Your Connection to the Spokane Valley City Council

    Occasionally when five Tuesdays occur in a month, Council will take the last Tuesday off. However, with National Night Out and the Primary Election coming on August 3rd, and significant business yet to be conducted, this was a working Tuesday.

The meeting opened with a Motion Consideration to award Inland Asphalt Paving the low bidder on the Local Access Streets, South Park Road Project in the amount of $1,545,545. The bid was 12.6% above the Engineer’s Estimate of $1,293,645. Although that estimate considered rising prices, the scarcity of labor and escalating cost of asphalt raised the total beyond expectations.

The project provides street repairs and preservation to local access streets west of South Park Road between Appleway Avenue and 6th Avenue. Those improvements include installation of ADA curb ramps, pavement repairs and storm water improvements. The motion was unanimously approved.

Funding for the project will come entirely from City accounts earmarked for local access city streets. Project expenses are broken down as:

Project Costs
Preliminary Engineering    $45,405
Construction    $1,672,435
Total Estimated Costs     $1,717,840

Project Budget
City Funds    $1,722,035
Total Budget    $1,722,035

The Mirabeau sub area and the North Pines Road/SR-27 Corridor have experienced a significant amount of new development leading to an escalating degradation in levels of service in traffic movement on Pines and adjacent arterials. Requirements for proportional fees to offset the impacts of development on the arterial are focused primarily on larger development projects and impacts but the City does not currently have the tools to address the impacts that smaller projects place on the system.
Transportation impact fees are allowed under state law to address the impacts from new development and are usually collected when a building permit application is submitted. Standardization to such fees provide a certainty to enable a developer to plan for mitigation costs. The following schedule is proposed to meet the smaller development need.

Land Use Description    Mirabeau Subarea    N. Pines Rd. Subarea
Single Family Home/Duplex    $709 per dwelling    $2,788 per dwelling
Multi-Family    $401 per dwelling    $1,577 per dwelling
Hotel (3 or more levels)    $709 per dwelling    $2,788 per dwelling
Elementary School    $0.98 per sq. ft.    $3.86 per sq. ft.
Medical Clinic    $2.35 per sq. ft.    $9.24 per sq. ft.
General Office    $0.82 per sq. ft.    $3.24 per sq. ft.
Shopping Center    $1.80 per sq. ft.    $7.08 per sq. ft.

The schedule was developed from a rate study made by Fehr & Peers, a consulting firm hired by the City, to calculate a ‘per trip’ impact fee generated from peak-hour traffic. A public hearing will be held on July 13th. Council reached consensus to place the rate study on a future agenda for a first reading. Detailed information on the study and fee formulation is available by contacting City Hall at 509-720-5000.

In a discussion on the City’s capital improvement process, Engineering Manager, Gloria Mantz and City Engineer, Bill Helbig outlined the steps involved in the different phases of a capital project. Each type of project can require a different set of standards to be met depending on the funding source, contract specifications, and grantor requirements for compliance. For example, the Barker Road Widening Project process went like this:

• Council approves the project
• NEPA (National Environmental Policy Act) Approval (8 weeks)
• Final right of way (ROW) plans
• Obligate ROW funds (3-5 weeks)
• Negotiate & Acquire ROW (3 months)
• ROW Certification (2 weeks)
• Obligate funds (3-5 weeks)
• Request UDBE Goal (Underutilized Disadvantaged Business Enterprises) (1-2 weeks)
• Advertise Projects (3weeks)-Open Bids
• Bid CN Award (CN=Construction)
• Execute Construction Contract
• Begin Construction (80 working days)
• Construction completed
In 2021, there are 13 projects in construction requiring staff attention to details ranging from payroll documentation of hours spent to records of materials used to training required of participating staff.

Nuisances ranging from misdemeanor to chronic criminal infractions are an ongoing problem in Spokane Valley. Current code does not provide the range of remedies necessary to effectively address the problems. With this backdrop in mind, appropriate tools need to be adopted to allow the City to enforce the policy choices Council makes as to what constitutes a nuisance, and create a policy to amend City Code to identify conduct or private property use that constitutes a prohibited nuisance.

Changes under consideration relate to ‘camping’ in an unapproved structure on private property, living in RV/camper on private property beyond 30 days, defining ‘junk’, number of campers/RVs on a residential lot, accumulated non-junk vehicles on a residential property, and an approach to place severely distressed, chronic nuisance, or abandoned properties into receivership. Consensus was reached on expanding the list for discussion at future meetings.

A discussion on Orchard Park, owned by Felts Field Airport, was requested by the mayor. The County lease on the park expires in August 2022, and the Airport will remove the park from use.

City Hall is open for business. Entry must be made through the front of the building. Meetings in Council Chambers currently occur with only Council and Staff in attendance. Public participation will continue via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org for access instructions.

    This formal format Council meeting opened with a proclamation recognizing ‘Pride Month.’ There were no public comments in the first of two Public Comment sections on formal meeting agendas.
   
In 2014 the City adopted a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) which laid out the procedures and rules for collection of recyclable materials. The recycled material until recently was sold to China. However, because of increasing contamination of the materials sent, China changed its rules for acceptance and currently takes only a limited quantity of recyclables.
    
In response, the state legislature has mandated a program entitled CROP (Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan) to specify what qualifies as recyclable and how to reduce contamination. The requirements listed under state law are:

1.  A list of actions for reducing contamination
2.  A list of key contaminants
3.  A discussion of problem contaminants and the contaminants’ impact on the collection system
4.  An analysis of the costs and other impacts associated with contaminants to the recycling system
5.  An implementation of scheduled details on how outreach is to be conducted

     The City’s CROP was recently approved by the Department of Ecology but must be formally adopted by Council in the form of an amendment to its SWMP before July 1. Resolution 21-003, approved unanimously, accomplishes that.
     
On June 1, 2021, Council adopted the Housing Action Plan (Resolution 20-001) providing strategies and implementation actions to encourage construction of additional affordable housing to minimize and reduce displacement of low-income residents. On March 16, the City hired a Housing and Homeless Coordinator (HHC) to assist in connecting homeless individuals and families to housing and services.

The HHC and Economic Development staff have developed goals, policies, and strategies to lay out the City’s policy position on homelessness. These procedures are being brought forward for implementation through the City’s annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment process. The Planning Commission will address the issue at its June 24th meeting to begin the process of bringing its findings and recommendations to Council in October.

In addition to the matter of homelessness, the Comprehensive Plan docket so far includes three map amendments, two initiated by the City and one privately.

The final agenda item was a briefing by Chief Ellis, Sergeant Myhre, and officer Booth of the Spokane Regional Safe Streets Task Force, (SRSSTF) updating Council on current gang activities in the region, especially in Spokane Valley, and the mission, function, and composition of SRSSTF.

• Mission: Identify, dismantle/disrupt criminal gangs, mid-to upper-level drug dealers and human traffickers in Spokane County.
• Criminal street gang means any ongoing organization, association, or group of three or more persons, whether formal or informal, having a common name or common identifying sign or symbol, having as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal acts, and whose members or associates engage in criminal street gang activity.
• Criminal street gang associate or member means any person who actively participates in any criminal street gang, and who intentionally promotes, furthers, or assists in any criminal act by the criminal street gang.

Current trends in gang related incidents:
• Juveniles have been linked to 132 acts of violence within the greater Spokane Region.
• Known gang related shootings (25-30) shootings in the greater Spokane region within the last 12 months.
• Social Media use (threats, guns, drug sales, graffiti). Increased use of violence.
• No structural organization. Juvenile gangs typically do not operate like traditional gangs.
• Arrival of new motorcycle gangs to compete with known outlaw motorcycle gangs.
• Lack of cooperation from witnesses and victims during criminal investigations.

As of June15 staff is physically present at City Hall. Because of directives from Olympia, it is still necessary to make an appointment to conduct business inside City Hall. Council meetings in Council Chambers will commence with the next meeting on June 29 with only Council and Staff in attendance. Public participation will continue via ZOOM.

Spokane Valley City Council met for its annual Budget Workshop at 8:30 am on Tuesday. The meeting last year was delayed awaiting the full impact of the Coronavirus’s effect on revenues. Because of so many business closures affecting sales taxes, the major sources of income for the City, projecting 2021 revenues was a highly uncertain exercise. Thus, there was a 90-day delay in meeting to address the 2021 Budget. However, this year the City is back on track, not only timewise but in funding.

The City budget has two main parts: 1) Recurring revenues and expenditures which are the normal sales and property tax collections paired against the regular expenses of conducting City business, i.e., Public Safety, and 2) Non-recurring expenses such as capital projects like the acquisition of police vehicles. 

There are of course changes in the City’s recurring income and expenses from 2021 to 2022. Below is a brief comparison ($mm).

(1) The Revenue is presented for the amended 2021 budget.
(2) Sales tax is the aggregate of retail sales tax, public safety sales tax, and criminal justice sales tax.
(3) Other is the aggregated total of all other City income sources.
(4) Expenditures are presented as an aggregate. The City’s major expense is for Public Safety which will cost $28.384 million in 2021 (63% of expenditures) and is budgeted at $29.639 million for 2022, an increase of $1.256 million or 4.42%.

Non-recurring revenues and expenses were affected by COVID-19. The amended 2021 budget realized revenue of $49,000 vs. expenditures of $14.596 million generating a decrease in the 2021 ending fund balance of $14.546 million to $31.212 million which when augmented by a $1.757 transfer of excess revenue brings that balance to $32.969 million. The City’s policy is to maintain an ending fund balance of at least 50% of recurring expenses to avoid having to borrow money to fund cash flow needs. This balance represents 68.68% of expected recurring expenses.

The proposed 2022 budget anticipates no grant funding assistance from any source, but it does plan for capital expenditures of $2.820 million generating a deficit of that same amount. That deficit will be covered from reserves accumulated to address difficult economic circumstances as they occur.

The table above highlights the consistency by City management of its revenues and the continuing trend of business recovery. That trend is reflected in the proposed 2022 budget. Moody’s bond rating service has awarded the City an Aa2 rating, the highest rating a city of our size can achieve.

The City’s strong fiscal condition has placed it in a solid position to recover from COVID. With the City now passing the 100,000-population figure, it is significant to note that the number of employees remains the same as 2020 (96.25), and recurring expenditures increase by less than 4% (3.96).

However, the expectation of more construction projects such as the Barker Corridor, Sullivan/Trent interchange, and the Pines Rail Crossing being approved for grant assistance, has prompted a request for four additional engineer positions.

The budget will be visited seven more times by Council, including three public hearings, before its final adoption on November 9th. 

The budget in its entirety can be seen at www.spokanevalley.org. 

City Hall currently remains closed except by appointment. Appointments for service can be made by calling 509-720-5000 or visiting www.spokanevalley.org.  

As of June 15th staff is physically present at City Hall. Because of directives from Olympia, it is still necessary to make an appointment to conduct business inside City Hall. Council meetings in Council Chambers will commence if/when direction from Olympia reaches dependability, tentatively after June 30th.

Each year, as required by state law, the city reviews its Six-Year Transportation Improvement Program (TIP) with an eye to adding projects that address the transportation needs of the City. The list includes projects that are intended to be implemented in the next six years, progress on those already on the list, and eliminating those completed. When adopted, the TIP is submitted to the Washington State Department of Transportation by June 30th of each year.

This year’s list includes 9- ‘Closeout Projects for 2022’, 5 Bridge & Grade Separation Projects, 15 Intersection Improvement Projects, 27 Reconstruction/Preservation Projects, 4 Citywide Projects and 4 Sidewalk, Trail, and Stormwater Projects for a total of 64 projects scheduled to be addressed over the next six years.  
The Public Hearing preceding action on Resolution 21-002, which adopts the 2022-2027 Six-Year TIP, led off this council meeting without comment. The motion to approve Resolution 21-002 passed unanimously.     

For a complete listing of the projects please visit www.spokanevalley.org.
State law requires periodic review of the City’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The SMP is the official document covering development along the Spokane River and Shelly Lake. While the City’s SMP is largely in compliance with state law, amendments are needed to bring it into full compliance.  Those changes embodied in Proposed Ordinance 21-007 are largely administrative covering definitions, exemptions, and procedures to make the SMP consistent with recent changes in state law. The Planning Commission voted 7-0 on March 25th to recommend approval. Motion to move Proposed Ordinance 21-007 to a Second Reading passed unanimously.

Bids have been solicited for the Mullan Road Preservation Project, which covers grind and overlay between Broadway and Mission Avenues, also includes curb ramps, pavement repairs, laying intelligent transportation system (ITS) conduit and signal upgrades at the Mission intersection. The project is part of the City’s Six-Year TIP. Costs and budget are:
    

                 Project Costs               
Preliminary Engineering    $ 75,500        
Construction    $2,006,000        
City Funding    $2,081,000

                 Project Budget
Total Estimated Costs    $2,081,000        
Total Budget    $2,081,000

Motion to award the Mullan Road Preservation Project contract to Inland Asphalt Paving in the amount of $1,529,790 passed unanimously.
The city is represented on various boards and committees in the county and region by appointees. The mayor makes those appointments with approval of Council. With the City growing to over 100,000 in population, it qualifies for additional seats on HCDAC (Housing & Community Development Advisory Committee) and SRTC (Spokane Regional Transportation Council). Appointments to County advisory boards such as HCDAC are subject to County Commissioner approval.

Due to a misinterpretation of HCDAC bylaws, the appointments made earlier in the year were rejected by the County Commissioners. Thus, Mayor Wick appointed Amanda Tainio and Arielle Anderson to three-year terms, and Arne Woodard to a term ending on December 31, 2021. Motion to confirm those appointments passed unanimously.
The mayor appointed Jenny McClenathen to the Spokane Housing Authority (SHA) to a five-year position to fill the unexpired term of a sitting committee member who resigned. Motion to approve the appointment passed unanimously. Those appointments are subject to approval by the County Commissioners.

The mayor’s appointment of Councilmember Linda Thompson to the SRTC met with questions regarding whether it met City and sometimes County policy to not appoint councilmembers up for re-election to multiple-year positions. After debate, the motion to approve her appointment passed 5-2.

Dick Hanlin, Executive Director of Boys & Girls Clubs of Spokane County, presented a discussion of his organization, mission, and plans for expansion into Spokane Valley at the Keystone school site. Their plans for the next 18 months include expanding their board and staff, build community support for funding and future growth, and raise $5 million to upgrade and renovate the former Keystone school.

Confronted with a growing homeless problem in Spokane Valley, Council invited Phil Altmeyer of the Union Gospel Mission (UGM) to discuss his experience with serving and dealing with the homeless. He delved into the differences between low barrier/no barrier shelters and what UGM provides. UGM’s focus is assisting homeless people achieve rising from a homeless condition through responsibility, avoiding the conditions that made them homeless, and finding work to sustain them in their new direction. Providing the type of assistance that enables the continuation of the homeless situation is not a solution to the problem. He emphasized that success in his program relies on dignity through responsibility.

In 2014 the City adopted a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) which laid out the procedures and rules for collection of recyclable materials. The recycled material until recently was sold to China. However, because of increasing contamination of the materials sent, China changed its rules for acceptance and currently takes only a limited quantity of recyclables. In response, the state legislature has mandated a program entitled CROP (Contamination Reduction and Outreach Plan) to specify what qualifies as recyclable and how to reduce contamination. The City’s CROP was recently approved by the Department of Ecology but must be formally adopted by Council in the form of an amendment to its SWMP before July 1.

Next week’s Council meeting, June 15th, will be a budget meeting. It begins at 8:30AM and ends at 2:30PM. There will be no evening meeting. The meeting is open to the public and can be accessed via ZOOM. Call the City Clerk at 509.720.5102 for instructions.

City Hall currently remains closed except by appointment. Appointments for service can be made by calling 509-720-5000 or visiting www.spokanevalley.org.  Staff is scheduled to return to being physically present at City Hall by June 15th. If/when direction from Olympia reaches dependability, Council meetings in Council Chambers will begin thereafter.

The Spokane Valley City Council’s first meeting in June started with a motion to adopt Resolution 21-001, implementing the City’s Housing Action Plan. In 2019 the State Legislature passed legislation requiring cities to create and adopt a Housing Action Plan (HAP) to define strategies and implementation that promote greater housing diversity and affordability for residents of all income levels.
The HAP includes four main components: 1) A Housing Needs Assessment, 2) A review of policies and regulations affecting housing development, 3) Strategies to increase housing based on needs, and 4) an Implementation Plan. In moving to create a HAP, the City hired consultants to design and develop its plan. The City’s Planning Commission on April 22nd, after conducting a public hearing, issued its findings and voted 7-0 to forward the HAP to City Council recommending approval. The motion to approve Resolution 21-001 passed unanimously.

A second motion consideration to award the bid for the Appleway Stormwater improvements Project to LaRiviere, Inc. at $1,667,086 passed unanimously. The Engineer’s estimate was $227,344 lower than the low bid. However, the increasing costs of building materials such as lumber, plastic, concrete, and asphalt not to mention the shortage of labor have contributed to the steeply rising construction costs.
The project will improve water quality to the aquifer by retrofitting existing drywells with bio-infiltration swales along Appleway Blvd from Farr Road to University Road. The project is partially funded by a Department of Ecology grant of $654,732. Most of the new swale areas will be sodded, irrigated, and adjacent to the curb providing not only improved landscaping but will provide space along the road for snow storage during plowing season. Project costs and the budget are:

Project Costs
Preliminary Engineering    $112,244
Right of Way     $65,000
Construction    $1,825,012
Total Estimated Costs     $2,002,256

Project Budget
Ecology Grant    $654,732
City Funds    $1,347,524
Total Budget    $2,002,256

The City’s lobbyists presented as recap of this year’s legislative session vis a vis the priorities it hoped to achieve. The top three were only mildly successful.

1. Pines Rail Crossing: $19.3 million funding request is awaiting an agreement on a transportation revenue package in either a special session or next year’s legislative session.

2. Fairgrounds Exhibition Center: The $4 million capital budget request garnered $750,000.

3. Washington Wildlife Recreation Program Flora Road Park acquisition: The City’s $1 million grant request to offset the cost of purchase was granted.

The City’s efforts in this area are ongoing year-round. The efforts of Senator Padden, Representative McCaslin and Representative Chase on its behalf are deeply appreciated.

The City adopted a code relating to nuisance properties in 2003 to address accumulations of trash, junk vehicles, broken machinery or equipment, zoning/building code violations, traffic obstructions, and animal keeping. In 2017, it hired a full-time Code Enforcement Officer and a part-time attorney to address 330 cases that year. A second officer was hired in 2020 when the case load increased to 647. The attorney was increased to full-time. New compliance cases in the first quarter of 2021 were addressed in the first quarter 2021.
The increasing case load together with current limitations on authority to address common complaints such as living on-street in recreational vehicles and abandoned shopping carts is giving rise to consideration of stronger measures for enforcement.
State law requires periodic review of the City’s Shoreline Master Program (SMP). The SMP covers development along the Spokane River and Shelly Lake and is largely in compliance with state law. Suggested amendments are administrative, covering definitions, exemptions, and procedures to make the SMP consistent with changed state law. The Planning Commission voted 7-0 on March 25th to recommend approval. Action must be completed by June 30th.

The City has a Local Bridge Program to ensure the safety of its bridges through inspection, rehabilitation, and replacement of National Bridge Inventory (NBI) bridges. There are 16 bridges, 13 City and 3 Railroad-owned withing City limits. Routine City inspections are conducted every two years with underwater inspections every five years. Railroad inspections are done every five years. Inspections include evaluating stability, maintenance needs, deck repair, crack sealing, and eliminating graffiti. Bridges generally don’t score well for grant requests, so the City’s budget for bridge maintenance comes largely from budgeted funds.

COVID has greatly impacted the City’s aquatic program at its parks. State government prohibitions and restrictions on gatherings together with the extreme difficulty in hiring qualified personnel has placed the aquatic program on a rotating schedule with two-week rotations between pools for swim lessons, water exercise, and open swim lessons. Visit the City’s website www.spokanevalley.org for updates to that schedule.

City Hall currently remains closed except by appointment. Appointments for service can be made by calling 509-720-5000 or visiting www.spokanevalley.org. Staff is scheduled to return to being physically present at City Hall by June 15th. If/when direction from Olympia reaches dependability, Council meetings in Council Chambers will begin thereafter.

View Past Spokane Valley City Council Highlights