are not using face masks.
Mr. Friedli gave credit to the parks and recreation staff for their hard work during this time.
9. ADJOURNMENT
At 8:33 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk