CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
Monday, September 20, 2021 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.
(a) Proclamation of Mayor’s Day of Concern for the Hungry
Mayor Hall said it is important to remember that there are people in Shoreline who go without some of the basic needs, and hunger needs to be addressed both locally and globally.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
4. REPORT OF CITY MANAGER
Debbie Tarry, City Manager, provided an update on COVID-19 and reported on various City meetings, projects, and events.
5. COUNCIL REPORTS
Deputy Mayor Scully attended the meeting of the WRIA-8 Salmon Recovery Council and reported on the effects on Coho Salmon from a chemical omitted when car tires degrade and ways to reduce the impact. Mayor Hall commented that using Light Rail is one way to help reduce the chemical emissions from rubber tires.
Councilmember Chang attended a joint meeting of the Regional Transit Committee and the Mobility and Environment Committee, and work was done to update Metro’s Strategic Plan, Metro’s Service Guidelines, and Metro Connects. She said the documents are being updated to lead with equity and observed that Shoreline does not have a lot of priority populations as identified by Metro, which may impact future transit service in the City.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
Jackie Kurle, Shoreline resident, spoke regarding the Enhanced Shelter. She said it is running smoothly and encouraged continued oversight and transparency.
7. CONSENT CALENDAR
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Scully and seconded by Councilmember Chang and unanimously carried, 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of August 9, 2021
8. STUDY ITEMS
(a) Discussion of Ordinance No. 938 - Authorizing a One-Year Extension to the Right-of-Way Franchise with Frontier Communications Northwest (dba Ziply Fiber) 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, reviewed the franchise review process in Shoreline, and stated that Ziply requested a second one-year extension of the current franchise due to the recent acquisition. She said staff believes that the extension is in the City’s best interest and stated that the only change to the current franchise terms is the 12-month extension. She said there is no fiscal impact to adopting Ordinance No. 938 and displayed information on the current franchise fees and utility taxes being paid by Ziply to the City.
It was agreed that Ordinance No. 938 would return as a Consent Item.
(b) Discussion of 2021-2023 City Council Goal 5, Action Step 5 Regarding RADAR, Alternatives to Police Services, and Other Possible Criminal Justice Reforms
Christina Arcidy, Management Analyst, delivered the staff presentation and was joined by Shawn Ledford, Police Chief; and Brooke Buettner, RADAR Program Manager. Ms. Arcidy said this discussion was driven by the adopted City Council Goal 5, Action Step 5, related to public safety reforms which directs staff to maximize the North Sound Radar Program, explore alternative responder models, and address the inequitable treatment of low-income defendants through other criminal justice reforms.
Ms. Buettner gave an overview of the interjurisdictional, 5-city RADAR program, describing the components of the program and sharing examples of the benefits of response plans and mental health professional navigators. She reviewed the program goals, funding resources, and growing program outputs for 2019 and 2020, as well as specific numbers for services provided in Shoreline. She shared feedback from the community on the positive impact of the navigators and displayed a chart listing demographics on the individuals served to date in 2021.
Ms. Buettner gave an update on the current state of response and outreach for the RADAR program and said next steps include recruiting new navigators, expanding coverage, and prioritizing staffing at high-volume hours. She stated that current coverage is limited due to staffing. She described the emerging field of co-response social work and described the benefits of the approach, but said it is challenging to find people who have the skills to do this type of work. She said achieving RADAR’s ultimate goal of direct dispatch to calls will require vehicles and additional Navigator capacity and she added there will also be an associated need for a crisis triage facility in North King County.
Councilmember Robertson expressed support for a crisis triage facility in North King County and praised Shoreline Community College for offering education in co-response social work and spoke to the positive movements happening. She asked for more information on the self-selection process to participate in the RADAR program. Ms. Buettner described the process for participation and noted the positive attitudes Shoreline Officers have about the program.
There was conversation on the qualifications needed to perform the Navigator role. Ms. Buettner said currently the roles are filled by contracted employees and she described the challenges in finding people to do this work on a contract basis, so offering fully funded municipal FTE positions will help with recruitment. She stated that all Navigators are required to be mental health professionals and described the certifications accepted. Councilmember McConnell said she is concerned that there is not a pool of mental health professionals interested in working on a police force and asked why more training is not done with Law Enforcement for the mental health support that could be offered.
Deputy Mayor Scully expressed strong support for the RADAR program. He said he is concerned with how closely it is tied to the police, stating that his preference would be to push towards creating a stand-alone service or move it to the Fire Department. Ms. Buettner shared the benefits to keeping Navigators internal to law enforcement and added that expansion would mean they would be responding independently.
Ms. Arcidy continued with the staff presentation, moving on to an overview of Alternative Responder Models. She described the differences between Crisis and Non-Crisis Response models, reviewing the types of calls for services and preliminary possible alternatives for response for the most frequent categories of calls. In examination of other criminal justice reforms that would address the inequitable treatment of low-income defendants, Ms. Arcidy stated that courts are currently managing a backlog of cases because of COVID-19, so the City’s initial considerations are being focused on possible jail alternatives and court communication improvements. She described the action steps that would need to be taken in each of these areas and summarized the next steps toward meeting the City Council Goal 5, Action Step 5, beginning with Council feedback to direct the workplan.
Councilmember Roberts said it seems like the RADAR program is moving toward a hybrid format. Ms. Buettner confirmed that the goal is to have enough Navigator availability so that they can respond independently of law enforcement, as well as being embedded in joint response with police. It was confirmed that vehicles are the primary equipment need to make the transition and that while a crisis triage facility is a needed resource it would not be managed by RADAR. Councilmember Chang said the hybrid model seems like a good option to her because it would be hard to decide when a call requires law enforcement support. She likes the potential for collaboration between law enforcement and social workers and said it fosters the ability to use force along with compassion.
Councilmember Chang said she looks forward to discussions on how to fully fund the program.
When asked the extent of funding needed, Ms. Buettner explained that it would be more than double the current costs, the bulk of which would support employing mental health professionals. She stated that right now all the direct funding is coming from King County, and the participating cities are only contributing in-kind officer and deputy time. Councilmember Roberts recognized this need and expressed his support for moving forward. Mayor Hall, Deputy Mayor Scully, and Councilmember McGlashan expressed interest in budgeting for this expansion of city services in the next budget.
Councilmember McGlashan asked if there is data available to schedule current staffing at the identified priority hours. Ms. Buettner said right now staffing is stretched, so addressing high volume hours for mental health calls is not possible until the program is fully staffed.
In discussion of jail alternatives, Councilmember Roberts expressed support for increased home detention and shared his rationale. Ms. Arcidy said there is work being done to further understand the jail population and identify programs that best fit the individual and Deputy Mayor Scully said the issue of jail alternatives should be a separate report and conversation.
While considering the alternative response models, Councilmember Robertson was struck by the fact that over one third of all service calls fall in the non-crisis response categories. She advocated for moving forward with further study and recognized the impact a service change would have on the Fire Department and asked for their input on this conversation. She added that the adjacent work the City is doing towards outreach and listening sessions with community groups is going in the right direction. Councilmember Chang commented on the non-crisis response table displayed and expressed concern about the categories in which ‘no response’ was identified as an alternative response. Ms. Arcidy emphasized how preliminary the work is at this point, and said more analysis needs to be done. Deputy Mayor Scully said his expectation is that the level of service will at least, remain the same. He said it is his understanding that Chief Ledford feels that Shoreline Police has an adequate number of FTEs. Mayor Hall echoed Councilmember Chang and Deputy Mayor Scully’s comments that the overall goal is to maintain Shoreline as a safe community, looking for better ways to maintain or improve public safety equitably.
Deputy Mayor Scully says he is fine if the next step is expanding RADAR. He said that he has heard all the reasons offered for why it is good to keep mental health with police, but most do not resonate with him, except for the access issue. Separately, he said increased parking enforcement is needed.
When asked for input, Chief Ledford said that when RADAR first started it was difficult to get buy-in from Deputies, but over the years they have come to depend on the program. He said that Police respond to all calls for service, and shared examples of recent incidents, stating that he thinks other agencies may not feel comfortable responding without the support of law enforcement. He emphasized that knowing someone has a mental health issue is helpful in reducing the need for force.
Councilmember McGlashan reflected on the original focus of the RADAR program and asked if preregistering homes or individuals will still happen. Chief Ledford explained that one of the original drivers was to do follow up work on mental health calls to create a circle of support for identified individual needs within the community.
Ms. Arcidy summarized the direction and feedback provided by Council in preparation for the continuing conversation on the topics.
(c) Discussion of Resolution No. 483 – Requiring Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccinations as a Qualification of Employment or Public Service with the City of Shoreline, as a Qualification for Providing Contracted Services at City Facilities, Authorizing the City Manager to Develop Additional Rules and Parameters for Implementing this Requirement, and Establishing a Deadline of Full Vaccination by December 1, 2021
John Norris, Assistant City Manager, delivered the staff presentation. Mr. Norris reflected that while the Council discussed a COVID-19 vaccination policy for all staff in June, a mandate was not enacted at that time. Since then, the City Manager has informed staff and union partners she is bringing a COVID-19 vaccination requirement to Council for consideration. He shared statistics of the impact of the virus on unvaccinated people and said 78 percent of staff are fully vaccinated. Mr. Norris said since the last discussion there have been local and Federal decisions made around vaccination and explained how the City has responded, drawing attention to the presidential “Path out of the Pandemic” Plan, which would apply to City staff.
Mr. Norris said Resolution No. 483 would direct the City Manager to require proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 by December 1, 2021 for all employees, Councilmembers, Planning Commissioners, Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Board Members, City Volunteers and contractors/vendors that provide in person services at City Facilities, and include administrative procedures outlining the exemption process. He reviewed the proposed guidelines for compliance and concluded by stating that staff recommends approval of Resolution No. 483. He emphasized that the City Manager and he recognizes the impacts of such a mandate.
There was unanimous Council support for a COVID-19 vaccination requirement.
Councilmember Chang stated an employer-mandated vaccination policy reduces the chance of transmission and makes it safer to be in the workplace. Councilmember Robertson said although she wishes it did not have to be done this way, she is okay to take this step for the sake of health and the greater good.
In discussions related to exemptions, Councilmember Robertson asked how much work approval and tracking will be and said she does not think they should be handed out frivolously. Deputy Mayor Scully confirmed that the exemptions the City would accept are only those allowable by law.
Councilmember McGlashan said as time has passed and numbers have gone up, he has adjusted his perspective, and said he does not want staff members to worry in the workplace. He said it is selfish to not get vaccinated and City employees should be protected.
In discussions related to the criteria for, and tracking of, vaccination status, Councilmember Roberts recommended clarifying the definition of volunteer. He shared examples of instances that may cause confusion and questioned how it would be implemented. Ms. Tarry explained that the criterion for a volunteer is defined to narrow the scope to a manageable level. Councilmember Roberts also questioned who would oversee confirming that all employees of a contractor providing services are vaccinated. It was explained that the provision for Administrative Rules gives staff the ability to handle those details and allows for the flexibility to quickly respond to a changing situation. Mayor Hall and Councilmember Chang expressed support for this approach. Deputy Mayor Scully encouraged staff to come up with a broad set of rules for volunteers, but Councilmember Roberts continued to state that he believes more precision is necessary.
It was agreed that proposed Resolution No. 483 would return as an Action Item.
9. EXECUTIVE SESSION: Property Acquisition – RCW 42.30.110(1)(b)
At 9:00 p.m., Mayor Hall recessed into an Executive Session for a period of 20 minutes as authorized by RCW 42.30.110(l)(b) to consider the selection of a site or the acquisition of real estate by lease or purchase and stated that the Council is not expected to take final action following the Executive Session. Staff attending the Executive Session included Debbie Tarry, City Manager; John Norris, Assistant City Manager; Margaret King, City Attorney; and Nathan Daum, Economic Development Manager.
Mayor Hall left the meeting at 9:02 p.m.
The Executive Session ended at 9:09 p.m.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:10 p.m., Deputy Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk