Spokane Valley City Council Highlights September 2022

Your Connection to the Spokane Valley City Council

September 27, 2022

This last meeting for September began with a proclamation denoting the Week of October 9-15 as Fire Prevention Week urging Valley citizens to practice home fire escape plans and support the activities and efforts of the Spokane Valley Fire Department in serving residents of Spokane Valley.

An application by Cameo Lofts, LLC, to vacate 1,539 square feet of an unimproved alleyway extending from Greenacres Road to Appleway Avenue came before Council. The public hearing required by state law before the City Planning Commission produced a unanimous recommendation for approval. A motion to waive the rules and adopt Ordinance 22-020 was approved unanimously.

On August 9th, Washington State Department of Ecology issued a call for Water Quality Combined Funding Program (WQC) projects for fiscal year 2024. Those categories are:

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund – (Loans, $250 million available)

• Stormwater Financial Assistance Program – (State Grants, $35 million available)

• Clean Water Centennial Program – (State Grants, $20 million available)

• Clean Water Act Section 19 – (Federal Grants, $1.7 million available)

• Sewer Overflow & Stormwater Reuse Grants – (Federal Grants, $11.4 million available)

The City generally aligns most with Ecology’s Stormwater Financial Assistance Program (SFAP) grants. Those grants require a 15% local match for an 85% Ecology funding award. Staff proposes that we apply for a Sprague Avenue Stormwater Improvements grant covering Herald Road to Mullan Road.

Total project cost is estimated at $2,300,000; City’s grant request would be $1,955,000 (85%), requiring a 15% City match of $345,000 plus $155,000 for engineering, totaling $500,000. Applications are due October 12th with funding awards expected by July 1st, 2023. If funds are awarded, work would start no later than April 2024. The motion to authorize the City Manager to apply for the grant passed unanimously.

The City collects a 2% lodging tax on hotels and motels. That tax is used primarily for tourism marketing and operation of dedicated events and festivals. Later, Council adopted an additional 1.3% lodging tax to be used solely for capital expenditures to acquire, construct, and improve large sporting venues or venues for tourism-related facilities that support lodging facilities.

Suggestions for distribution of the Lodging Tax money is made by the Lodging Tax Advisory Committee (LTAC). The City requested funds from the 1.3% Tax (Fund 104) account to apply to a proposed new Expo Building at the Fairgrounds and all future revenues from that fund until the building is completed. LTAC recommended $3,500,000. Council approved the allocation of $3.5 million from Fund 104 for the design, construction, and other costs associated with building the expansion of the Fairgrounds Expo Center Project as presented in the City’s application.

The City applied for an additional grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to cover the then estimated total project cost of $10 million. However, events such as escalating costs associated with the project have caused Council to withdraw the City’s application for the EDA grant and place the entire project on hold.

State law requires that any change in the use of lodging tax revenue be submitted to LTAC for review and comment. That money will be returned to Fund 104 in preparation for LTAC’s review. The motion to return $3.5 million in lodging tax proceeds allocated in 2022 be returned to Fund 104 passed unanimously.

Police Chief Dave Ellis previously presented to Council an overview of the Regional Safe Streets Task Force including its makeup, statistical trends, recent events, and an update in its effectiveness and needs. Violence is increasing as demonstrated by three recent events involving firefights with suspects and generally rising crime rates.

Extra patrols have been successful in mitigating the impact of gang violence; however, the budget funds will end in September. Chief Ellis has asked for an additional $100,000 from the City to extend the patrols through the end of the year. The question before Council was whether to use CLFR (Coronavirus Local Fiscal Recovery) funds to meet the Chief’s request. Council reached consensus to use CLFR funds already allocated to the law enforcement to satisfy the $100,000 request.

S.C.O.P.E. (Sherriff Community Oriented Policing Effort) presented an update of that organization’s efforts. To date SCOPE has volunteers working in stations throughout Valley neighborhoods and events. The presentation was conducted by newly appointed director, Chris Conway, who stated using SCOPE volunteers in place of patrol personnel when permitted has saved Spokane Valley $450,000.

Police Chief Dave Ellis updated Council on that department’s status, followed by the monthly report from the Spokane Valley Fire Department.

In a budget review discussion of the City’s Capital Reserve Fund #312, the discussion centered on a reallocation of $950,000 from the proposed Fair and Expo Expansion to Balfour Park. The available money in Fund #312, $5,747,804, minus the $950,000, would leave $4,797,804 in reserve for repairs to City Hall. Those expenses are unknown at this time and are currently being litigated. Any future recovery for damages would be used to replenish Fund #312.

Other suggestions for the use of the available money included $250,000 for a fitness center in the building basement, a street surface treatment pilot program, acquisition of snowplows, fitness courts on the Appleway Trail, and a premanufactured restroom for Balfour Park. Council reached consensus to hold the $950,000 for Balfour Park in abeyance, not pursue the fitness center at this time, and continue with the pilot street surface program.

State law requires that the City’s Solid Waste Management Plan and Moderate-Risk Waste Management Plan be current, reviewed and periodically revised as needed. To accomplish those goals the City, after issuing a Request for Qualifications, chose Great West Engineering as the most qualified. The anticipated fee will be approximately $270,000. No action was necessary at this time.

City Hall is open for business during normal business hours. The Public is invited 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.

September 13, 2022

This formal session of the Spokane Valley City Council opened with a proclamation recognizing September 17th through 23rd as Constitution Week. The proclamation was followed by a public hearing on the City’s 2023 budget, the third of eight visits in the budget adoption process.

Finance Director, Chelsie Taylor, presented the Supplemental Budget* increases which include:

• $353,608 in the General Fund

• $207,200 in the Street Fund, #101

• $160,000 in the Parks Capital Projects Fund #309

• $513,000 in the Equipment Rental & Replacement Fund #501

The City’s full-time employee count will increase in 2023 by 2 to 105.25. The two additions will be a paralegal and a Traffic Signal Technician.

The recurring revenue estimate for 2023 of $56,450,500 is 44,200,800 or 8.04% greater than the amended 2022 budget of $52,249,700.

The 2023 proposed recurring expenditure total of $53,731,079 is $3,628,391 or 7.39% greater than the 2022 amended appropriation of $49,102,688.

Budgeted recurring revenues will exceed recurring expenditures by $3,719,421 or 6.59% of recurring revenues.

*A more detailed breakdown of this budget analysis can be found at www.spokanevalley.org/agendas

This hearing was immediately followed by a public hearing on Proposed Ordinance 22-016, establishing a Spokane Valley Tourism Promotion Area (TPA).

On October 26th, 2020, Council approved Resolution No. 21-008 which served as a formal notice of the City’s withdrawal from its participation in Spokane County’s Regional Tourism Promotion Area (TPA) effective December 31, 2022.

With the notice of withdrawal from the County’s TPA, City staff met with hoteliers over the summer to 1) assess their interest in developing a City TPA that would generate funding to promote the City as a tourism destination, and 2) if such interest existed, determine if a petition with enough participating hoteliers to legally create a City TPA was feasible.

City staff and hoteliers reached agreement on creation of a petition that met all parties’ needs and worked together to collect the necessary signatures from qualified hotel owners/operators to meet the requirements of state law. The signed petition is the first step in the establishment of a City TPA. City Resolution 22-017 formally accepted that petition, setting September 13th, 2022, tonight, as the date for the public hearing before Council. That public hearing was immediately followed by the first reading of Ordinance 22-016, establishing a City-wide Tourism Promotion Area. This ordinance will provide the implementation procedures and policies for the new TPA. Motion to move Ordinance 22-016 to a second reading passed unanimously.

Property taxes are a major source of recurring City Revenue, representing $13,199,900 (25%) of the City’s 2022 budgeted recurring revenue. County Assessor, Tom Konis, explained that while city governments are generally thought to be the culprits setting the tax rates and collecting the larger percentage of property taxes, they actually receive, in most cases, less than 10% of the collected property tax revenues.

Who then, benefits the most from property taxes? Two taxing entities compete for that title. On a $400,000 home, school districts (education, local and state) and fire districts take the lion’s share. The simplified table below demonstrating collections in the East Valley School District reveals:

Spokane County $ 411.94 9.5%

City of Spokane Valley $ 407.72 9.0%

Fire District $1,082.10 24.9%

East Valley School District $1,218.70 28.0%

State Education Tax $1,063.92 24.4%

In a similar scenario, Central Valley School District collects 31.9% of the total, the State Education Tax gets 23.1%, and the Fire District receives 23.5%.

So, it is very apparent who gets most of your property taxes; it isn’t your City.

In procuring consultants for its various projects, the City has in its code a process including financial limitations for those solicitations. Currently, if a contract is expected to exceed $100,000 and/or one year, the contract requires being put out for bid. Agreements for less than $100,000 and one year must get three or more proposals; below $15,000 does not require a competitive process.

In light of rapidly increasing costs and the delays created by a very tight labor market in securing bids, staff is recommending that the upper financial limit be increased to $200,000 and dropping the contract length requirement. Anything over $200,000 would require a formal bid process. For contracts between $25,000-$200,000, a request for proposals from three or more vendors is required. Ordinance 22-017 formally makes those amendments. Motion to suspend the rules and adopt Ordinance No. 22-017 passed unanimously.

In a parallel move to simplify the process for procuring goods, equipment, and supplies, the top limit of $40,000 above which a formal bid process must be undertaken, Staff proposes to raise that limit to $100,000. Below that amount, three proposals from an approved list of vendors would be required. Ordinance 22-018 enables that facilitation to occur. The motion to suspend the rules and adopt Ordinance No. 22-018 passed unanimously.

At its inception, the City’s code identified a City Auditor whose duty was to ensure compliance with state law. Today, the required tasks are conducted by the entire Finance Department staff under the supervision of the Finance Department Director. A minor amendment, changing the Finance Director’s responsibilities from “required to perform all duties set forth in RCW…” to “….shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with…” is accomplished by proposed Ordinance 22-019. Motion to advance Ordinance 22-019 to a second reading passed unanimously.

In the fall of 2019, the City was notified by Tyler Technologies that they would no longer service the Eden financial software used by the City. Recognizing the need to find a replacement, staff commenced a search, first employing BerryDunn, a consultant, to assist in software vendor selection and subsequent implementation. In preparation for the transition, $1 million was set aside in the budget to accommodate the purchase and installation, plus $400,000 per year thereafter for subscription fees.

The selection team ultimately settled on the Munis software system from Tyler Technologies, Inc. as the replacement system, and IntelliTime for timekeeping software. The IntelliTime system is expected to be implemented by the beginning of 2023. The Munis software system should be functional in the spring of 2024. The move to finalize the agreement with Tyler Technologies, Inc. for $678,363 plus taxes and licenses passed unanimously.

During the 2022 contract year with Poe Asphalt for providing street and stormwater maintenance services, all contracted work has been completed. However, several local access roads are in immediate need, but sufficient funds are not available for the required reconstruction. The projects are:

Kahuna Drive; Carnahan to End

Stanley Road; 16th Ave to 15 Ave

15th Avenue; Stanley Rd to Howe Rd

15th Avenue; Howe Rd to Fancher Rd

Howe Road; 15th Ave to 14th Ave

Fancher Road; 15th Ave to 14th Ave

Avista Corporation has been working in these roadways and in consultation with them they have agreed to share the costs of the reconstruction. The total shared project cost is $421,400 with the City paying $287,486 and Avista $133,914. The motion to approve the Poe Contract Amendment #2 passed unanimously.

The Barker Road/BNSF Rail Crossing project was awarded for construction to the Max J. Kuney Company (Kuney) on January 28, 2021, by the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT), the project manager. Although the City assembled the funding and remains responsible for accounting for those funds, it has ceded project management to WSDOT for the construction.

The City and WSDOT coordinate on all change orders for the project with Kuney regardless of the amount. A cumulative limit of $350,000 in change orders is in place requiring Council approval for anything beyond that amount.

The newest change order is for $10,300 to construct a temporary gate and driveway for a business to access their property while the remaining road improvements are completed in front of their property. Large vehicles cannot access the business through the ongoing construction activities.

The Contractor’s successful low bid was $2,000,000 below the next lowest bidder. A low bid can often be increased by the change order process if the project cannot move forward without approval of the change orders. Motion to approve the $10,300 change order passed unanimously.

Police Chief Ellis presented an overview of the Regional Safe Streets Task Force including its makeup, statistical trends, recent events, and an update. Violence is increasing as demonstrated by three recent events involving firefights with suspects.

Extra patrols have been successful in mitigating the impact of gang violence; however, the budget funds will end in September. Chief Ellis asked for an additional $100,000 from the City to extend the patrols through the end of the year.

September 6, 2022

The first and third meetings of each month of the Spokane Valley City Council are scheduled to be study sessions. Items of business requiring action by Council are usually scheduled for the second and fourth meetings each month although items requiring immediate attention are often placed on study session agendas.

Earlier this year, the City was presented with an opportunity to join in a suit with other Washington cities against various companies and individuals involved in the manufacture, marketing, and distribution of opioid products and prescriptions. The suit is based on well-documented harm to citizens and communities resulting from direct use and ancillary illegal activities stemming from the opioid supply chain. A second suit brought by the State Attorney General (AG) has included Johnson and Johnson and Purdue Pharmaceutical (bankrupt). The City has joined in that action as well and is awaiting court action.

Each participating municipality seeking to receive funds through the AG’s settlement with Cardinal Health, Amerisource, and McKesson is required to sign the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding, the Subdivision Participation Form, and now, the Allocation Agreement. The Allocation Agreement adopts and incorporates the terms of the One Washington MOU with slight changes. Once the City becomes a party to the MOU it can negotiate for a higher allocation of funds than identified by the preliminary allocation formula. Motion to approve the agreement and authorize the City Manager to execute it passed unanimously.

In the continuing controversy and confusion surrounding addressing the homeless problem in Spokane Valley, the City’s Housing and Homeless Coordinator presented an update on efforts to solve or mitigate the issue. Those efforts include:

• Coordination with Spokane Valley Partners to provide a full-time Outreach Specialist to work in the community. The combination of law enforcement and the City’s dedicated personnel are helping to provide solutions and eventual reduction in homeless problems.

• Lately, there has been an increase in homeless people in the City due to the opening of a homeless shelter just outside the Valley city limits in Spokane, and the publicized closing of Camp Hope. The residents from the Valley who are currently there will likely return to the Valley.

• The increasing use of fentanyl is having a negative impact on the Valley homeless population. The fact that it’s cheap and highly addictive, not to mention the potential lethality, is having a distinct effect on the number and actions of the homeless here.

• Efforts to assist in moving homeless persons to stabilization or productive status, including secure housing, has been marginally successful.

• The City’s Community Homeless Action Plan (CHAP) is being developed in preparation for review and distribution.

On August 1, the Washington State Department of Commerce issued a call for projects under the Electrification of Transportation Systems (ETS) grant program. The ETS program is intended to support eligible entities’ participation in the state’s clean energy transition. Available funding is $970,000, with an award range between $100,000 to $150,000 (up to $400,000 if done with a partner, i.e., the City could partner with a utility). The application deadline is September 15th. Awards would be announced in January 2023. Council reached consensus to delay any action on such a proposal until more information becomes available.

On August 9th, Washington State Department of Ecology issued a call for Water Quality Combined Funding Program (WQC) projects for fiscal year 2024. Those categories are:

• Clean Water State Revolving Fund – (Loans, $250 million available)

• Stormwater Financial Assistance Program – (State Grants, $35 million available)

• Clean Water Centennial Program – (State Grants, $20 million available)

• Clean Water Act Section 19 – (Federal Grants, $1.7 million available)

• Sewer Overflow & Stormwater Reuse Grants – (Federal Grants, $11.4 million available)

Applications are due October 12th with funding awards expected by July 1st, 2023. A list of projects and estimated costs will be provided to Council for application consideration at the September 20th meeting. Consensus to proceed with the application was reached.

In light of rapidly increasing costs and the delays created by a very tight labor market in securing bids, staff is recommending that the upper financial limit be increased to $200,000 and dropping the contract length requirement. Anything over $200,000 would require a formal bid process. For contracts between $25,000-$200,000, a request for proposals from three or more vendors is required. Consensus to place this on a future agenda for first reading was unanimous.

In a companion report, the process for procuring goods, equipment, and supplies has a top limit of $40,000. Above this amount a formal bid process must be undertaken. Staff proposes to raise the limit to $100,000 above which the formal bid process must take place. Below that amount, three proposals from an approved list of vendors would be required. Consensus to place on a future agenda for a first reading was unanimously approved.

At its inception, the City’s code identified a City Auditor whose duty was to ensure compliance with state law. Today, the required tasks are carried out by the entire Finance Department staff under the supervision of the Finance Department Director. A minor amendment, changing the Finance Director’s instructions from “required to perform all duties set forth in RCW…” to “….shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with…” met with unanimous Council consensus to place on a future agenda for a first reading.

In a budget review discussion of the City’s Capital Reserve Fund #312, the discussion centered on a reallocation of $950,000 from the proposed Fair and Expo Expansion to Balfour Park. The available money in Fund #312, $5,747,804, minus the $950,000, would leave $4,797,804 in reserve for repairs to City Hall. Any future recovery for damages would be used to replenish Fund #312. Other suggestions for the use of the available money caused the discussion to be postponed pending further information.

View Past Spokane Valley City Council Highlights

The City Council holds more formal meetings the second and fourth Tuesday of each month and holds Study Sessions on the first and third Tuesday of each month. Agendas, minutes and background materials can be found on the City’s website: www.SpokaneValley.org by 5pm the Friday before each meeting.

Contact City of Spokane Valley:

10210 E. Sprague Ave.
509-921-1000
www.SpokaneValley.org