This week’s Spokane Valley City Council meeting was held as a Special Meeting to accommodate most of the Council members attending the Association of Washington Cities Annual Conference in Spokane which started on Tuesday, June 25th.

This meeting commenced with the Mayor reading a proclamation from the Spokane Regional Clean Air Agency proclaiming June 26th as “Smoke Ready Communities Day” urging organizations, businesses and individuals to do their part to be Smoke Ready to protect the health and safety of all our residents.

In the sole item of New Business, the Mayor appointed Raymond Friend to fill an interim vacancy on Spokane Valley’s Planning Commission. The vacancy was created by the illness of a Commission member and will last until December 31, 2019. Council approved the appointment unanimously.

In three Administrative Reports Council agreed by consensus to 1) Move to a First Reading vacating rights-of-way (STV-2019-0001) on Tschirley Road, Long Road, Rich Avenue and Greenacres Road in the northeast section of the City.  

The request is initiated as part of the City’s Economic Development Program where the rights-of-way (ROW) as they currently exist are not needed and limit the usability of the adjacent parcels. None of the ROW contain any City facilities or utility improvements. Adequate vehicle access if needed will be provided at the time of further development.

2) Move to a First Reading a privately initiated request to vacate the unimproved portions of Baldwin Avenue, University Road and Glenn Road. The area proposed to be vacated is unimproved and not maintained, with the vacation allowing maximum use of abutting properties along the unimproved ROW.

City Staff determined that a future need for the University Road portion of the request was possible and withdrew it from the request. The remaining sections at Baldwin and Glenn were moved forward to a First Reading.

3) When Council in 2016 adopted comprehensive marijuana regulations governing all licensed and registered marijuana use within the City, those rules did not provide for the transport of marijuana and/or marijuana products between licensed producers, processors or retailers. Council’s action sets forth the rules and regulations for transporters. (Code Text Amendment 2019-0002).

A marijuana transportation license requires that the license holder have a physical location as the primary business location, that all vehicles for the business be permitted by the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission as common carriers, that the license holder carry proper insurance and that the licensee maintain detailed records of the marijuana items transported including clear chain of custody for each delivery.

Further, the transportation rules also include adherence to the production and processing rules and regulations pertaining to buffers to certain sensitive uses in addition to those set forth under State law. These buffers prohibit transport uses from being within 1,000 feet of undeveloped school, library, and City property as well as prohibiting uses within 1,000 feet of City Hall and CenterPlace.

There will be a Council meeting on July 2nd prior to the July 4th holiday.

Council’s Study Session began with a number of Action Items, the most salient of which were 1) A request for the City to vacate the right-of-way located on the northwest corner of Broadway Avenue and Thierman Road. The request is from a private citizen. The public hearing provided by Resolution No. 19-009 sets the hearing before the City’s Planning Commission on July 25th at City Hall.

2) Council’s formal selection of the Pines Grade Separation Project Preferred Design. This design, which moves the proposed Pines Road underpass east along the BNSF rail right-of-way before going under the tracks onto a roundabout on Trent Avenue (SR 290) has the joint approval of East Valley School District, Spokane Valley Fire Department, Spokane Valley Police Department and the Fourth District legislators. The City has budgeted $3.2 million of city funds to go with the several grants which continue to be accumulated toward the estimated $26 million project cost.

3) Approved awarding the Wellesley Avenue Sidewalk Project (McDonald to Evergreen) to the lowest responsible bidder. When completed, a sidewalk will be constructed on the north side of Wellesley between McDonald and Evergreen. The project which was designed in-house for a total budget of $868,287.

The recently completed legislative session was a mix of wins and losses. The City received a $536,000 appropriation for Brown’s Park to help pay for a new playground, new restroom, and a neighborhood picnic shelter. It was unsuccessful in its request for $2.9 million for funding the Pines Road/BNSF rail crossing.

The Barker/I-90 interchange was caught in a confusing allocation of funding but appears to be on track for construction of the north side roundabout. The City of Liberty Lake received funding for its proposed Henry Road overpass but will be responsible for project overages above $20 million. Senator Padden’s efforts to reform condominium construction liability was not successful but a similar bill did partially alleviate the “breach of warranty’ problems encountered by builders in the extended warranty period under current law. The existing law effectively stopped or slowed construction of condominiums because of the uncertainty of ongoing liability for construction defects.

The City’s ongoing shortage of patrolmen was partially addressed by the Basic Law Enforcement Academy’s being given two classes in Spokane each year. Additional classes on the west side of the state where Valley candidates can attend were also authorized.

The Fourth District Legislators, Senator Padden and Representatives Shea and McCaslin did a remarkable job on behalf of the City considering the rather one-sided make-up of this legislature. Council applauds their efforts.

On April 9th, 2019, the City of Spokane Valley Hearing Examiner approved the preliminary plat application for a subdivision at 12th and Best. However, the opening of 10th Avenue which is currently closed was not provided as part of the approval. Action (a resolution) by Council is now required to open 10th Avenue. Council reached consensus to move proposed Resolution 19-010 to the June 24th (special meeting) agenda for approval.

In considering a proposed Affordable Housing Code Text Amendment (CTA-2018-0006) which would create a new conditional use allowing development of multifamily housing in R-3 (Residential) Zone on parcels of 10-20 acres in conjunction with church and school use, Council, after discussion, reached consensus to return the text amendment to the Planning Commission with instructions to clarify the language expressly permitting only a senior (62 or older) low-income housing facility with clear and definite limitations on permissible tenants.

Council’s next meeting regularly scheduled for June 25th, is changed to Monday, June 24th at 6:00 PM. Councilmembers will be attending the Association of Washington Annual Conference.

The June 11th Council meeting was a budget workshop entirely devoted to introducing and discussing the City’s 2020 budget. This was the first of eight separate meetings in which Council will consider various aspects of the budget prior to its adopting the final budget in October.
Highlights of the proposed budget for operations anticipate recurring revenues of $47.8 million vs. projected recurring expenditures of $42.9 million, leaving a potential surplus of $4.9 million. Major contributors to operating revenue are Sales Tax at an estimated $22.9 million and Property Tax at $12.1 million, plus lesser revenues from various other sources. NOTE: Council has opted for the eleventh consecutive year to not take the automatic 1% property tax increase allowed by state law.

The major operational expense in the budget is Public Safety, accounting for 62% of total expenditures at $26.5 million. This covers the City’s police force contracted from the County Sheriff, District Court, Prosecutor, Public Defender, Animal Control and Emergency Management. Total recurring operating expenses for 2020 are held to a 2.23% increase over 2019.

An integral facet of City finances is a policy of maintaining a cash reserve of 50% of expected recurring expenditures. This is done with the primary objective of keeping adequate resources to cover cash flow needs and contingencies both current and anticipated. This is prudent management because receipts from sales tax remittances and property tax collections come at varying times, but expenses for ongoing business occur constantly.

Too, while the City is quite successful in attracting grant funding for capital projects, those grant funds are paid as reimbursements. The City must front the money for a project, then apply for reimbursement. Thus, in order to stay current with its financial obligations without having to borrow, the City maintains a reserve balance. Time and experience have validated keeping that balance at 50%. The success of this practice is reflected in the Aa2 bond rating from Moody’s financial rating service. That rating is the highest a City of our size can achieve.

In addition to the recurring operational side of the budget, the City is engaged in a prioritized list of committed capital projects requiring nearly $12 million. Those projects include Appleway Trail, Sullivan to Corbin and Evergreen to Sullivan; Barker Road Grade Separation; Pines Road underpass; Sullivan Park land acquisition and water line installation; Barker Road Corridor Improvements-Euclid to Trent and Euclid to Spokane River; Balfour Park improvement; and Garland Avenue Construction.

In summary, the City in managing its financial affairs strives to:
1. Maintain basic service levels with minimal resources to achieve success.
2. Minimize personnel costs and overhead by continuing to contract for services when it makes financial sense to do so.
3. Continue the six-year Business Plan process.
4. Leverage City funds with grant opportunities.
5. Minimize City debt with a pay as you go philosophy. The City carries an exceptionally low debt burden currently utilizing only 1.75% of its total debt capacity, but more importantly, only 8.77% of non-voted bond capacity.
6. Prioritize spending in the annual budget process while minimizing the mid-year addition of projects and appropriation.

By committing to these policies and the checks and balances they afford, the City is working to ensure financial sustainability well into the future.

Looking ahead, please note that the June 25th Council is changed to Monday, June 24th to allow Council members to attend the Association of Washington Cities Convention in Spokane. Start time is 6:00pm, and the Formal Format meeting is noticed as a special meeting.

The Council meeting opened with a Public Hearing on the City’s 2020-2025 Transportation Improvement Plan (TIP). The TIP is a list of transportation projects intended to be implemented in the next six years that address the transportation needs within the City of Spokane Valley. Subsequent to the Public Hearing, Council adopted Resolution 19-008, the 2020-2025 TIP. Approval was unanimous.

The second reading of Ordinance 19-006 amending the 2019 Budget, was unanimously approved by Council. This amendment was necessary to accommodate the purchase of generators at both City Hall and City Precinct. The total purchase for both is $403,000, with $203,000 for the purchase and installation of the City Hall generator which was already place-marked in the budget at $200,000, and $200,000 for purchase and installation of the Precinct Generator.

In other actions, Council moved Ordinance 19-007, an amendment to the address designations for the City, to a second reading. This will formalize the City’s coordination with Spokane and Spokane County’s addressing systems.

Council also approved moving forward with a 2019 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant application for the Pines/Trent/BNSF rail crossing project. A similar grant, then known as TIGER, was acquired for the Barker/Trent/BNSF rail crossing project. The grant requires a 20% non-federal match. Assuming a $29 million project cost, the amount the City would have to raise would be $5.8 million. A substantial portion of that amount has already been set aside.

In mid-year 2017, Council approved authorizing the City Manager to contract with HDR Engineering and DEA (Consultants) to 1) Analyze and compare two alternatives in terms of cost, right-of-way needs, impacts to the area, safety, and the practical aspects of construction. 2) Once those goals were met and a decision by Council rendered as to which alternative was preferable, the Consultant would complete the preliminary engineering design of the selected alternative.

After discussions with the Spokane Valley Police Department, Spokane Valley Fire Department and the East Valley School District, and freight industry representatives, these stakeholders indicated they supported Alternative #2 which includes a roundabout on Trent Avenue (SR290) and a movement of the actual rail crossing about ¼ mile to the east of its current location to take advantage of the more compatible road grades.

Earlier this year City Staff met with our Fourth District legislators, Senator Padden and Representatives Shea and McCaslin for their input and approval. Their support will be vital to acquiring possible state assistance to complete the project.

Alternative #2 moves the intersection away from Trent Elementary located near the current intersection, allowing traffic to flow normally on Pines and Trent while the new intersection is constructed, and will eliminate the need to lower Trent by 12 or so feet to accommodate the underpass under the railroad crossing.

Alternative #2 is also less expensive than Alternative #1, costing an estimated $26 million vs. $29 million. The City has already spent or earmarked $3.2 million and secured an STBG grant for and additional $1.9 million for a total of $5.1 million already committed to the project.

Despite the unusual alignment and the need for additional right-of-way acquisition, the advantages of Alternative #2’s reduction of impact on traffic flows during construction and minimizing the impact to the property owners in the surrounding area, caused Council to select Alternative #2. By consensus Council moved approval of Alternative #2 with roundabout to a first reading.

When fully constructed, the Appleway Trail will provide a five-mile urban trail that will extend from the eastern City limit to City Hall. Construction on the last segment, Evergreen to Sullivan, is planned to commence in August of this year. The project calls for a 12-foot wide multi-use asphalt path and trail with amenities such as plantings, irrigation, lighting, and road crossings using traffic crossing devices.

The City has acquired grants for $2,071,675, and City funding will be $323,325. While this project wasn’t scheduled for this year, when other agencies weren’t able to obligate their funds in this fiscal year, funding for the project became avail in 2019 rather than 2020 when it was originally planned.

Council’s next meeting on June 11th will be its budget workshop. That meeting starts at 8:30 AM, lasting to 3:30 PM. The meeting is open to the public. There will be no evening meeting.