CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, June 22, 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) Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Month Proclamation
Mayor Hall proclaimed the month of July as Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Month in Shoreline.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
John Norris, Assistant City Manager, provided an update on various City meetings and events and shared information on the current County COVID-19 status of Phase 2 and listed ways to access City services. He emphasized that fireworks are illegal in Shoreline and described the efforts in effect to enforce this as the 4th of July draws near.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
Councilmember McGlashan said he attended a joint transportation forum meeting, which included updates on the Invest In America Act and reports from Sound Transit and Metro on their COVID-19 impacts and recovery.
Councilmember Chang said she attended a joint meeting of the Regional Transit Committee and the Mobility and Environment Committee and shared updates on the impacts to Metro during the pandemic and their planned reductions in response to the revenue loss during COVID-19.
Mayor Hall appointed Councilmember Robertson as the Council representative to the North King County Shelter Task Force.
Mayor Hall recognized Erik Ertsgaard and Ivan Brown as outgoing youth members of the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services/Tree Board and thanked them for their contributions.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
John Hoey, Shoreline resident and Chair of the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services/Tree Board, thanked the Council for recognizing Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services Month and spoke to the essential role these services provide to the community. He praised Erik Ertsgaard and Ivan Brown for the contributions they brought to the Board and thanked them for their service, and he welcomed Hayley Berkman and David Lin as the incoming youth board members.
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 Robertson and unanimously carried, 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of April 27, 2020
Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of May 11, 2020
(b) Approving Expenses and Payroll as of June 5, 2020 in the Amount of $2,354,543.72
|
*Payroll and Benefits: |
||||||
|
Payroll Period |
Payment Date |
EFT Numbers (EF) |
Payroll Checks (PR) |
Benefit Checks (AP) |
Amount Paid |
|
|
5/3/20-5/16/20 |
5/22/2020 |
91529-91726 |
16996 |
79302-79309 |
$979,155.07 |
|
|
$979,155.07 |
||||||
|
*Wire Transfers: |
||||||
|
Expense Register Dated |
Wire Transfer Number |
|
Amount Paid |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
1161 |
$41,835.37 |
||||
|
$41,835.37 |
||||||
|
*Accounts Payable Claims: |
||||||
|
Expense Register Dated |
Check Number (Begin) |
Check Number (End) |
Amount Paid |
|||
|
5/24/2020 |
79165 |
79189 |
$3,679.59 |
|||
|
5/24/2020 |
79190 |
79215 |
$1,775.04 |
|||
|
5/24/2020 |
79216 |
79240 |
$691.89 |
|||
|
5/24/2020 |
79241 |
79261 |
$1,408.95 |
|||
|
5/24/2020 |
79262 |
79271 |
$347.18 |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
79272 |
79290 |
$124,216.18 |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
79291 |
79298 |
$33,135.09 |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
79299 |
79299 |
$191,865.92 |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
78861 |
78861 |
($25.20) |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
79300 |
79300 |
$25.20 |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
78160 |
78160 |
($400.00) |
|||
|
5/26/2020 |
79301 |
79301 |
$400.00 |
|||
|
5/28/2020 |
79310 |
79334 |
$56,936.03 |
|||
|
5/28/2020 |
79335 |
79374 |
$6,974.23 |
|||
|
6/2/2020 |
79375 |
79400 |
$594,822.32 |
|||
|
6/2/2020 |
79401 |
79401 |
$310,000.00 |
|||
|
6/2/2020 |
79402 |
79407 |
$6,200.86 |
|||
|
6/4/2020 |
79408 |
79408 |
$1,500.00 |
|||
|
$1,333,553.28 |
||||||
(c) Appointing Youth Members to the Parks, Recreation, and Cultural Services/Tree Board
(d) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Professional Services Agreement with Osborn Consulting in the Amount of $610,161 for the 2021 and 2022 Stormwater Pipe Repair and Small Drainage Projects
(e) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Six-Month Lease Agreement with the State of Washington Department of Social and Health Services to Continue Operating the Two-Acre Off-Leash Dog Area at the Fircrest Campus Located at 1750 NE 150th Street
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing the King County Metro North Link Connections Mobility Project
Nytasha Walters, Transportation Services Manager, welcomed King County Metro representatives Rob Gannon, Transit General Manager; and David VanderZee, Senior Transportation Planner, who were present to provide an update on transit services.
Rob Gannon gave an overview of Metro’s response to the pandemic. He said there has been a decline of approximately 70 percent of ridership since the outset of the pandemic, and that the levels have stayed fairly consistent for three months. He described Metro’s safety efforts and said that generally, reducing the level of service was a way to balance the need for safety while continuing to provide a functioning transit system. He said service was recently reintroduced to address predicted near-term ridership needs, both helping the system and the regional economy recover and minimizing crowding that can occur on the bus. He stated that Metro is trying to match service levels, ridership needs, workforce availability, and public health guidance for safe operating conditions. He gave an overview of the summer service plans during recovery, which he described as a level of service that meets expected demand and can be sustained all through the season. He said they have targeted the September service change timeline as an opportunity to both add back service and make and communicate changes while bringing the workforce back into alignment for service needs. He said the transit system is constrained by available financial resources to continue to meet regional needs. He summarized that the transit system that existed prior to the pandemic is years away from returning to full levels of ridership and coverage. He described the contemplated network changes, which include a 20-30 percent net reduction and restructure of the bus network, a 30-40 percent reduction in the Capital Improvement Program, and a 5-10 percent reduction in all other programs and services. He said there will be future conversations about how Metro will go about reducing the system, but concluded that the existing service guidelines and policy framework continues to be the means by which reductions and recovery will be planned, and said there is an awareness of the need to serve those who are most dependent on the transit system.
Dave VanderZee, Project Manager for the Northlink Connections Mobility Project, said there are opportunities that Metro is moving forward with. He gave an introduction to the project and said there would be continued engagement with Shoreline in advance of the 2024 opening of the Lynnwood Link Extension. He said the focus of this update is on the Northgate, Roosevelt, and U-District Light Rail stations and said the restructure focuses on improving mobility for historically un(der)served populations, centering equity as a part of engagement, and delivering a set of route changes that meet customer needs. He shared a graphic of the project timeline and said concepts and proposed changes continue to be refined based on feedback and will return to the public for feedback in the autumn. He described the scheduled milestones in the project timeline, concluding in 2021. He described the engagement process of the project’s Phase 2, drawing attention to the changes that had to be made in response to COVID-19. Mr. VanderZee shared highlights of Shoreline-specific changes to the east-west service connecting to the Northgate Station. He described the early and emerging themes from feedback on the proposed changes and concluded by emphasizing that the project goal is to deliver the best transit network possible with the available resources.
Councilmember Chang said she noticed that there seems to be some reduction in services to routes that serve the 192nd Street Park and Ride and asked about any considered changes to it. Mr. VanderZee said service would be maintained to the Park and Ride in the 2021 network. He said that this project is focused on the activity hub of the Aurora Transit Center, but there will be opportunities prior to the opening of the Light Rail Stations to consider connecting services to the 192nd Street Park and Ride.
Councilmember Chang asked how increases to total travel time are taken into consideration while restructuring. Mr. VanderZee said Metro is paying close attention to travel times, and explained that the goal is that travel times are maintained or improved with the transfer to Link, that variability in the trip time is minimized, and the tradeoff of the reliability of Link and travel time/number of transfers is quantified.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he appreciates that the current focus is on getting travelers to the Northgate station, but expressed if it is too hard for Shoreline residents to access Link, most will drive instead. He said the Council is hoping for local, direct routes to the stations. Mr. VanderZee emphasized that Metro will be evaluating routes in advance of the opening of the Shoreline Light Rail stations, but right now they are trying to maintain a balance of what should be looked at prior to the Northgate station opening, and what changes should be considered closer to the opening of the Shoreline stations.
Councilmember Chang said she feels like notification of the upcoming changes did not reach many riders and asked about the methods Metro has to contact passholders. Mr. VanderZee said he would get a complete list of the engagement resources used, including any communication leveraged through passholder contact information. He said about 8,000 survey responses were received and he asked Council for any ideas for outreach, especially since ways of engagement have changed because of restrictions in place during the pandemic.
Councilmember Chang asked if the budget impacts related to COVID-19 would affect the proposal being presented. Mr. VanderZee replied that it might, and described the ways in which forecasting was done. He affirmed that Metro will deliver the best project possible with the available resources. Mr. Gannon summarized that there will be budget reductions across the entirety of the system, and that Metro is prioritizing investments in the north end of Seattle to take advantage of the Link Light Rail expansion. Metro is actively working with the City of Seattle to understand what is being done with the Transportation Benefit District, but there is no firm decision yet. He said the scenario to determine where to cut, where to reinvest, and where to prioritize, is complicated.
Councilmember Robertson said Mr. Gannon’s statement about being years away from the return to pre-COVID-19 transportation levels matches her sense of things. She asked if this is because the overall number of people moving around is significantly less or that people are reverting to single occupancy vehicles. Mr. Gannon replied that Metro is planning that in the next one to three years the transportation system will not see levels of ridership equal to those prior to the pandemic. He recognized the possibility that ridership behavior will change for many reasons. He said their challenge is to make the system safe and the network robust to aggressively bring back ridership within a resource-constrained environment. Councilmember Robertson acknowledged the announced delay of transitioning to electric battery coaches, and Mr. Gannon said that decision was budget-driven.
(b) Discussing the 2019-2024 Capital Improvement Plan
Tricia Juhnke, City Engineer, delivered the staff presentation, and was joined by Randy Witt, Director of Public Works. She said the focus of the presentation would be on an update to the current 2019-2024 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) that will lead the City into the 2021-2026 CIP, which will be part of the operating budget in the fall.
Ms. Juhnke described the CIP development process. She reviewed the completed projects of 2019-2020 and shared some images, then gave an update of projects in process and those scheduled to go to construction.
Ms. Juhnke gave a summary overview of the specific funds, and shared a graphic comparison of three separate REET projections – the one adopted in 2019-2020, the summer 2019 update, and the spring 2020 projection, and said the current projections indicate a reduction of $850,000, impacting both the General Capital and Roads Capital Funds.
Ms. Juhnke said the General Capital Fund supports facilities and parks projects and that debt service comes out of this Fund. She said there is a negative balance projected for 2023, largely because of the adjusted REET projections, but returning to a fund balance by 2025, which means there is some capacity for new projects and programs. She gave updates on some of the key projects underway and described the identified upcoming needs, which include demolition or decommissioning of the Shoreline Pool and turf replacement for the Twin Ponds fields. She listed the key issues identified in the Facilities General Maintenance category. She said the Surface Water Utility Fund addresses both the operating and capital expenditures and gave key project updates.
She reviewed the status of the Roads Capital Fund, reminding Council that the projects and priorities are guided by the 2021-2026 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). She described the impacts to revenues and the projected negative fund balance due to REET decline and the elimination of revenue from vehicle license fees. She said this negative fund balance limits the City’s ability to add new projects and programs and that adjustments will need to be made to bring the funds into balance. She stated that a key element of the Roads Capital Fund is the grant match program and explained that funding that program may need to be reduced. She listed the current projects within the Roads Capital Fund and shared updates on each one. She shared information on four new project grant awards.
Ms. Juhnke listed the next steps for the CIP, which include a July update of REET, project updates, and work toward balancing all funds prior to incorporation into the 2021-2022 budget process for Council review and approval. She said there are limited opportunities for new projects.
Councilmember Roberts asked if there was any way the sequencing of the 25th Avenue NE Flood Reduction Project could be moved up. Ms. Juhnke said she would reevaluate the timeline, and shared details of the potential challenges. She described the components of the flood reduction project and said the City was continuing to work with Lake Forest Park to prioritize critical pieces of this shared project.
Councilmember McGlashan confirmed that the Boeing Creek/Shoreview Park Trail Repair project needs grant funding. He said it may be reasonable to discuss suspending the 1% for the Arts allocation, as was done for a portion of the Aurora Avenue improvements, for some of the projects in order to redirect it toward grant matching opportunities. Mayor Hall commented that the Council always needs to be willing to evaluate budgets and policies when the circumstances change, but that he does not know if he would support suspension of the entire 1% for the Arts program. He recognized the additional cost this program brings to projects in the CIP and that the timing is bad to be adding cost to projects, so he would be willing to revisit the changes Council made back in January to expand the types of projects required to contribute to the municipal art fund, and he asked for the thoughts of other Councilmembers. Councilmember Robertson said she had a feeling that this discussion might be coming, given the impacts of these unpredicted times and spoke to the value of art. Deputy Mayor Scully said he does not support reopening the discussion, except as a last resort. He said that while circumstances have changed, he hesitates reopening discussions that have already been concluded and decisions made. He offered that a budget shortfall is not a reason to reopen the discussion and he would rather look at other ways to find savings. Councilmember Chang said she was surprised with how big the 1% allocation funding amount was and that she would be open to discussion.
Councilmember Roberts asked what the yearly, rather than cumulative contributions, were to the 1% for the Arts program, to better understand what contributions are scheduled for the near term. Ms. Juhnke clarified that the numbers in the staff report are meant to be illustrative. She said $221,000 is identified under the Surface Water Utility because it is brand new. She directed Council to the section of the staff report that details the year-by-year contribution projections and said she would respond with a total by fund. She reminded Council that there is an option of suspending the funding on a project-by-project basis. Councilmember Roberts asked if funding contributions for the program can be delayed and Ms. Juhnke said the current process is that the 1% is applied with the construction contract amount, near the end of the year in which the contract was issued.
Deputy Mayor Scully commented on the General Capital Fund report. He said there are two projects, the Maintenance Facility and the Aquatics Center, that there are not final plans for, and given the revenue uncertainty he is cautious about spending more money on them. He suggested slowing down on the new Maintenance Facility project if funding is needed in other areas. Ms. Juhnke confirmed that funding is still available for Phase 1 of both projects, and said the City expects to reevaluate funding when Phase 1 is complete.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he was taken aback by the potential cost of a million dollars to decommission or demolish the current pool, since the decision to close it was to save money. He said he feels spending money on the pool should be paused until there is more decided on what the City wants to accomplish with a future aquatics center. Ms. Juhnke said the demolition cost is the more expensive option, but there would also be costs associated with decommissioning it, and that the options would be discussed as part of the preparation of the CIP. Ms. Tarry reminded Council that the School District would be part of the decision making process, since the pool is on their property. Mayor Hall said that he imagines the City could defer some of the expense of tearing the pool down, but that his ideal solution is gifting it to the School District or another entity in exchange for them operating it.
Councilmember McConnell agreed with the value of dedicating funding for art but recognized the need for budget discussions in response to the impacts of the pandemic. She said she would rather delay projects than cut programs and staff.
Councilmember Chang commended staff for the number of grants the City is able to secure, and said it is important to make sure there is matching money set aside to be able to apply for them.
Mayor Hall summarized that there was a diversity of opinions around the possibility of reopening a discussion of suspending the 1% for the Arts funding allocation and suggested that the next step would be for staff to research the financial impacts and bring them back for Council to consider revisiting the decision, in light of the dramatic change of circumstances. He said the economic situation the City is facing now is severe and it is prudent to look for ways to save the taxpayers money.
Mayor Hall said that the earlier Council can bring new ideas forward to staff the more opportunity there is for staff to research and prepare a response. He recommended bringing proposed amendments forward to staff as early as possible.
(c) Discussing Resolution No. 462 - Updating the Employee Handbook Furlough and Layoff Policy
Don Moritz, Human Resources Director, delivered the staff presentation. Mr. Moritz stated that one of the priorities he was tasked with when he joined the City was to review the Employee Handbook and identify policy areas that were out of date, missing, or in conflict with current organizational practices or the law, the need for which has been highlighted by the current pandemic. He said one of the outcomes of COVID-19 immediately experienced by employers was the introduction and passage of legislation that impacts employee leave policies and pay. He added that the financial impacts of COVID-19 mean employers have to make difficult decisions in order to balance budgets, and sometimes these decisions include the implementation of layoffs, furloughs, and other cost saving measures that have an adverse impact on employees and the workplace culture. He said it is important to be equipped with all the tools and resources available to navigate the current economic turmoil with minimal impact to operations and employees. He emphasized the importance of ensuring that the policy language related to reduction in workforce reflects current human resources best practices, is compliant with the law, and offers maximum flexibility to the City Manager so the organization is well-positioned to respond to the economic forces being faced.
Mr. Moritz said that Resolution No. 462 proposes updates to the policy areas of updating existing layoff language and expanding policy language related to furloughs. He summarized the recommended layoff policy changes and shared details on the graduated severance package being proposed, and displayed data on the current workforce demographics. He said the current policy references the term ‘furlough’ as an option to be considered while implementing a reduction in force, but it does not provide details. He provided an overview of the expanded furlough policy language and said it would provide clarity to employees.
Mayor Hall said he supports a policy of meeting with affected individuals prior to layoffs and asked if it was a legal requirement. Mr. Moritz said that, based on a recent court decision in a case of termination, many jurisdictions have decided to broadly interpret the decision to also apply to the concept of layoff. Margaret King, City Attorney, concurred and said she would share an overview of the case with Council. Mayor Hall confirmed that the approach to determining layoffs would follow the principle of eliminating positions, not people.
Councilmembers McGlashan, Roberts, Robertson, and McConnell expressed support for the Resolution.
Councilmember McGlashan said he appreciates the clarity of information the revisions bring employees.
Councilmember Roberts offered that it is often harder for individuals who are more senior in an organization to find new employment, especially if it means a transition to another type of work.
Councilmember Robertson said she supports the graduated severance package for several reasons, including loyalty and morale.
Councilmember McConnell said that no matter how great the severance package may seem, anyone receiving it is out of a job.
Mayor Hall and Deputy Mayor Scully opposed aspects of the proposed severance payout package. Deputy Mayor Scully said he supports the entirety of the proposal with the exception of the severance pay but he is unlikely to support the Resolution without revision. He hopes the City never uses furloughs because it plays havoc with morale but agreed that it is important to have every resource available when considering layoffs and furloughs. He said longevity is valuable to an organization and pay increases reward employees for their years of service in an organization; but severance pay is different because those same organizational concerns are not there. Severance pay should be about fairness, and he is not convinced there is any basis to tie the amount given to the years of service. Mr. Moritz replied that it is a judgement call and a policy direction which may include many different perspectives. He said he would appreciate input from Council on what they think would be a fair approach.
Mayor Hall asked that an amendment be prepared to remove the proposed severance package. He asked what factors are appropriate to consider when laying off employees. Mr. Moritz said layoffs should be made primarily based on operational business needs but, if more than one person shares a job classification, retention of skills and greater seniority do factor in. Mayor Hall said fairness is important, and he feels that treating everyone the same is fairer when making decisions to eliminate programs or shift priorities. He said, if the City is dealing with a financial challenge so severe that they are considering eliminating programs that result in layoffs of employees, it is the worst time to have additional costs.
Councilmember Chang said the staff report mentions that the policies of other cities were reviewed and asked for details on the information learned in that research. She said it is harder for a person who has been with an organization for a long time to find a comparable replacement job. She said the proposed numbers seem generous. Mr. Moritz said he will provide details of the survey of 15 other local cities. Mayor Hall asked that it be a fair representation of peer cities, not just information from those with severance packages.
Councilmember Roberts said another Employee Handbook amendment he would like Council to consider is adding Juneteenth as either an observed or a limited holiday in the City of Shoreline. Mayor Hall said he thinks it would be most appropriate to have the discussion as a future separate agenda item to allow for staff preparation. Deputy Mayor Scully agreed with the importance of discussion and concurred that it should be a separate item.
Mayor Hall summarized that, based on the severance policy discussion, staff should prepare possible amendments that would give Council the opportunity to remove or reduce the changes proposed in the severance package.
Mayor Hall said that Deputy Mayor Scully would be the acting Mayor during the upcoming Council summer recess.
9. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:29 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
_____________________________
Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk