This meeting of the Spokane Valley City Council convened in formal session to address five action items ranging from clearing up right-of-way issues at the Pines/BNSF rail crossing to finalizing grants made with American Rescue Plan money.

Starting with Ordinance 23-014 which action, if implemented, would use eminent domain to complete acquisition of the properties needed to finalize the right-of-way necessary complete the Pines/BNSF Rail Crossing. The City will continue to reach a mutually agreeable result with the property owners through negotiations.

However, if negotiations are not successful, the City will pursue, under Ordinance 23-014, the measures to acquire the necessary property, or portions thereof, for the project. During those proceedings, the owners will have the ability and opportunity to provide their rationale for what they believe is fair compensation for their property.

The motion to waive the rules and adopt Ordinance 23-014 without a first reading passed unanimously.
The City, in July, advertised a contract to repair and replace damaged facilities, and improve locations that increase the overall level of service for the small works projects of the stormwater system that was adopted on November 8, 2022. On May 30, 2023, Council approved $350,000 to cover the proposed improvements. The successful bidder on the improvement contract was Cameron-Reilly, LLC. The motion to authorize execution of a contract not to exceed $350,000 passed 6-1.

On May 16, 2023, Council approved an allocation of $471,728 of the City’s ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act) funding to Habitat for Humanity for land acquisition for the future development of affordable housing units to expand the Home ownership Program in the City of Spokane Valley. Habitat is to acquire 2 to4 properties within the City. The grand agreement outlines the project scope, property, affordability requirements, and the timeline for the purchases and occupancy of the home units. The motion to approve the grant agreement and execution for $471,728 passed unanimously.

Continuing with the awarding of ARPA funding, Council addressed the grant for $1,460,000 to Reclaim Project Recovery (Reclaim) for providing housing and support to those progressing away from homelessness, addiction, and incarceration by providing a clean and safe place to live and an opportunity for employment and programming in an active, sober community.

The funds will be used to acquire property to provide transitional housing, operation, and administration for a Home Base multi-use facility, including a thrift store for job training. The grant agreement provides for budget and expense reporting and progress reporting. The motion to approve and execute the grant agreement with Reclaim for $1,460,000 was approved unanimously.

Council has had several discussions regarding use of federal funds (Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery Fund-CLFR). A set-aside of $842,857 of those CLFR funds was made for law enforcement purposes from which $100,000 was allocated to provide for overtime patrols.

The original memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the City and the sheriff’s office allowing for the use and allocation of the funds is set to expire on August 31, 2023. The City has thus far billed $28,379 and Police Chief, Dave Ellis, is asking for an extension of the MOU to December 31, 2023. Consensus to approve an extension letter passed unanimously.

Vicki Carter, Director of the Spokane Conservation District (SCD) provided an update on the District’s programs and projects and future construction of the Scale House Market on their 50-acre campus at 4420 Eighth Avenue in Spokane Valley. SCD has been active since 1941 providing conservation services for more than 80 years to Spokane County. Those services include water resources, Forestry programs, Agriculture Programs and Projects, Environmental Education and Outreach, and Education Programs. A special “Vets on the Farm Program” is designed to teach agriculture and conservation education, food systems and small acreage technical assistance together with beekeeping and pollinator programs. Future projects include a Scale House Market and Kitchen with a year-round farmers’ market composed of seasonal vendors. The Spokane Conservation District will be holding an open house on August 31st.

On July 25th, Council adopted a resolution to assume control over its document recording fees and establish a homeless housing program. In order to put the resolution into effect, the City must create a homeless task force and develop a five-year homeless housing plan and guidelines for emergency shelters, short-term housing needs, temporary encampments, and supportive housing for long term homeless housing. That plan will have to be updated by the end of 2024 in order to qualify for federal assistance.

The region’s current five-year plan is built around the five required objectives included in Department of Commerce’s guidelines. Those are:
1. Identify and engage homeless people and all unaccompanied youth.
2. Prioritize homeless housing according to highest need.
3. Operate an effective and efficient homeless crisis response system to swiftly move people into stable permanent housing.
4. Assuming existing resources and state policies, consider the impact of fully implemented local plans on the number of housed and unhoused.
5.  Address racial disparities among homeless people.

The plan is to use the ‘Housing First’ and ‘Low Barrier’ strategies which assume that housing is the first priority of dealing with homelessness. The low barrier means that sobriety is not required to receive services, including housing, which would appear to be counter-intuitive to a long-term solution. Other steps are required which would seem to indicate a lack of commitment to a workable solution.
This year’s Valleyfest on September 24th will feature a celebration of the City’s 20th anniversary.

City Council meetings are held in the Great Room at CenterPlace until further notice. City Hall, however, is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited to Council meetings to participate in action items or public comment periods in person or via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org prior to 4:00 p.m. for access instructions. Council meetings are broadcast on Comcast channel 14.
 

 

This Study Session of the Spokane Valley City Council was initiated with a Motion Consideration on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Water District #3 (WD#3) regarding the Wardson Road and Buttercup Street Waterline Replacement Project which overlaps City street segments that are eligible for improvement work.

Water District #3 will pay for the costs to upgrade their water main plus a portion of the construction management and material testing costs of the project. The total combined cost is estimated to be $408,622. The City’s share is approximately $197,941, WD#3’s share is estimated to be $210,681. The motion to authorize the City Manager to complete the interlocal agreement with Water District #3 was amended to move consideration of the issue to next week’s meeting.

In an action continued from last week, MultiCare Valley Hospital desires to participate in a drug discount program established under Section 340B of the Public Health Service Act. That program allows eligible entities to acquire outpatient drugs at significantly reduced rates. As a private non-profit hospital, MultiCare must have an agreement with a local government whereby it commits to provide healthcare services to low-income patients who are not eligible for Medicare or Medicaid. The agreement is in the form of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) authorizing the commitment. There is no financial commitment from the City. The motion to approve the MultiCare Valley Hospital MOU and authorize the City Manager to finalize the agreement passed unanimously. 

In a late addition to the agenda, Council was presented a proposal to create two new staff position classifications: 1) City Services Administrator. This new position would perform supervisory work in planning, organizing, directing, and supervising priority initiatives for the community. The position will report directly to the City Manager. 2) Communications Manager. This person will serve as the primary spokesperson for the City; independently responding to news media requests for information, interviews, and providing City perspectives and opinions. This person will work under the broad policy guidance and direction of the City Services Administrator. The motion to create the two new positions passed unanimously. 

On September 20th, 2022, Council approved Ordinance 22-016, establishing a Spokane Valley Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) withdrawing from the County TPA effective December 31,2022. That Ordinance also requires an annual report providing information on TPA activities in addition to acting as an advisory body to make recommendation to Council on the use of revenue derived from TPA fees collected from the various participating hotels. At its latest meeting, the Spokane Valley TPA considered a draft of the five-year destination and marketing plan in preparation for submitting a recommendation to Council. 

In 2022, the State announced successful settlement with several opioid distributors to apply to abatement of opioid caused privations. The settlement is for approximately $518 million. Approximately half of that amount was set aside for local governments. Under that agreement, the City is scheduled to receive $147,000 (Settlement I) over 17 years. That will, of course, be minus deductions for attorneys’ fees and settlement expenses. The actual amount the City will receive is estimated to be $5,000-$7,000.

A second settlement (Settlement II) will result in an additional $217 million to local governments for ‘abatement of opioid related problems’. Approximately the same annual amount as Settlement I is expected. In order to participate, separate forms must be submitted for each settling company by April 31st. Because of the small amounts each city will receive, discussions are taking place to pool the funds for regional substance abuse use. 
The administration of the fund requires formation of a ‘Regional Opioid Abatement Council’ (OAC) to oversee monitoring, reporting, and dispute resolution. Spokane County will take the lead in establishing the OAC. Consensus was reached to place consideration of the memorandum of understanding through which the City would join the OAC on a future agenda.

An issue that has prompted several discussions, ‘junk cars,’ on private property, is once again up for consideration. In prior Council discussions, action was deferred to address Council concerns about definitions used to determine actionable offenses. The question before Council this evening was whether to authorize staff to proceed with drafting language that would address specific problems with junk vehicles and parking on private property. Consensus was reached to proceed with drafting sample legislation.

City Council meetings are held in the Great Room at CenterPlace until further notice. City Hall, however, is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited to Council meetings to participate in action items or public comment periods in person or via ZOOM. Call 509-720-5000 or www.spokanevalley.org prior to 4:00 p.m. for access instructions. Council meetings are broadcast on Comcast channel 14.