After a proclamation recognizing National Night Out, on August 1st, this formal meeting of the Spokane Valley City Council began with consideration of Resolution 23-009 which declares the City Council’s intention and commitment to operate a local homeless housing program and will partially fund it by assuming control of available document recording fees. 
 

Council had previously opted to remain with the County for receipt and administration of the federal Community Development Block Grant funds it receives. That also includes collecting and administering recording fees. Adoption of Resolution 23-009 enables the City to access its portion of document recording fees that accompany the CBDG funds. 
 

New state legislation has imposed a single surcharge of $183 per recorded document (deeds, notices, etc.), collected and distributed by county auditors per the schedule below.

• 1.8% to be used through its landlord mitigation account.
 

The state portion of recording fees is not directly available to the City. By electing to operate its own homeless housing program, the City can receive a percentage of what the County charges, equal to the percentage it collects on real estate taxes. The City can then use those funds for its homeless program when it establishes one. 
 

The rules and procedures together with the probable need for additional staff for establishing and administering a program are extensive. At this time, the estimated cost of establishing and maintaining a Homeless Housing Program is $132,000 per year. Estimated reimbursement from the county’s collection of recording fees is $64,000. The City will  directly fund $68,565. Staff will prepare an interlocal agreement with the County in anticipation of the accord. Resolution 23-009 is the first step in that process.
 

The City participates in an interlocal agreement with Spokane County for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds distributed by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agreement runs in three-year increments with 2023 as the final year of the current agreement. This being the final year of the agreement, Council has decided to renew its agreement with the County for another three years. A new agreement has been negotiated providing for a set-aside based on population. The City’s population is 33.3% of the county’s population not including the City of Spokane which entitles it to $780,597 for 2023. 
 

There is a concurrent movement to form a regional homelessness group which as part of its formation is requesting all of the funding that is currently being applied to homelessness in the county be turned over to it as well as the personnel to administer its program. 
 

Part of the City’s agreement with the County specifies that the City will maintain control over where its money passing through the County is directed or allocated.
 

Since the most expedient way for the City to continue is to partner with the County for distribution of its allocated funds, Council decided unanimously to renew the agreement for three more years.
 

The City is a partner in the Spokane County Emergency Management (SCEM) plan which includes functions that support community response to emergency situations. Those functions include planning, alert and warning, resource management, training, exercises, public education and outreach, and policy support. There are four phases to the statutorily mandated emergency management: 

The City’s primary point of contact for emergency management planning will be Project Manager Virginia Clough.
 

In the Annual Comprehensive Plan Amendment cycle (CPA), applications for modification of the CPA must be entered for action on the docket prior to November 1st of any year. There was a single amendment for 2023 proposed by the City. That amendment is:

File No. : CPA-2023-01  Land use map
Applicant: City
Description: Change land use designation and zoning for 5 parcels totaling 29.51 acres from Single Family Residential & Neighborhood Commercial to Parks and Open Space 

The motion to approve the 2023 Comprehensive Plan Amendment Docket as proposed passed unanimously. The docket was forwarded to the Planning Commission for its consideration and action. The Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend Council approve CPA-2023-01. Council consensus was unanimous to accept the recommendation and proceed to a first reading of the ordinance.
 

As part of the City’s annual budget process, each department establishes goals for the upcoming year. The following goals were presented for Council consideration. 
 

• Communications: Increase community interactions, share information, and obtain feedback in providing awareness that makes the City a great place to live, work, and play.
 

Council reached consensus on pursuing those goals as well as including them in the 2024 Budget.
 

On April 18th, 2023, Council agreed by consensus to review its City Code owner-occupied requirement for Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU). CTA-2023-0002 (Code Text Amendment) would accomplish that. ADUs are defined as a freestanding or attached structure “incidental to the primary dwelling unit,” located on the same property, providing complete, independent living facilities in a single housekeeping unit, including permanent provisions for living, sleeping, cooking, and sanitation. Such a unit has been referred to as a ‘mother-in-law’ unit. 
 

The move is intended to increase the available housing but might also have the opposite effect. Too, the state legislature has been steadily moving toward making the action a state law. The City Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend Council deny the code amendment. By consensus, Council concurred with the Planning Commission.
 

The legislature seems intent upon not finding a solution to the Supreme Court's Blake Decision which broadly decriminalized drug possession and usage. After failing in two regular sessions to put into place any sort of vehicle for enforcement, it finally passed Senate Bill 5536 which makes it a gross misdemeanor to 1) knowingly possess counterfeit and controlled substances; or 2) knowingly use controlled substances in a public place. The holes in the legislation which serve to make enforcement more difficult, appear to demonstrate the non-seriousness with which the legislature is addressing the problem.
 

The RAVE Foundation, the official charitable arm of the Seattle Sounders professional soccer team is donating a “soccer mini pitch” field which will be installed in Balfour Park. The value of the donation is estimated to be $150,000.
 

The August 1st City Council meeting will be cancelled in observance of National Night Out in support of our First Responders.
 

 

This Study Session of the Spokane Valley City Council commenced with a Motion Consideration to amend the Street and Stormwater Maintenance & Repair Services Contract with Poe Asphalt, adding $317,208.89. The additional money will address two problems: 1) The failing roads on Koren Road, Rocky Ridge Drive, and 19th Avenue. All have Pavement Condition Indexes of less than 35%. 2) Avista Corporation has been upgrading its services along those roads creating patchwork repairs that contribute to the road failures. Avista will share in the repair costs. The motion to approve the contract amendment passed unanimously.
 

In December 2022, Council reached consensus to allocate $785,714 to the Idaho Central Spokane Valley Performing Arts Center for use toward construction of its new facility for the purposes of “….providing musical, theatrical, educational, and cultural programming for the Spokane Valley Community.” Approval of this agreement formalizes the grant award. The motion to approve the agreement passed unanimously.
 

An administrative report on City efforts to clean up graffiti summarized the work performed thus far. Led by SCOPE volunteers together with Horizon Credit Union and Fairchild volunteers, and City sponsored workers, the groups have cleaned up 15 sites to date and continue to expand their coverage. The clean-up has addressed graffiti on both public and private property. 
 

The City has employed the services of Revival, its contracted right-of-way maintenance team, to address graffiti on City property. For graffiti on private property, the volunteers will team with SCOPE, get locations from Crime Check and, after receiving consent from the property owner, will perform the clean-up. Funding for the project is coming from a grant from the Washington State Department of Commerce.
 

As the commencement of construction on the Pines/BNSF Rail Crossing approaches next year, all of the elements necessary to actually begin construction must be in place. Foremost among those considerations is acquiring and consolidating all of the rights-of-way. Staff has coordinated with and is negotiating an agreement which will include construction of the BNSF’s parallel bridges, property rights, and a permanent easement for the project.
 

Seven properties were acquired earlier in the process, including three donated by Avista. However, another twelve remain. Of those, the City has finalized negotiations with five, and three others are considered low risk for problems in reaching agreement. However, three other owners might be problematical. Negotiations will continue, but in the meantime, a Final Action Ordinance necessary to proceed with eminent domain will be put in place.

As all pieces come together, the schedule to begin construction is slated to begin early to mid-year in 2024.
 

Council annually reviews its adopted goals and priorities for how it uses lodging tax revenues, encouraging the Lodging Tax Committee to consider those when making award recommendations. In summary, those goals and priorities are: 

The schedule for the 2023 awards is:

• Council will approve the final awards for 2024 on December 12th, 2023.
 

In the continuing efforts to effectively cope with the City’s homeless problem, it participates in an interlocal agreement with Spokane County for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds distributed by the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The agreement runs in three-year increments with 2023 as the final year of the current agreement. This being the final year of the agreement, the City must decide if it wishes to continue as part of the consortium or go its own way. 
 

If the City were to remove itself from the County consortium, it appears that the City could perform the administrative duties associated with a direct payment from HUD but probably not for less than the 20% administrative fee the County charges. Other considerations, such as startup expenses and ongoing administrative costs above those allowed, puts the City in the position of having to continue with another three-year membership in the consortium or make the necessary moves to administer the program within the City staff. 
 

Concurrently, there is a move to form a regional coalition for the purpose of centralizing the effort to combat homelessness. Indecision on the group’s parameters and participation together with uncertainty on funding sources have thus far hampered those negotiations. 
 

However, the most expedient way for the City to participate is to continue partnering with the County for distribution of its allocated funds. Council decided unanimously to renew the agreement for three more years assuming that the County continues with largely the same contract. If the County chooses not to renew the contract under the same terms, it will be necessary for Council to consider other arrangements for its HUD allocated funds.

In other action, Council reached consensus to replace three staff vehicles at approximately $60,000 per unit, plus a snowplow, and a backhoe. Because of supply backlogs, permission by consensus to purchase the vehicles when available was approved.
 

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.

 

After proclaiming July 2023 as Parks and Recreation Month, the Spokane Valley City Council commenced its business meeting. First on its agenda was a Motion Consideration for a Transportation Improvement Board (TIB) Grant opportunity. The proposed projects for City application are those presented at Council’s May 22nd meeting announcing the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board’s call for projects for its Urban Arterial Program (UAP) and its Active Transportation Program (ATP). The UAP has historically funded our City’s street-related projects. The ATP is newly revised to deliver more broadly used transportation projects such as non-motorized uses rather than sidewalk-only use. 
 

The proposed UAP grant requests for projects are a) Barker Roundabout at 8th ($550,000-city match); b) Argonne Concrete Reconstruct-Indiana to Knox ($700,000-city match). The sole proposed ATP project grant request is the Sprague Ave. Pedestrian Crossings (near Chronicle, McKinnon-Howe) with a $196,000-city match. The motion to approve the application for the TIB grant passed unanimously.
 

Another project, the Pines and Mission Intersection Improvement Project was posted for bid. That project will add a southbound right turn lane and provide two eastbound left turn lanes to the existing signalized intersection at Pines Road (State Route 27) and Mission Avenue. Sidewalk improvements, stormwater improvements, pavement preservation, and revisions to the signal system are included. 
 

The winning bid (there was only one) was submitted by N. A. Degerstrom, Inc. at $1,549,863.60, which was 37.9% over the engineer’s estimate. The reason for the discrepancy was most notably the delay in final approval from Washington Department of Transportation which moved construction into next year. Funds are available to move ahead with the project, however. The motion to award the contract for construction of the project passed unanimously.

On May 10, 2022, Council reached a general agreement to allocate an annual portion of revenues from solid waste collection toward a new unit-priced bid contract for payment preservation purposes. Such a contract would be very similar to the already existing Street and Storm Water Maintenance & Repair Contract but would focus primarily on local access roads. Those funds have been very successfully utilized for design-build capital preservation projects. The new unit-priced contract provides various options for roadway preservation treatments. Using this type of contract, work has been assigned to the contractor by work orders for each individual location. The contract original contract with Inland Asphalt Paving Company was for $1,500,000. That amount has been used to re-pave 33 residential streets, but the cost has gone beyond the contract by almost $30,000. Additional, easy-to-implement improvements, should funds become available, could be made. That would be cost effective since the contractor is already deployed and the projects identified. The additional cost would be $345,000. The motion to authorize a change order to the existing contract in the amount of $345,000 passed unanimously.
 

A report from Spokane Valley Police Chief, Dave Ellis, covered statistics such as a 37% increase in robberies, a 41% increase in garage burglaries, and a 10% increase in commercial burglaries. Those were offset by a17% decrease in vehicle thefts, an 8% decrease in miscellaneous mischief, a 5% decrease in assaults, and an 18% decrease in vehicle prowls. The reinstituted bike patrols are proving effective, as are the camera trailers set up randomly to control traffic.
 

The City of Spokane Valley participates in the Federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Community Development Block Grant Program (CDBG). In 2005, the City qualified to become an ‘entitlement community.’ As such, it is authorized to receive federal funds for capital projects in the City. The interlocal agreement with the County continues the City’s acceptance of its entitlement status under federal guidelines and cedes administration of the program to the County. 
 

Council members have requested information on the recording fees available for homelessness and affordable housing related purposes. If the City chose to directly accept CDBG funds, it would have to assume responsibility for homeless housing within its border to receive those recording fees. Last week, Council opted to remain with the County for receipt and administration of CDBG funds. However, there remains the question of whether the City might have access to document recording fees. New state legislation has imposed a single surcharge of $183 per recorded document, collected and distributed by county auditors per the schedule below.
 

        • 1.8% to be used through its landlord mitigation account
 

The state portion of recording fees is not available for the City to directly access. If the City elects to operate its own homeless housing program, the city can receive a percentage of the what the County charges, equal to the percentage it collects on real estate taxes. The City can then use those funds for its homeless program if it establishes one. 
 

The rules and procedures together with the probable need for additional staff for establishing such a program are extensive and although questions remain, staff will prepare papers for an interlocal agreement with the County in anticipation of a possible agreement.
 

The potential for a regional coalition to address homelessness has been the subject of meetings over the past several weeks. Mayor Pam Haley, Councilman Tim Hattenberg, Deputy City Manager Eric Lamb, and City Engineer, Gloria Mantz have been in attendance on behalf of the City. The group is intending to form a public development authority (PDA) named Spokane Regional Authority for Homelessness, Housing, Health, and Safety. It is proposing to be funded with all the of funds currently dedicated to homelessness by the various group participants. An interlocal agreement (ILA) will be prepared to form the PDA. The ILA will require a commitment from the participants to within a 90-day startup period, transferring their funding, staff, and contracts to the PDA. 
 

Since the City is not fully committed to participating in the PDA, the issue is still under consideration. The Council’s consensus is that the City must be represented at such a gathering, but with both Spokane and Spokane County meeting to consider their strategies, the Valley City Council needs more information before it gets more involved.