CITY OF SHORELINE
SHORELINE CITY COUNCIL
The purpose of these minutes is to capture a high-level summary of Council’s discussion and action. This is not a verbatim transcript. Meeting video and audio is available on the City’s website.
Monday, November 14, 2022 Council Chambers - Shoreline City Hall
7:00 p.m. 17500 Midvale Avenue North
PRESENT: Mayor Scully, Deputy Mayor Robertson, Councilmembers Ramsdell, Mork, McConnell, Pobee, and Roberts
ABSENT: None
1. CALL TO ORDER
At 7:00 p.m., the meeting was called to order by Mayor Scully who presided.
2. FLAG SALUTE/ROLL CALL
Upon roll call by the City Clerk, all Councilmembers were present except for Councilmember McConnell who arrived at 7:02 p.m.
(a) Proclamation of America Recycles Day
Mayor Scully announced the proclamation of America Recycles Day in Shoreline.
3. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The agenda was approved by unanimous consent.
John Norris, Interim City Manager, reported on various City meetings, projects, and events.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
The Council heard comments from the public from approximately 7:06 p.m. to 7:12 p.m. Written comments were also submitted to Council prior to the meeting and are available on the City’s website.
Michele Thomas, representative of the Washington Low Income Housing Alliance, commented on the Draft 2023 Legislative Priorities and highlighted the significance of affordable housing and tenant protections.
Heidi Shepherd, Shoreline resident, spoke about the Draft 2023 Legislative Priorities and encouraged Council to adopt eviction prevention measures.
Upon motion by Deputy Mayor Robertson, seconded, and unanimously carried 7-0, the following Consent Calendar items were approved:
(a) Approval of Minutes of Special Meeting of October 3, 2022
Approval of Minutes of Regular Meeting of October 24, 2022
(b) Approval of Expenses and Payroll as of October 28, 2022 in the Amount of $9,920,818.00
|
*Payroll and Benefits: |
||||||
|
Payroll Period |
Payment Date |
EFT Numbers (EF) |
Payroll Checks (PR) |
Benefit Checks (AP) |
Amount Paid |
|
|
9/18/22 - 10/1/22 |
10/7/2022 |
104848-105073 |
17966-17974 |
86969-86971 |
$528,836.80 |
|
|
9/18/22 - 10/1/22 |
10/14/2022 |
WT1297-WT1298 |
$120,444.00 |
|||
|
$649,280.80 |
||||||
|
*Wire Transfers: |
||||||
|
Expense Register Dated |
Wire Transfer Number |
|
Amount Paid |
|||
|
10/7/2022 |
WT1295 |
$973,956.23 |
||||
|
10/7/2022 |
WT1296 |
$1,560,000.00 |
||||
|
$2,533,956.23 |
||||||
|
*Accounts Payable Claims: |
||||||
|
Expense Register Dated |
Check Number (Begin) |
Check Number (End) |
Amount Paid |
|||
|
10/12/2022 |
86901 |
86932 |
$555,450.07 |
|||
|
10/12/2022 |
86933 |
86967 |
$1,674,690.21 |
|||
|
10/12/2022 |
86968 |
86968 |
$3,052.80 |
|||
|
10/19/2022 |
86972 |
87015 |
$966,620.19 |
|||
|
10/19/2022 |
87016 |
87051 |
$2,291,350.30 |
|||
|
10/26/2022 |
87052 |
87074 |
$1,058,645.32 |
|||
|
10/26/2022 |
87075 |
87115 |
$187,772.08 |
|||
|
$6,737,580.97 |
||||||
(c) Authorize the City Manager to Execute a Contract with the Progress Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) for Animal Sheltering Services for 2023-2027
(d) Authorize the City Manager to Execute Contract #10537 with Beckwith Consulting Group in the Amount of $199,868 for Technical Consultation Services for the 2024-2030 Parks, Recreation, Open Space, Art and Culture Plan
(e) Authorize the City Manager to Execute an Amendment to the Agreement with the South Correctional Entity (SCORE) Regional Jail for Jail Services
(a) Public Hearing on the 2023-2024 Proposed Biennial Budget and 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan, to be Set by Ord. No. 973
Ms. Lane stated that tonight is the third public hearing for the 2023-2024 Proposed Biennial Budget and 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan. She reviewed the total proposed budget is $358 million and displayed the breakdown of expenditures by fund.
Mayor Scully opened the public hearing.
Carlee Rollins, Shoreline resident, said she supports adding a sidewalk on 200th Street so that she can walk to school safely.
Kathleen Russell, Shoreline resident on behalf of Save Shoreline Trees, asked Councilmembers to pass proposed Amendments #2 and #3.
Mayor Scully closed the public hearing.
Ms. Lane said there are currently ten proposed amendments to the budget and Mayor Scully asked Council if they had any questions or comments on any of the amendments.
Ms. Lane reviewed that Proposed Amendment #1 is an amendment that was recommended by the City Manager, upon approval of the Levy Lid Lift, which would increase General Fund appropriations by $791,289 and increase the FTE count by 2.9 to address critical operational needs. There were no Council questions on this amendment.
Proposed Amendment # 2 is recommended by Councilmembers Mork, Pobee, and Roberts and would add $50k to update the City’s Urban Tree Canopy Assessment. It was asked if this would replace the assessment planned for 2025 and Ms. Lane responded that if this amendment passes, the plan for the next assessment would be in 2027. She said there is no additional cost to do the assessment sooner.
Proposed Amendment #3 is recommended by Councilmembers Mork and Pobee and would add $200k to complete the City’s Street inventory. There was a question on whether the inventory was only targeted for heat islands and Ms. Lane responded it would be a complete street inventory.
Proposed Amendment #4 is recommended by Councilmember Mork and would increase funding by $362k for small roads safety projects. Ms. Lane shared that it would be challenging to put this additional money to good use due to staffing capacity and that ongoing funding for additional staff would be needed to get the benefit this amendment is intended to provide. A Councilmember cautioned that Proposition 1 is earmarked for specific programs and is not a slush fund for enhancing other services or creating new ones. Councilmembers asked about what data points are analyzed when deciding what improvements get scheduled; what it would cost to add an FTE; how much additional funding could be added before an addition FTE is needed; would a .50 FTE be sufficient; and if using a consultant was an option. Another idea expressed was that it would be better if staff identified projects for funding rather than Council just adding a lump sum of money into the small roads safety budget.
Ms. Juhnke responded that it would be difficult to recruit a .50 FTE Engineer and that it is challenging to use a consultant because they have to be managed by staff. Small safety improvements need a consultant to do design, but staff are needed to oversee the work and implementation. The traffic group is limited in size and capacity so it would be difficult to implement any additional projects.
Proposed Amendment #5, #6 and #7 are recommended by Councilmember Roberts and would add a sidewalk on 200th St NE from 30th NE to 25th Ave NE at a cost of $1.85 million; add a sidewalk on Wallingford from N 195th to N 192nd at a cost of $.99 million; and add a sidewalk on Wallingford from N 155th to N 150th at a cost of $.96 million. Ms. Lane said each one of these sidewalk projects include a partial 3-year limited term .50 FTE Engineer. If Council approves all three amendments, a 1.0 FTE Engineer would be adequate. These amendments would extend the amount of sidewalk in Shoreline, however there are higher priority sidewalk projects that are not yet funded.
Councilmember Roberts spoke in support of the sidewalks stating they are all adjacent to schools and would provide safety improvements for children and the community. He noted that REET revenue is $2.65 million over what was projected for 2021/2022, and he noted the General Fund end fund balance will be $10.3 million at end of year. He said these funds should be used for road projects. There were questions on how many sides of the street these three sidewalks would be on, and how they would be worked into the existing sidewalk workplan. Ms. Juhnke replied that they would be on one side of the street leading to the school entrance and that by adding a limited term FTE, the goal is to install the new sidewalks without jeopardizing the construction timeline for the other sidewalks. There was concern expressed that these amendments go outside of Council’s long-standing protocols for how it prioritizes funding projects and that these sidewalks add up to $5 million which taps too far into the $10 million fund balance. It was noted that although the prioritization process is important to have, there should be opportunity to change priorities when new information is presented.
Proposed Amendment #8 is recommended by Councilmember Roberts and would add a .50 FTE to support social media and digital communications at a cost of $75k. It was asked if this function could be added to the new Video/Web Specialist position. Ms. Lane replied that this amendment is for a communications function and the Video/Web Specialist is a technical position. It would be difficult to get both skill sets in one candidate. Concern was expressed that people are consuming media differently nowadays and the City is not spending that much time on social media to communicate. It was asked how much money is being spent to contract for communication services. Ms. Lane said she would follow up. Councilmember Roberts said he will ask that communication program goals, approach, and outreach strategies be added as a topic at the 2023 Council Strategic Planning Workshop.
Amendment #9 is recommended by Councilmember Roberts and would install Synthetic turf field at Shoreview Park at a cost of $700k. Councilmembers asked about the field lifespan, research on the safety of rubber, and regarding heat generated on rubber fields. Mr. Borer said there is conflicting research on the safety of rubber, but it is definitely hot. He recalled the City only uses cork on its fields, which has a lifespan of about 7 years.
Amendment #10 is recommended by Councilmember Roberts and would add ongoing funds to supplement contracted direct mental health support at a cost of $75k. There was some hesitancy from Council in supporting this amendment until there is an analysis on what population is being targeted, what mental health support is needed and what other support is already out there in the community. Ms. Lane informed Council that there is Human Services Plan in the budget which will inform the 2025/2026 Budget. It was pointed out that although it would be ideal to wait for the Plan, it would not be adopted for at least a year and there is a need right now.
Mayor Scully concluded that the Council is scheduled to adopt the 2023-2024 Proposed Biennial Budget and 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan at its next meeting on November 21.
(a) Discussion the 2023 State Legislative Priorities
Intergovernmental/CMO Program Manager, Jim Hammond, and the City’s Contract Lobbyist, Debora Munguia introduced themselves and spoke about the current legislative priorities. Mr. Hammond said the priorities set parameters in which staff can work to carry out Council’s goals. He stated that in 2023, representatives will go into a long session of 105 days where major financial decisions will be made and policy issues of interest will be addressed.
Ms. Munguia said Shoreline is active within the Association of Washington Cities (AWC). AWC has adopted their 2023 legislatives priorities including items that address The Blake Decision, alternative response teams, increasing access to services, code responder programs, affordable housing and more. Ms. Munguia added that AWC should have a draft soon for a housing solution package the City would largely support. Mr. Hammond explained additional key policy issues including climate change and sustainability, homelessness and equitable access to housing, sustainable funding for local jurisdictions, and City fiscal health.
Mr. Hammond stated that legislators are working on gaining funding for capital investment projects. He listed the three main funding asks are to (1) complete the restroom restoration project for City parks, (2) make vacant City lots shovel-ready for future parks, and (3) improve accessibility to Richmond Beach Community Park. A funding ask may also be made by the five partner cities behind the Response Awareness, De-escalation And Referral (RADAR) response team. If funding is not secured beforehand, the ask would be made to develop a facility to support the response team. Mr. Hammond added another ask is to bring funds within the biennium for the 148th Street Non-Motorized Bridge.
Ms. Munguia spoke about the work the Washington State Tax Structure Work Group is doing to address the State's regressive tax structure. The group will take a vote at their next meeting to decide whether to explore three specific tax structure options. Ms. Munguia confirmed that they will move forward with the Margin Tax, which would replace the Business and Occupation Tax. They will not proceed with the Wealth Tax proposal but will continue to discuss a local only Property Tax Limit Factor of one percent.
Councilmember Roberts asked to have funding for a civic center/community pool added to the legislative priorities.
Regarding the Blake Decision, Mayor Scully commented that Shoreline may not want to return to incarceration without the treatment component. He offered that he would be willing to depart from AWC’s stance on this issue if the community’s values are not being represented. The Mayor added that he appreciates the idea of housing incentives over mandates. However, he believes it is not in Shoreline’s best interest to allow cities to not meet density targets despite AWC’s hands-off approach. Lastly, Mayor Scully stated that the Property Tax Limit is not a Shoreline priority. He would rather see State funding for affordable housing as a priority.
(b) Discussion on Ordinance No. 975 - 2022 Comprehensive Plan Annual Docket Amendments to the Shoreline Comprehensive Plan
Senior Planner, Steve Szafran described the Comprehensive Plan Annual Docketing process and reviewed the docketed items as follows:
· Amendment #1 Amend the Transportation Element and Transportation Master Plan
· Amendment #2 – 2024 Comprehensive Plan Major Update
· Amendment #3 – Amend the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map Designation from Public Facility to Mixed-Use 1 and change the Zoning from Residential, 18 units/acre (R18) and Mixed-Business (MB) to Mixed-Business (MB) at the King County Metro Park & Ride Facility at 19000 Aurora Avenue N
· Amendment #4 – Amend the Land Use Element to add a new policy “Housing development and preservation of significant trees can co-exist with the goal of maintaining and increasing Shoreline’s urban tree canopy”
· Amendment #5 - Amend the Land Use Element to explicitly allow duplexes and triplexes and allow with conditions other dwelling types that are similar in scale with single family detached homes, in low density residential zones
· Amendment #6 - Amend the Comprehensive Plan Land Use Map from Public Facility to Public Open Space for parcels within the Richmond Beach Saltwater Park
Mr. Szafran concluded stating that the Planning Commission recommended approval of Amendment Nos. 1, 4, and 6, and recommended Amendment #5 be carried-over to the 2023-2024 Docket to be considered as part of the 2024 Major Update. He added that the Hearing Examiner recommended approval of Amendment #3.
Mayor Scully reminded Council of the Appearance of Fairness Doctrine and asked if there were any ex parte communications to disclose regarding amendment #3. Each Councilmember disclosed that they received an email regarding Amendment #3 but that they did not feel it affected their impartiality on the matter. Councilmember Mork disclosed she also received a second email, which she did not read.
There was a question on whether Amendment #5 would amend the Comprehensive Plan to allow duplexes and triplexes in low density residential zones, or if the amendment would direct staff to study it. Mr. Szafran and Ms. King confirmed that the Planning Commission’s recommendation is to carry Amendment #5 over to the 2023-2024 Docket to be considered as part of the 2024 Major Update so there is time to study the issue.
Mayor Scully announced adoption of the 2022 Docketed items is scheduled for November 28.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:04 p.m., Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk