CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, November 16, 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.
3. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided an update on the new COVID-19 restrictions and transmission trends, and shared reports and information on various City meetings, projects and events.
4. COUNCIL REPORTS
There were no Council reports.
5. PUBLIC COMMENT
Kathleen Russell, Shoreline resident, said Save Shoreline Trees is proposing code amendments and asked that the staff review be expedited and presented to Planning Commission and Council in the second quarter of 2021.
Jackie Kurle, Shoreline resident, said she believes the homelessness concerns in King County need to be addressed, but that the Enhanced Shelter is not the right solution. She encouraged gathering additional public input on the project.
William Bear, Shoreline resident, spoke on behalf of Shoreline Organized Against Racism in support of proposed Resolution No. 467. He said it is encouraging that the City supports policies and actions toward ending racism.
Janet Way, Shoreline resident and member of Shoreline Preservation Society, said the Fircrest Chapel is being nominated for landmarking with the King County Landmarks Commission and asked for Council’s support.
Mark Ellerbrook, Seattle resident and Division Director – Housing, Homelessness and Community Development for King County, thanked the Council and staff for partnership on the Enhanced Shelter. He said King County is committed to being a strong and consistent partner and expressed appreciation for the issues highlighted in proposed Ordinance No. 913. He said the County is happy to work with the City on these details but hopes that discussion will not delay moving forward on the project.
6. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Deputy Mayor Scully requested that Consent item 7(d), Adopting Ordinance No. 913, be moved to an Action Item. The agenda was adjusted accordingly. He further requested that an Executive Session be added to the agenda prior to the Action Items. There were no objections from the Councilmembers.
The amended agenda was adopted 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 Special Meeting of November 2, 2020
Approving Minutes of Regular Meeting of November 2, 2020
(b) Adopting Ordinance No. 904 - Amending the 2019-2020 Biennial Budget
(c) Authorizing the City Manager to Execute an Amendment to the Agreement with SCORE for Jail Services
8. ACTION ITEMS
EXECUTIVE SESSION: Litigation or Potential Litigation – RCW 42.30.110(1)(i)
At 7:25 p.m., Mayor Hall recessed into Executive Session for a period of 15 minutes as authorized by RCW 42.30.110(l)(i) to discuss with legal counsel matters relating to litigation or potential litigation to which the City, the governing body, or a member acting in an official capacity is, or is likely to become, a party. Staff attending the Executive Session included Debbie Tarry, City Manager; John Norris, Assistant City Manager; and Margaret King, City Attorney. The Executive Session ended at 7:31 p.m.
(a) Adopting Ordinance No. 913 - Amending Ordinance No. 906 - Interim Zoning Regulations to Allow Siting a 24/7 Enhanced Shelter in the R-48 Zone District
Margaret King, City Attorney, delivered the staff presentation. She said Ordinance No. 906 includes criteria to require an Interlocal Agreement (ILA) between the City and the Shelter Operator, and that Ordinance No. 913 amends Ordinance No. 906 by adding the primary funding organization as an additional party to the agreement and changing the form of agreement from an ILA to a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA). Ms. King said staff recommended moving the approval of Ordinance No. 913 from the Consent calendar because staff is proposing some additional amendments to Section G for Council’s consideration. She described the amendment as follows:
· Amending the last line of the introductory clause to clarify that items included in the agreement are discretionary;
· Adding language in Section G to replace “such as” with “and may include such things as”;
· Removing the requirement in Section G(3) for billing the County or Shelter Operator if calls for service exceed the agreed to amount, and amending it to read “documentation of the number of calls for service to the site and an agreement that if calls exceed an agreed upon threshold the Shelter Operator will work with the City to reduce calls below the level”.
Mayor Hall opened the Public Comment period.
Mike Dee, Lake Forest Park resident, said he disagreed with the Council reconvening from Executive Session prior to the announced upon time. He commented that Lake Forest Park should help fund the RADAR program.
Seeing no one else wishing to comment, Mayor Hall closed the Public Comment period.
Councilmember Roberts moved to adopt Ordinance No. 913 as presented by staff. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Robertson.
Councilmember Roberts moved to amend the main motion to amend Ordinance No. 913 with the staff recommended Option B, to read as follows:
G.
The primary funding organization and shelter operator shall enter into an
memorandum of agreement Interlocal Agreement with the City
regarding operational issues of concern and may include such things
as:
• 1.
Staffing plans.
• 2.
Requirement for regular reports to the Council on how the shelter is meeting
performance metrics.
• 3.
Documentation of the number of calls for service to the site and an agreement
that if calls exceed an agreed upon threshold, the shelter operator will
be billed for calls over an agreed threshold will work with the City to
reduce calls below the threshold level.
• 4.
If possible, shelter operator to contribute to the cost of a mental health
professional to assist in police response, perhaps through part of the RADAR
program.
• 5.
Require adherence to a Good Neighbor Plan that addresses litter, noise,
security procedures, and other issues of concern.
• 6.
Staff to develop criteria to discontinue the shelter use if documented
violations of the operational agreements are not addressed in a timely manner.
• 7. Provisions for City approval of any proposed change
in shelter operator.
The motion was seconded by Deputy Mayor Scully.
Deputy Mayor Scully and Councilmembers Roberts, Robertson, and McGlashan expressed support for the amendment.
Councilmember Roberts said these amendments achieve the Council’s intent, and he asked if a Public Hearing would be necessary. Ms. King explained that as a clarifying amendment to the interim regulations, it is not required, but should the Council determine that the amendments modify the requirements in a more substantial way she would advise holding a Public Hearing, which could take place after the Ordinance is in effect.
Councilmember Chang said she does not see these amendments as minor and observed that they take away some of the ‘teeth’ from the agreement. She feels the point of the list of operational issues of concern is to give staff the tools they need to enforce the Council’s intent. She said that making them discretionary allows King County to walk away from any of them. She voiced strong disagreement with amending the language regarding the calls for service threshold. She said the appropriate solution is to set a reasonable, but high, threshold and leave the language as is.
Councilmember McConnell said she does not support the discretionary element the amendments create because the Council established the criteria to put guardrails in place to protect the community and to support the success of the project.
Deputy Mayor Scully said he never would have supported the list if he thought it would be mandatory. He said he is not exactly clear why staff thinks this amendment is necessary, since it is his understanding that ‘such as’ is discretionary, but it should be made if staff thinks the clarification is needed.
Councilmember Robertson said it is her understanding that King County and the City have reached an agreement on all the criteria except the potential billing for calls for service. Ms. King confirmed this and said King County has agreed that if the established threshold were to be exceeded, they would work with the City to bring it back down.
Councilmember McGlashan asked if there would be a risk of losing the grant funding if this amendment is not made. Ms. King said she is not aware of the conditions of the grant funding, but it is not unusual to have restrictions on how funds can be spent. Ms. Tarry continued that the Commerce Grant was applied for based on the budget to run the facility, and the cost of additional police services were not part of the budget. Councilmember McGlashan said he believes that King County will work to reduce calls if they exceed the established threshold.
Mayor Hall said it is his recollection that the ‘such as’ clause meant that staff would try to negotiate those things, but they were not mandatory, so he sees this amendment as a clarification.
The motion to amend the main motion to amend Ordinance No. 913 with the staff recommended Option B passed, 5-2, with Councilmembers Chang and McConnell dissenting.
Deputy Mayor Scully moved to amend the main motion to waive Council Rule 3.5(b) so as to not require three readings of Ordinance No. 913. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Roberts and passed 6-1, with Councilmember Chang dissenting.
The main motion to adopt Ordinance No. 913 as amended passed, 5-2, with Councilmembers Chang and McConnell dissenting.
(b) Adopting Resolution No. 468 - Making a Finding and Declaration of Substantial Need for Purposes of Setting the Limit Factor for the Property Tax Levy For 2021
Sara Lane, Administrative Services Director, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Lane explained that this Council-requested Resolution is in response to the fact that the ability to increase the Levy Lid Lift by Consumer Price Index – Urban Consumers (CPI-U) is less for 2021 than the one percent allowed by law. She stated that Ordinance No. 902, scheduled for adoption tonight, assumes the passage of this proposed Resolution of Substantial Need and shared the increase in revenues it would provide.
Councilmember Robertson moved to adopt Resolution No. 468, making a Finding and Declaration of Substantial Need for purposes of setting the limit factor for the Property Tax Levy For 2021. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Roberts, and passed unanimously, 7-0.
(c) Adopting Ordinance No. 902 - 2021 Regular and Excess Property Tax Levies, and Other Revenues
Sara Lane, Administrative Services Director, delivered the staff presentation. She stated that the Ordinance would set a Regular Levy of $14.3 Million to provide for general operations and an Excess Levy of $1.1 Million to provide for debt service for the 2006 Parks Bonds that retire in 2021.
Deputy Mayor Scully moved to adopt Ordinance No. 902, establishing the City’s 2021 regular and bond (excess) property tax levies. Councilmember McGlashan seconded the motion, which passed unanimously, 7-0.
(d) Adopting Ordinance No. 903 - 2021-2022 Proposed Biennial Budget and the 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Plan
Sara Lane, Administrative Services Director, delivered the staff presentation. She explained that Ordinance No. 903 would adopt a biennial budget of $245 Million. She said one potential amendment, to extend a portion of the sidewalk on Northeast 200th Street from the end of the Aldercrest School sidewalk to the intersection with 25th Avenue Northeast, has been submitted. She stated that staff does not recommend approval of this amendment because it is a medium priority route, ranked by the Sidewalk Advisory Committee as 98th out of 140 projects, and stated that the City will continue to monitor how to incorporate this segment into future grants or improvement projects.
Councilmember McGlashan moved adoption of Ordinance No. 903, adopting the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget and 2021 Fee Schedule, the 2021 Salary Schedule, and the 2021-2026 Capital Improvement Plan. The motion was seconded by Councilmember McConnell.
Councilmember McGlashan thanked staff for their work on the presenting the Budget so clearly and expressed support for the Ordinance.
Councilmember Roberts echoed Councilmember McGlashan’s appreciation for staff in the preparation of the budget and the management of the finances in this challenging time. He said because of the City’s conservative approach towards budget management, the City is in a better position than many jurisdictions.
Councilmember Roberts moved to increase the Roads Capital Fund appropriations by $100,000 for a NE 200th Street Sidewalk project, which will install approximately 160 feet of sidewalk on NE 200th Street from the end of the Aldercrest School sidewalk to the intersection with 25th Avenue NE, to be funded with fund balance available from Real Estate Excise Tax collections in excess of the 2020 budget projection. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Robertson.
Councilmember Roberts said the recent renovation of the Aldercrest Campus required the School District to put a sidewalk on its frontage, and what remains is one parcel to the west and two to the east of the campus without sidewalks, and this amendment would cover the west side of the project. He explained that in the process of creating the sidewalk, the School District inadvertently created a safety hazard, and he described the challenges it presents. He said that the new sidewalk configuration would add additional criteria points to the previously calculated sidewalk prioritization matrix by extending the sidewalk and connecting to a pedestrian path.
Deputy Mayor Scully and Councilmember McConnell spoke in opposition of the amendment. Councilmember McConnell reflected that the project is ranked 98th on a large list of sidewalk improvements, and said it is not her practice to interfere with the prioritizations determined by staff; and Deputy Mayor Scully said he worries that if certain projects are pushed and other projects do not have advocates, the outcome would not be fair.
Councilmember Chang asked why Safe Routes to Schools funding has not been pursued. Ms. Lane said the City would try to use such funding, but there are other schools that have higher prioritized sidewalk needs, and Randy Witt, Public Works Director, concurred. Nora Daley-Peng, Senior Transportation Planner, added that all eligible school projects are taken into consideration, along with the grant criteria, when applying for the Safe Routes to School grants. She added that the program requires matching funds from the City.
Mayor Hall said he thinks this would be a great location for sidewalks, and there in nothing incorrect in the value as expressed by Councilmember Roberts. He reflected that previously, with Councilmember Roberts’ urging, Council advanced this project over some projects that have higher scores. However, to jump it to the top of the list might skip over other important projects. He said he is sensitive to the issue of gaps in sidewalks, citywide, but he stands behind the current sidewalk matrix.
Councilmember Roberts said he is disappointed with what he has heard; since the Council is responsible for the overall budget, he said they should be advocating for projects. He said this project is a small, straightforward segment and would not require as much funding as many others on the matrix. He reiterated that the City code requirements for the new construction created a hazard that was not there before the sidewalk was built and asked for Council to support the amendment.
The motion to amend failed, 2-5, with Robertson and Roberts voting in favor.
Councilmember Roberts requested future discussion on what the City’s response should be when a development adds sidewalk frontage that creates gaps.
The main motion to adopt Ordinance No. 903 passed unanimously, 7-0.
Mayor Hall commended staff for ensuring that the budget reflects the goals, priorities, and values laid out by the Council.
9. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussing State Legislative Priorities and Issues of Shared Interest with the 32nd District Delegation
Jim Hammond, Intergovernmental Program Manager, welcomed Senator Jesse Salomon and Representatives Cindy Ryu and Lauren Davis.
Mayor Hall said the City is honored to have such fantastic representation at the State level and thanked them for making time to attend tonight’s meeting. He asked for feedback from the representatives on the City’s draft legislative agenda and for them to share any of their priorities and ways in which Shoreline may be able to help them.
Mayor Hall summarized the City’s Shoreline-specific priorities and outlined the legislative issues the City supports. Representative Ryu said the proposed priorities are good for both the City and State and Representative Davis echoed willingness to support the mutual priorities.
Senator Salomon spoke to the current eviction moratorium and its long-term effects on both tenants and landlords and said there will need to be a process by which to support it when it ends. Representative Ryu commented that the eviction moratorium is helping housing issues right now, as a stopgap measure, but the impacts will need to be addressed, and shared information on state funded pilot programs in process to help support the exit process when the moratorium is lifted. She said the foreclosure moratorium expires in March and gave information on support being made available to homeowners.
Senator Salomon shared information on potential ways to generate new transportation-related revenue and said he will be working on culvert funding to support salmon recovery. The impacts of the recession on funding needs were discussed.
Councilmember Chang said she is interested in exploring how to get more behavioral health support to address calls that might otherwise go to 911 but may not actually need police response. Representative Davis echoed this priority and described the State’s limited involvement in law enforcement funding and suggested areas of potential involvement. She said it is important to rethink what first responders look like for non-threatening situations that currently result in police intervention. She described the mental health workforce staffing shortages in the State and said an approach of using non-clinician responders is being evaluated. She said there is a bill in the works that would tax substance industries to support mobile crisis services. She shared information on the forthcoming national 988 crisis phone line.
Senator Salomon said the House Caucus is prioritizing police accountability issues, and the Democratic Caucus is doing so in the Senate. He described the upcoming actions of the Law and Justice Committee relating to accountability and shared his perspectives on the need for oversight. He said he is working on two law enforcement related bills, one dealing with collective bargaining and one to secondary employment, and shared specifics of each.
Councilmember Robertson asked how the outcome of State Initiative 976 (I-976) is influencing legislative thinking about transportation funding. Senator Salomon said while the funding source has been regained, the recession has caused a new challenge, and Representative Ryu agreed that the impacts of COVID-19 have created a huge hole that has to be filled. Representative Davis added that one of the biggest outcomes of I-976 is that it has propelled conversation about funding sources. She said the capital budget is not as affected by a recession as the operating budget is, so she is still fairly hopeful that there will be action and traction in capital projects.
Representative Ryu gave a brief update on the actions around the Fircrest Campus and said the current study and report has been delayed because of the pandemic, but next steps are likely to include a broader stakeholder process. She said there needs to be a plan for the entire property, even if development happens in stages. Councilmember Robertson conveyed the information shared in public comment regarding the landmarking efforts on the Fircrest Campus.
Representative Davis shared examples of the challenges of holding legislative sessions remotely and said the upcoming focus areas will be: Public health and COVID-19, economic recovery, and equity and police reform. Mayor Hall commented on the importance of looking at impacts through an equity lens, especially as the pandemic makes significant changes to lifestyle. He wondered if this situation might prompt the legislature to consider an income tax. Representative Davis said she has not heard talk about this, and she does not predict it happening this year. She said the silver lining of a recession is that revenue ideas that might have been rejected earlier as radical are now potentially on the table, and she shared examples.
Senator Solomon described his work on the Revenue Stability Committee and there is appetite for at least one revenue bill this year. Representative Ryu said she has attended several listening sessions on this topic, and a report on the findings is due next year.
Mayor Hall thanked the delegation for their work in Olympia and for their attendance tonight.
(b) Discussing the 2021 State Legislative Priorities
Jim Hammond, Intergovernmental Program Manager, delivered the staff presentation. Mr. Hammond gave an overview of the timeline for the 2021 Legislative session and said the City’s legislative priorities are a tool used to articulate policy positions, guide staff during the legislative session, and are generally aligned with the Association of Washington Cities (AWC) and the Sound Cities Association (SCA). He listed the AWC’s key priorities: State shared revenue, transportation package revenue, fiscal flexibility, housing stability, and policing reforms. He reviewed the Shoreline-specific interests of the NE 148th Street non-motorized bridge, the Fircrest campus redevelopment, and local/community project funding. Mr. Hammond said Shoreline’s policy issues are transportation, financial sustainability/flexibility, affordable housing/homelessness, tax increment financing (TIF), fish-blocking culverts, climate change, and law enforcement interests.
Mayor Hall said he was pleased to hear acknowledgement from some of the Representatives that revenue options that would have been off the table a year ago may considered in the future. He wondered if the Council should consider adding support for the development of more sustainable funding sources for local and State public services that would ensure that higher earning individuals and corporations are equitably taxed. Councilmember Roberts agreed that there was explicit support for an income tax in the legislative priorities a few years ago. He said he would be fine moving in that direction again since the tax system is regressive and recognized that comprehensive reform is needed to establish a fair tax system. Councilmember Chang said she thinks income tax might be too big to bite off right now, but she would support a capital gains tax.
Councilmember Roberts said he would like to see movement for funding for a Community and Aquatics Center listed in the priorities, since it is important to many residents. Mayor Hall and Councilmembers Chang and McConnell voiced support for continuing to prioritize the Community and Aquatics Center. Councilmember McConnell said she would rather keep concerns local, so she is less interested in pushing for the bigger picture of equity in revenue sources.
Mr. Hammond suggested that prior to adoption of the 2021 Legislative Priorities he would draft options for language incorporating the idea of expressing support for the legislative development of more stable revenue sources while avoiding greater regressivity and the option to include a proposal for prioritizing the Community and Aquatics Center.
(c) Discussion of Resolution No. 467 - Declaring the City's Commitment to Building an Anti-Racist Community - Sponsored by Councilmembers Roberts and Robertson
Christina Arcidy, Management Analyst, delivered the staff presentation. Ms. Arcidy stated that Councilmembers Roberts and Robertson sponsored this Resolution and directed staff to prepare draft language for a Resolution affirming the City’s commitment to combating racism in Shoreline. She described the community involvement in the research and preparation process and said the information gathered was incorporated into broad resolution language reflective of Shoreline’s community. She identified a typographical error on page six of the staff report and said the correct value for respondents identifying as African American/Black to the question “Please rate your satisfaction with the City’s overall efforts to promote diversity & inclusiveness in the community” was 82 percent. Ms. Arcidy expressed gratitude for the participation of youth members from Black Lives Matter – Shoreline and said many of them are in attendance at tonight’s meeting.
Ms. Arcidy said the general intent of the Resolution is to create a common framework of language and definitions and establish several action steps towards becoming an anti-racist community. She concluded that after discussion and feedback tonight, staff recommends adoption of Resolution No. 467.
Councilmember Robertson thanked Councilmember Roberts for his collaboration and Ms. Arcidy for her work in preparing this Resolution. She said she hopes that the Council supports it without adjusting the language too much and said what is wonderful about this Resolution is the number of community members who have participated in drafting it. She shared excerpts from Resolution No. 401, which declared the City of Shoreline to be an inviting, equitable, and safe community for all, and described it as a powerful start. She said it is critical for the Council to reaffirm the City’s commitment to the ongoing process of doing the work to become an anti-racist community.
Councilmember Roberts read an excerpt of Resolution No. 467, which states “for meaningful and lasting change to occur, the City must work together with members of our community, to co-create a vision of this anti-racist community and the outcomes and activities that will bring us closer to this vision.” He said what is really important is the level of community participation in the co-creation part of this vision.
Councilmember Chang said this Resolution provides a good roadmap with concrete commitments to the work that needs to be done.
Deputy Mayor Scully thanked the community participants on this Resolution and said he views the Council’s role in this is listening, communicating, and implementing, and he said he will be supporting it as written.
Mayor Hall said he supports the actions outlined in the Resolution as a very good start. He suggested refinements and clarifications to the Resolution and recommended a broader definition of racism. Councilmember Robertson said she would prefer to go back to the community for feedback to these suggestions. Ms. Arcidy said the people involved in drafting the Resolution felt the items in the recitals were very important to create a shared framework for the work moving forward but offered to revisit the language with them based on tonight’s feedback. Councilmember Roberts said the definition of racism came directly from the American Public Health Association.
Councilmember McConnell considered the question on an adjustment to the definition, stating that multiple groups have experienced discrimination and racism in this Country. She shared the impact the recent rallies and protests had on raising her awareness to the issue. She concluded that she would be perfectly fine with the language remaining unchanged.
Councilmember Chang offered that she feels the Resolution language does include other groups but emphasizes what the Black community has gone through in terms of history and observed that the whereas statement in consideration does not take away from what has happened to other races.
Deputy Mayor Scully echoed Councilmember Chang’s observation, and said he does not want to ask the contributors to consider revision, since it was created by people who are currently experiencing racism.
Mayor Hall said he can support the Resolution coming back in its current form and said is great that there were no concerns with the list of commitments in the Resolution.
Mayor Hall summarized that the Council supports moving forward with this Resolution in its present form but will continue to listen to comments and suggestions from the community.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:57 p.m., Mayor Hall declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk