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 21, 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.
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.
Councilmember Mork reported her attendance to a meeting of the National League of Cities conference. She said a common theme throughout the conference was the funding available to help cities.
Councilmember Ramsdell said he attended the National League of Cities conference where he learned about housing and health needs.
Councilmember McConnell said she participated in various committees at the National League of Cities conference and commented that chances to have funding requests approved are higher than ever.
Deputy Mayor Robertson reported her attendance to a Regional Transit Committee meeting. She highlighted a pilot project to install two porta potties, one of which will be at the Aurora Village Transit Center.
6. PUBLIC COMMENT
The Council heard comments from the public from approximately 7:09 p.m. to 7:24 p.m. Written comments were also submitted to Council prior to the meeting and are available on the City’s website.
Bill Dwyer, expressed concern with ADA compliance in the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan and asked for it to be addressed in partnership with the Coalition on Inclusive Emergency Planning.
Corinna Sullivan, Shoreline resident, requested the sidewalk on 200th be completed for the safety of students.
Stella Sullivan, Shoreline resident, requested the sidewalk on 200th be completed to increase safety for pedestrians and to encourage walking.
Georgia Sullivan, Shoreline resident, requested the sidewalk on 200th be completed to for safety.
Kathleen Russell, Shoreline resident, spoke regarding Ordinance No. 973 and asked Council to increase provisions to protect street trees and to approve Amendments Nos. 2 and 3.
Alan Coburn, Shoreline resident and President of the Shoreline Observer Communications
Service encouraged Council to take a training for public officials that is offered by FEMA.
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 10, 2022
Approval
of Minutes of Regular Meeting of November 7, 2022
(b) Adoption of Resolution No. 496 - Adoption of the 2023
Fee Schedule
(c)
Authorize the City Manager
to Execute an Interlocal Agreement with the City of Lake Forest Park Regarding
Design of Improvements for the 25th Avenue NE Ballinger Creek Habitat
Restoration and Flood Reduction Project
(d) Authorize the City Manager to Execute the Fifth
Amendment to the Expedited Permitting and Reimbursement Agreement with Sound
Transit for the Lynnwood Link Extension Project
(e) Adoption of Ordinance No. 974 - Amending the 2021-2022 Biennial Budget - Ordinance No. 970
(a) Action on Ordinance No. 972 - Setting the 2023 Regular and Excess Property Tax Levies
Administrative Services Director, Sara Lane, stated Ordinance No. 972 authorizes both the regular property tax levy at $1.39 per $1,000 of assessed valuation and the excess property tax levy at $2.95 million to repay the 2022 General Obligation Bonds.
Councilmember Roberts moved adoption of Ordinance No. 972 establishing the City’s 2023 regular and bond (excess) property tax levies. The motion was seconded and passed unanimously, 7-0.
(b) Action on Ordinance No. 973 - Adopting the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget, the 2023 Salary Schedules, and the 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan
Administrative Services Director, Sara Lane reviewed that tonight is Council’s final action on the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget and the 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan. She highlighted that there are 11 proposed potential amendments from Councilmembers that were discussed the previous week.
Councilmember Roberts moved adoption of Ordinance No. 973 adopting the 2023-2024 Biennial Budget, 2023-2028 Capital Improvement Plan, 2023 Fee Schedule, 2023 Salary Schedule, and establish fund appropriations for the 2023-2024 biennium. The motion was seconded.
Councilmember Roberts moved Amendment #2 to increase General Fund appropriations by $50,000 with one-time use of General Fund reserve balance to fund an update to the City’s Urban Tree Canopy Assessment. The motion was seconded.
Councilmember Roberts said there is the thought that the tree canopy is at a low point, which will be documented in this study. Councilmembers Roberts and McConnell both said they hope the next study will show improvement of the tree canopy over time. Councilmember Mork recalled that this study is already budgeted to occur at a later date and argued that data is needed to effectively respond to the climate emergency. Mayor Scully agreed.
Amendment #2 passed unanimously.
Deputy Mayor Robertson moved Amendment #1 to increase ongoing General Fund appropriations by $791,289 and increase FTE count by 2.90 to address critical needs to be funded by additional Property Tax revenue from Proposition 1. The motion was seconded.
Deputy Mayor Robertson said this amendment is in direct response to the community’s approval of Proposition 1 and she is excited to see it move forward.
Amendment #1 passed unanimously, 7-0.
Councilmember Mork moved Amendment #3 to increase General Fund appropriations by $200,000 with one-time use of General Fund reserve balance to fund the completion of the City’s Street tree inventory. The motion was seconded.
Councilmember Mork reiterated the existence of a climate emergency and need for data. This amendment would speed up the ongoing inventory being performed by staff and would facilitate informed decision-making related to trees. Mayor Scully said he will be voting against the amendment because he thinks the money would be better spent planting trees in the future. Councilmember Roberts agreed and added that one time funding should focus on safety and mental health.
It was asked if the canopy study and street tree inventory serve two different purposes; how far along the City is in performing the inventory; and how much longer it will take for staff to finish the inventory. Ms. Lane replied that the canopy study is high level, and the inventory is detailed. They have been working on the inventory for three years and have finished four neighborhoods. It is estimated it will take four more years to complete the work in-house.
Amendment #3 failed 3-4, with Councilmembers Mork, Pobee and Ramsdell voting in favor.
Councilmember Mork moved Amendment #11 to increase the proposed 2023-2024 Biennial Budget to increase General Fund appropriations by $368,100 for the biennium and add a 1.0 Limited Term FTE to support identification of and application for infrastructure and climate resiliency grants. The motion was seconded.
Councilmember Pobee said he is impressed with the City’s success rate in being awarded grants. He questioned why a new position is needed to go after grants, and whether staff would pursue grants for existing projects or new ones. Ms. Lane replied there are several new grant programs available and having this position would allow staff to identify new grants and apply. She added that the City would seek grants to accomplish goals and projects already identified.
Deputy Mayor Robertson said she is struggling with supporting this amendment because it was brought forward late in the process, and she has not had time to fully analyze and consider it. She questioned that if this money is so readily available and easy to get, why does the City need another FTE. Mayor Scully agreed with the timing of the amendment being challenging and stated he would be voting against it because he would like to see a full staff report on the amendment.
Councilmember Roberts asked about the recruitment process and job duties of the proposed position. Ms. Lane answered that it would focus on public works and parks infrastructure funding and would probably take three months to fill. Councilmember McConnell emphasized that grants are an awesome way to get money we do not have. She stated this amendment was vetted by staff and there are plenty of projects shovel ready. Councilmember Ramsdell stated this is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and without increasing staff capacity, we may miss out on opportunities to improve the quality of life for residents.
Amendment #3 passed 4-3 with Mayor Scully, Deputy Mayor Robertson, and Councilmember Pobee voting against.
Councilmembers Roberts moved Amendment #5 to increase the Roads Capital Fund budget by $890,000 and add a 0.5 3-year limited term FTE engineer to complete the sidewalk along NE 200th Street from 30th to 25th Avenue NE funded by a one-time contribution from the General Fund. The motion was seconded.
Councilmember Roberts said that one-time funds should be used to advance the safety of our community and this project does that. This proposed sidewalk is alongside the Aldercrest campus serving Cascade K-8 and Shoreline School District and a lot of young kids walk this area. He spoke about how this sidewalk scored in the sidewalk prioritization metrics and recalled all the public testimony supporting it.
Deputy Mayor Robertson offered support for this amendment because she believes it was a mistake that this sidewalk did not get added as a priority. Councilmember Ramsdell asked about Safe Route to School funding and how it could offset the cost of this amendment. Ms. Juhnke responded that the City applied for the grant in August and will know the results in a couple of months. There were questions on how competitive staff thought the grant application was. Mayor Scully added that he is always concerned with equity and wants to ensure that someone with access to Council and the ability to lobby cannot make something seem more important that other projects that are more important. However, he believes this project needs to get done based on the extent of safety concerns expressed and how many times it has been brought forward. Councilmember Mork agreed with the importance of equity in decision making and said she would rather stick to the original sidewalk priorities and get grant money to finish this sidewalk.
Amendment #5 passed 6-1, with Councilmember Mork voting against.
Mayor Scully asked if there were any other Council amendments and after seeing none he called for the vote on the main motion.
The main motion to adopt Ordinance No. 973, as amended, passed 7-0.
Councilmembers expressed appreciation for all staff’s work during the budget process and Council’s work to propose amendments that they believe added value to the community.
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9. |
STUDY ITEMS |
(a) Discussion of the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan for 2022-2027
Emergency Management Coordinator, Ryan Zavala, presented a background on the Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan (CEMP). The CEMP is the overall framework for emergency management activities and is required by law to be in place. The CEMP was last approved in 2015 but has not been able to be updated until now due to the pandemic and staffing changes. The State Emergency Management Division must receive the City’s approved plan by December 21, 2022.
This fifth update to the CEMP includes 16 emergency support function sections. Mr. Zavala said the main updates to CEMP include an emergency operations center organization chart, changes to reflect the City’s current organization, improved readability, and references to other external and internal plans. Other plans relate to interagency coordination, hazard mitigation, disaster recovery, staff training, and administrative policies. Mr. Zavala pointed out emergency communication avenues including 911 systems, National Warning System, CodeRed, radio, voice, and data links.
Councilmembers stressed the need for community engagement among neighbors to increase coordination in an emergency. They asked if the City has an idea of how well-prepared resident are for an emergency and what the City is doing to facilitate community preparedness. Mr. Zavala responded that all levels of government coordinate to ensure citizens are prepared. The City maintains a website with information on emergency management and makes appearances at public events to provide education.
A Councilmember asked if the City can independently activate an emergency operations center (EOC), and how the City supports larger agencies in the City. Mr. Zavala replied that the City can absolutely activate the EOC and he is hoping to get going with training in the coming year. He added the City has ongoing conversations with agencies on emergency preparation and there is hope to partner for training. Responding to a question about testing the emergency communication system, Mr. Zavala said he was not sure if one had been done prior to the pandemic. However, he communicates with the service provider monthly to ensure the infrastructure is ready to go and shared that there are opportunities to test within the EOC and redundant systems to fall back on.
A question was asked about the CEMP having minimal references to the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) and Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS). Mr. Zavala explained that CERT and ACS are nonprofits that operate independently but staff coordinates with both groups on a regular basis, and both have a position in the EOC. A Councilmember pointed out individual responsibilities listed in the CEMP and asked how roles will be filled in the case of vacancy or inability to help. Mr. Zavala stated there are backups and redundancies in the CEMP so positions can be backfilled when needed. He added that the Emergency Management Coordinator would decide responsibility in a case where two individuals show up to perform the same role.
(b) Discussion on Resolution No. 498 - Surplus Property Designation of the Excess Property Acquired by the 145th Corridor (Phase 1) Project located at 14509 3rd Avenue N
Interim Public Works Director, Tricia Juhnke, explained Resolution No. 498 to surplus property acquired by the 145th Corridor (Phase 1) Project. The parcel at 14509 3rd Avenue North is recommended for surplus out of eight parcels purchased for the project. According to Shoreline Municipal Code 3.55 any property with a value over $15,000 requires an appraisal to determine the fair market value. The SMC also specifies the method of sale may be by either bid, auction, or negotiation, or real estate broker sale.
Resolution No. 498 would authorize the sale of the parcel and provides for a temporary construction easement for the construction of the interchange projects. Ms. Juhnke said a developer is interested in acquiring this and adjacent parcels. She commented that the properties are located within the MUR-70 zone and have high economic potential. However, the single parcel would not be as desirable without being aggregated with the abutting property. She said staff recommend selling through negotiations with the abutting property owners. It was noted that a limited window of time exists to surplus and aggregate the parcel with other partials listed for sale. The proceeds from the sale would go toward the 145th Corridor (Phase 2) Project. Ms. Juhnke pointed out that the proceeds are not required to go back to capital but may need to be put back into a project that has federal funding.
A question was asked about the current state of the parcel, as undesirable activity has been noted on the property. Ms. Juhnke responded that the City is moving forward with demolishing the structure to address those issues. Some Councilmembers advised not moving so quickly to surplus the property and consider other possible uses for the land. It was asked if the space was considered for a park and Ms. Juhnke said a pocket park on the parcel was considered but would have issues related to entry, and there is no funding or a vision for a potential park.
The appraisal of the parcel was brought up by a Councilmember due to the seemingly low market value and Ms. Juhnke stated the parcel was appraised last March at $1.7 million. She added that with a new appraisal the dollar value could go up or down and is overall uncertain. The Councilmember warned it would be expensive to keep an MUR-70 parcel for a park and would rather see it go to surplus and sale.
10. ADJOURNMENT
At 9:25 p.m., Mayor Scully declared the meeting adjourned.
/s/ Jessica Simulcik Smith, City Clerk