CITY OF SHORELINE

SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL

SUMMARY MINUTES OF REGULAR MEETING

Monday, September 28, 2020                                                        Held Remotely via Zoom

7:00 p.m.                                                                                                                                

PRESENT:      Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Scully, Councilmembers McConnell, Chang, Robertson, and Roberts 

ABSENT:       Councilmember McGlashan

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 except for Councilmember McGlashan.

Deputy Mayor Scully moved to excuse Councilmember McGlashan for personal reasons. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell and passed unanimously, 6-0.

(a) Proclamation of Safe Shoreline Month

Mayor Hall proclaimed October 2020 as Safe Shoreline Month and spoke to the importance of safety and preparedness.

3.         REPORT OF CITY MANAGER

John Norris, Assistant City Manager, provided updates on COVID-19 and reports and information on various City meetings, projects and events.

4.         COUNCIL REPORTS

Councilmember Roberts reported that the Puget Sound Regional Council Executive Board recommended that the General Assembly adopt Vision 2050, which prioritizes supporting transit corridor projects. He added that the application period for Sound City Association’s external committees ends soon.

5.         PUBLIC COMMENT

Councilmember Roberts moved to suspend the Council Rules to allow all 26 people signed up to speak for up to two minutes. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell and passed unanimously, 6-0.

Speaking in opposition of the proposed Enhanced Shelter at 16357 Aurora Avenue N:

Ed Jirsa, Shoreline resident, said many questions have been left unanswered after the recent community meeting. His concerns focus on the impact to, and safety of, the community.

Larry Pfeil, Shoreline resident, said the recent Community Meeting on the Enhanced Shelter did not allow enough time for questions and community feedback, and suggested that another meeting be held.

Mithuna Srinivasan, Shoreline resident, said the community meeting left questions unanswered and raised new concerns and confusion. She said the key is in the details and urged Council to carefully deliberate as the proposal is considered.

Margaret Willson, Shoreline resident, shared her reaction and response to the comments from  supporters of the Shelter during last week’s meeting.

Gaurav Bansal, Shoreline resident, said the City is providing answers without any information and he has lost trust in the Council.

Vinay Venkatesh, Shoreline resident, shared concerns and listed questions he has after the community meeting. He urged the Council to put the low barrier shelter on hold.

Sudeeptha Jothiprakash, Shoreline resident, asked the City to provide concrete examples of successful similar low-barrier permanent housing in a single family neighborhood.

Diane Pfeil, Shoreline resident, shared excerpts from a recent Bellingham Herald article about a shelter in the city. She said the type of behaviors of shelter residents described in her research on low-barrier shelters are not what they want in the neighborhood.

DJ Kong, Shoreline resident, said he opposes a homeless shelter in Shoreline and will consider moving out of the City if it is opened.

Janet Covarrubias, Shoreline resident, asked that the wording on the City website be adjusted to indicate that the shelter is still in the proposal process. She expressed concern that Lake City Partners has no experience operating this type of shelter and asked that another community meeting be scheduled.

Nancy Pfeil, Shoreline resident, said the majority of Councilmembers do not seem to care about the community concerns being expressed and she has yet to hear anything that supports the Shelter being a good thing. She asked Council to consider the liabilities associated with the project.

Speaking in support of the proposed Enhanced Shelter at 16357 Aurora Avenue N:

David Trainer, Shoreline resident, shared examples of his connections stemming from Shoreline encampments and shelters and said the Enhanced Shelter is a win-win situation for residents and the homeless.

April Seamon, Shoreline resident, thanked the Council for moving forward on the Shelter and suggested reassuring the community by offering information and education.

Carolyn Frimpter, Shoreline resident, said she supports the location of the Shelter but is concerned about the plan as described, and suggested the City seek advice from shelter managers.

Offering general Public Comment:

Lash Akinmulero, Shoreline resident, provided comment that was inaudible over the Zoom technology.  

Carla Carrell, Comcast representative, thanked the City staff for their work in drafting a Franchise Agreement that meets the needs of the community.

Nancy Morris, Shoreline resident, said too many trees are cut down due to development and asked how tree protection will be enforced.

Lee Keim and Vivian Korneliussen, Shoreline residents, spoke as representatives of the League of Women Voters Seattle/King County Environment Committee and shared information about the resources the League has available to cities to help address climate change.

John Ramsdell, Shoreline resident and Chair of the Westminster Triangle Neighborhood Association, expressed support for Ordinance No. 899. He said the addition of a walkable park would benefit the community.

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, 6-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:

(a) Approving Expenses and Payroll as of September 11, 2020 in the Amount of $1,532,703.33

(b) Adopting the 2021 Community Development Block Grant Funding (CDBG) and Contingency Plan and the 2021-2022 Human Services Funding Plan, and Authorizing the City Manager to Execute Contracts to Implement Approved Programs and Projects

(c) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute a Janitorial Services Contract with Kellermeyer Bergensons Services, LLC in the Amount of $325,514.13 to Clean City of Shoreline Facilities

(d) Authorizing the City Manager to Enter Into a Title VI Nondiscrimination Agreement with the Washington State Department of Transportation

(e) Adopting Ordinance No. 899 - Authorizing Acquisition of Certain Real Property located at 709 N. 150th Street, Tax Parcel 182604-9211, for Public Park Purposes by Negotiated Voluntary Purchase, Under Threat of Condemnation, or by Condemnation

(f) Adopting Resolution No. 465 - Approving the Surplus of a 2006 Ford E450 Mini Passenger Bus in Accordance with Shoreline Municipal Code Section 3.50.030(B)

(g) Authorizing the City Manager to Obligate $663,621 of Connecting Washington Funding for Design of the SR523 (N/NE 145th Street) Aurora Avenue N to I-5 Project

(h) Authorizing the City Manager to Obligate $11,836,379 of Connecting Washington Funding for Right-of-Way Acquisition for Phase 1 of the SR523 (N/NE 145th Street) Aurora Avenue N to I-5 Project

8.         STUDY ITEMS

(a) Discussing Ordinance No. 894 - Granting a Non-Exclusive Franchise to Comcast to Construct, Maintain, Operate, Replace, and Repair a Cable System Over, Along, Under, and Through Designated Public Rights-of-way in the City of Shoreline

Christina Arcidy, Management Analyst, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Arcidy gave an overview of the franchise review process and clarified that Federal Law only allows for regulation of cable television services, so this Agreement does not cover high speed internet or telephone services. She said Comcast is the only cable service provider whose franchise area covers the entire City. 

Ms. Arcidy summarized the substantial changes to the Franchise. She reviewed the renewal terms and described the rules established by the recent Federal Communication Commission Order 621 and explained the impacts the changes would make for the City. She said the Shoreline Municipal Code and the Cable Act outline the franchise considerations that can be made by a local government and listed them. She said the renewal agreement would have no fiscal impact to the City and that staff recommends approval of the Franchise.   

Mayor Hall said it is his recollection that Verizon had originally intended to serve the entire City with Fiber. He asked if the City has the opportunity to have conversations with Ziply, the successor of interest to Verizon, to encourage them to serve the rest of the City. Ms. Arcidy said that based on conversations with Northwest Fiber (aka Ziply), it is her understanding that they are very interested in serving the community, so she will ask them about expansion plans, though Shoreline is not on the list of planned expansion areas. Mayor Hall asked if there is any possibility that Ziply, has any responsibility for Verizon’s failure to fulfill their commitment to serve the entire City. Ms. Arcidy said she would research and bring for discussion when she returns to Council to report on Ziply’s franchise agreement.

It was agreed that the Ordinance No. 894 would return as a Consent Item.

(b) Discussing Resolution No. 463 Amending the Employee Handbook

Don Moritz, Human Resources Director, delivered the staff presentation. He shared background on the Employee Handbook and noted that Resolution No. 463 is intended to bring policies up to date and into compliance with and/or codify current laws, as well as give additional clarity to employees and managers, and reflect the current human resources practices and administrative procedures.

Mr. Moritz summarized the amendments as the following:

· Housekeeping changes to language, formatting and structure, including amendments throughout the Handbook to make the language gender neutral;

· Clarifications of existing policies to make them more easily understandable to employees and to ensure their consistent application;

· The addition of the Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave as a policy, which is required by RCW Title 50A; and

· Revision to the City’s Paid Supplemental Leave Benefit to make it supportive of the new Washington State Paid Family and Medical Leave provisions and to reduce its overlap of and duplicative coverage with the State’s plan.

Mr. Moritz then highlighted the noteworthy policy updates, and said staff recommends adoption of Resolution No. 463.

Mayor Hall said it is good to modernize the Handbook and he recognized that most of the proposed changes had been discussed previously by Council. It was agreed that Resolution No. 463 would return as a Consent Item.

9.         ADJOURNMENT

At 8:16 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.

/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk