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cmd070621 spec mtg 1EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL SPECIAL VIRTUAL ONLINE MEETING APPROVED MINUTES July 6, 2021 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Susan Paine, Council President Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Councilmember Luke Distelhorst, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Vivian Olson, Councilmember Laura Johnson, Councilmember Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember ELECTED OFFICIALS ABSENT none ALSO PRESENT Brook Roberts, Student Representative CALL TO ORDER STAFF PRESENT Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Nicholas Falk, Deputy City Clerk Dave Rohde, GIS Analyst The Edmonds City Council virtual online meeting was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Nelson. Councilmember Buckshnis raised a point of order, asking whether the agenda should include approval of the agenda. Council President Paine said that was her error. COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE, TO ADD APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA AS ITEM 2. 2. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER FRALEY-MONILLAS MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO ADD ROLL CALL TO THE AGENDA AS ITEM 3. Councilmember Olson raised a point of order, pointing out the Council had already approved the agenda. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas relayed her understanding that the Council could still add to the agenda as long as there was a vote. City Attorney Jeff Taraday explained at a special meeting there is no need to Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 1 take roll because there is no consequence to being absent. If the Council wanted to call roll, that could be done, but it would be clear from the record who was present. COUNCILMEMBER FRALEY-MONILLAS WITHDREW THE MOTION. 2. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. COUNCIL DISCUSSION REGARDING RESUMING IN -PERSON MEETINGS Council President Paine explained the agenda memo outlines several of the issues that the Council needs to discuss and make a decision on with regard to proceeding with in -person meetings including when to resume in -person meetings, how committee meetings will be handled, meeting options (fully remote or a hybrid), and whether to continue taking public comments via email. When do we resume in -person meetings? Council President Paine said she had anticipated resuming in -person meetings on July 13'; however, the courtroom is not available until 6 p.m. which interferes with Council committees on July 13'h. She proposed the Council resume in -person meetings on July 20'i'. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas said July 20' sounded reasonable. She pointed out Council President Paine has had the authority to make this decision on her own. She appreciated Council President Paine reaching out to the Council, but it is an administrative decision that she could make without the Council's input. Councilmember Distelhorst agreed with resuming in -person meetings on July 20t'. In looking the extended agenda, committee meetings and the Council meeting are already scheduled for July 13'' beginning at 4:00 p.m. so if there is a conflict with the municipal court, it might be better to resume on July 20'h and allow the extended agenda to remain as is for the committees and the regular meeting scheduled on July 12"'. Councilmember Olson said she has been anxious to begin meeting in person since mid -May when the restrictions changed with regard to spacing and meeting in person. Although she wanted return to in -person meetings the sooner the better, a one week delay is not that critical. Councilmember L. Johnson expressed appreciation for Council President Paine including the Council in this conversation and taking into consideration that each Councilmember's life is different and they may have different circumstances such as someone who is immunocompromised or children in the home under age 12 as well as sharing space with the municipal court and working with them to find a plan that accommodates everyone. She was in favor of resuming in -person meetings on July 20'. She recognized there had been some discussion in the public and on social media regarding why this was happening as well as a feeling that some Councilmembers were playing into it. It is unfortunate if Councilmembers were playing into it as all the considerations have been upfront and well communicated. She summarized we are coming out of a pandemic and there needs to be some flexibility. She appreciated the conversation, but wished the games would stop. Council President Paine appreciated the Council's comments and thoughts as well as the work of administrative staff behind the scenes to put meetings together. The Council does not have its own tech department; it would be nearly impossible to do Zoom meetings without the support of the IT Department and direction from HR about workplace considerations. Coming out of a pandemic is very unusual and she anticipated there would be glitches coming back together. She wanted to have as much discussion about this as possible because she wanted Councilmembers to feel included. She was eager return to Council Chambers because that location offers a level of access in a very public way. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 2 what was being said other than people were complaining so she was unsure what Councilmember L. Johnson was talking about. As committee meetings are not logistically possible next week, she agreed with resuming in -person meetings on July 20tt' although she will likely be on vacation in Oregon for a wedding. Everyone is anxious to come to meetings and make comments. Mayor Nelson relayed there was unanimous support for resuming in -person meetings on July 20'. Committee Nights: What do we want to do? Council President Paine referred to options in the agenda memo, a) return to the prior system of meeting in Council Chambers and forego the regular Council meeting, or 2) have committee meetings begin earlier in the evening in separate rooms followed by a regular Council meeting. She invited Council input on those or other options. As someone who attends all the committee meetings, Councilmember Olson said she has noticed committee meetings are not as well attended by the community as regular meetings. She suggested committee meetings continue in a remote manner. Councilmember Distelhorst said that was an interesting idea to explore, pointing out when committee meetings are held at the same time, there is not a lot of accessibility for local media or people who want to monitor committee meetings. Having committee meetings on Zoom at staggered times provides better accessibility. Councilmember Buckshnis disagreed with the current committee structure as one hour was not sufficient to discuss the City's finances. The Finance Committee has had to truncate their meetings and hold special meetings to discuss bonds, bond refinancing/refunding, etc. which is a very important aspect of the City's financial future. The last special Finance Committee meeting was in May and there were plans to hold another one. The Parks & Public Works (PPW) Committee has also had lengthy agendas with not enough time for their agenda items. Committee meetings are an opportunity for one-on-one discussions with staff. She supported returning to in -person committee meetings in separate rooms that are either video or audio recorded. It is important to spend time with the administration on issues such as the WWTP, bond financing, Civic Field, etc. These issues take a lot of time and one hour is not sufficient for detailed discussion. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas suggested not having a Council meeting following committee meetings. That would allow all the committees to meet and perhaps schedule more time for some committees. She has served on all three committees; in her opinion the Public Safety, Planning & Personnel (PSPP) could be done in 45 minutes and time could be added to the Finance and/or PPW Committee meetings. For example, the PSPP Committee could be 45 minutes, Finance Committee 1 hour 15 minutes, and the PPW Committee could be as long as necessary because it typically has the most agenda items. In the past, on occasion there was a Council meeting after committee meetings but only it was usually for very important issues with a short timeline, not general Council business. The Council has gotten into the habit of holding a Council meeting after committee meetings. She found it exhausting to attend a committee meeting before Council meetings that last until 10 p.m. and she anticipated it was exhausting for the public and staff. She supported returning to committee meetings back-to-back so they can be videorecorded and not have a Council meeting following committee meetings unless it is an emergency. Council President Paine agreed with finding a schedule that works for all the committees such as recording via Zoom either in person or remotely and holding a Council meeting only for special business. She reviewed the meetings held prior to COVID and found there were often regular Council meetings before or after committee meetings. Committee meetings could start 6 or 7 p.m. and either be held simultaneously or at staggered times. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 3 Councilmember Distelhorst voiced support for not having a regular meeting after committee meetings which would remove the shot clock of packing in three hours of meetings before 7 p.m. The PPW Committee often has 75-90 minutes of agenda items jammed into 60 minutes. That would provide a lot more flexibility, and a special Council meeting could be added if something time sensitive needed to be addressed. Councilmember L. Johnson spoke in favor of continuing the Zoom format for committee meetings. There are a lot of logistics with holding multiple meetings with multiple players and it requires staff to be present after a long day of work. Retaining the Zoom format is more flexible and makes it easier for staff to attend multiple meetings. For the time being, she preferred to retain the Zoom format for committee meetings. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas said she was fine with Councilmember L. Johnson's suggestion although she did not particularly care if committee meetings were via Zoom, in -person or a hybrid. Until the new COVID variant is defined and cleared up, it may not be a bad idea to utilize a hybrid for committees and regular Council meetings. She will go with the majority, but said Councilmember L. Johnson raised a good point about Zoom meetings and it is much easier to participate via Zoom, particularly for staff. Staff begins work early Tuesday mornings and are often present until 10 p.m. Council President Paine recommended the Council start committee nights at 6 p.m. with a hybrid model, with the order of the meetings to be determined. Councilmember L. Johnson asked for clarification whether the hybrid was for Councilmembers, participants, staff, or the public. She was concerned if it was hybrid for Council or staff, it will be politicized. She encouraged the Council to reach consensus regarding how to move to forward with committee meetings so it is clear and there is no miscommunication. Councilmember Olson reiterated her experience that fewer people attend committee meetings, therefore she was satisfied with continuing with remote access to committee meetings for everyone for simplicity sake; a hybrid is logistically more difficult. She preferred to have all the committee meetings held at the same time; staff that needs to be in multiple places could move between meetings and the agendas could be planned to allow that. She preferred to have committee meetings videoed for Councilmembers and the public to watch later as she found she gets a lot more information at committee meeting than she is otherwise privy to. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas commented there was a reason why committee meetings were not held at the same time, but she could not recall the reason. She also recalled meetings had to be held in the Council Chambers to be televised. She felt holding meetings at the same time was not very transparent and created issues for staff and the public. She did not have a vested interest with a particular way but wanted it considered from citizen's as well as staff s point of view. Councilmembers are flexible and can adapt, but it is more difficult for staff and public to move to the different rooms. She suggested holding the easiest committee meeting first, then the next easiest meeting, and have the PPW Committee meetings last so it could be the longest. She recalled PPW Committee meetings lasting 2-3 hours in the past. Mayor Nelson said in his discussions with Directors, they appreciate having the meetings staggered as it is chaotic to present an item at two committees. Council Chambers is the only place with microphones and cameras; other meetings could be recorded in a Zoom format with Councilmembers starting and stopping the Zoom meetings. Councilmember Buckshnis recalled the meeting times were staggered because they could not be recorded simultaneously. She has been on all the committees in the past and recalled Finance Committee meetings have lasted 2-3 hours. Citizens are not upset about committee meetings because items are then on Consent Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 4 or presentations made to full Council; citizens are interested in what the Council is doing at regular and special meetings. She preferred to meet in person but understood some people do not want to and like the technology of Zoom. She summarized one hour is not sufficient for the Finance or PPW Committee meetings. Councilmember L. Johnson recalled when committee meetings were held in person pre-COVID, the meetings were not video recorded and there was only an audio recording and minutes. This is an opportunity to take what has been learned from this unfortunate situation including the ability to record remote committee meetings. She found a video preferable because people often get more from watching something than reading it. She did not want to surmise whether citizens did or did not find value in committee meetings. In the past it was more difficult, but now they have the opportunity. She summarized it was important to continue having the video available and to make the best of what was learned during the pandemic. Councilmember Distelhorst summarized what he has heard, committees remain fully remote, change the timing of the meetings, and record the meetings via Zoom. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE AND SECONDED, TO DO COMMITTEE MEETINGS BY ZOOM ON THE SECOND TUESDAY AND START WITH THE PSPP COMMITTEE AND DECIDE HOW TO NAVIGATE THE LENGTHIER COMMITTEE MEETINGS. Mr. Taraday pointed out the agenda calls for discussion only so the Council cannot take final action. There would need to be ordinance drafted to amend the City code and any voting would be preliminary and the final action would be taken when an ordinance was drafted to conform the City Code with Council direction. Councilmember Buckshnis raised a point of order, Mr. Taraday said the Council cannot make a decision. Mayor Nelson clarified Mr. Taraday said this wouldn't be the final decision; an ordinance on a future agenda would be the final decision. Council President Paine asked for input regarding holding Finance and PPW Committee meetings on Zoom. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas commented that did not need to be decided tonight. She suggested Council President Paine work with the committee chairs to determine the time they need. If the meetings will be held on Zoom, she was fine with starting the PSPP Committee at 4 p.m. Councilmember L. Johnson commented the 4 p.m. start time was not necessarily ideal. If there would not be a regular Council meeting following committee meetings, she preferred to have committee meetings start later to accommodate other schedules. COUNCIL PRESIDENT PAINE WITHDREW THE MOTION. Council President Paine said she will work with the committee chairs. Council Meeting Options — Fully Remote, Hybrid A the type of participation is fully optional, anyone can be in -person or participate via Zoom), Hybrid B ,Elected officials and staff participate in -person while residents and others have the option to be remote Council President Paine explained the Council needs to find the best hybrid option. The Governor's mandate says everything must have a hybrid option. There is strong consensus to return to in -person meetings. Her preference is Hybrid A. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 5 Councilmember Olson liked the idea of a hybrid for the sake of captioning which has been a great addition via the Zoom format. She did not support either Hybrid A or B fully, for reasons related to the pandemic; if an elected official feels they cannot attend in -person meetings, that should be honored. However, in general, electeds need to be there, show up and be responsive to the public who attends and want to see them face-to-face. She recommended Councilmember be encouraged to attend in -person. Councilmember Fraley-Monillas expressed support for Hybrid A; it is important that those who do not feeling safe to have that opportunity. There are some that feel Councilmembers should be held to a different standard than the general public, but there may some who have health issues. She was not crazy about Hybrid B which allowed residents and others the option to be remote. Citizens have submitted numerous emails about wanting to come in -person to testify before Council so that should be a requirement for citizens. She supported citizens retaining the ability to submit letters/emails. She anticipated most Councilmembers who could be in -person would be as they takes their work very seriously, more seriously than just about any other Council. Councilmember L. Johnson appreciated Councilmember Olson's comments regarding flexibility. There has been a pandemic; it is a whole new world and she was not sure what to expect going forward. For example if she had a cold or allergies, was it appropriate for her to attend sniffling and sneezing or would it be better or more courteous for her to stay home. She preferred to retain flexibility, recognizing that none of us have ever been through something like this. The Council could have the best intentions and say what will work now, but quite likely there will need to be flexibility to shift in the future. Councilmembers signed up to do this because they like to engage with the public. There have been sacrifices related to participating via Zoom from home; families have to give up privacy, kids have to be quiet, spouses sometimes cannot go to bed until midnight because the only quiet corner is being used. The Council wants to get back but has done what needed to be done in order to best serve the public. She looked forward to the ability to meet in -person, but also retain the flexibility for whatever comes next. Council President Paine commented the decision whether someone appears in public and in a public forum is up to that person. There are conditions and situations where the most vulnerable needed to be considered. She strongly encouraged Hybrid A where the type of participation is fully optional. Councilmember Distelhorst agreed; he appreciated the flexibility and being respectful of everyone's comfort levels, their health and the health of their family. He supported Hybrid A as well as retaining the ability to take public comment via email because that provides a great option for people who are working during Council meetings or have other commitments. Councilmember Buckshnis said Hybrid A or B was fine with her. The most important part was allowing citizens to come to meetings. She pointed out even though we're all vaccinated, some people are not and there is always the possibility of contact with the virus. Captioning is another advantage that has been very well received in the community. She supported having emailed public comments read into the record. Council President Paine summarized the Council consensus is a hybrid and to continue to take public comments via email. Council President Paine relayed she received a text from Councilmember K. Johnson that she is having internet issues and is unable to appear because she is using her phone. 3. ADJOURN With no further business, the Council meeting was adjourned at 6:14 p.m. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 6 M1 AEL NELSON, MAYOR _.' r Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes July 6, 2021 Page 7 1. 2. Ot EI7 Agenda Edmonds City Council 7• � SPECIAL MEETING - VIRTUAL/ONLINE VIRTUAL ONLINE MEETING EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETINGS WEB PAGE, HTTP://EDMONDSWA.IQM2.COM/CITIZENS/DEFAULT.ASPX, EDMONDS, WA 98020 JULY 6, 2021, 5:30 PM DUE TO THE CORONAVIRUS, MEETINGS ARE HELD VIRTUALLY USING THE ZOOM MEETING PLATFORM. TO JOIN, COMMENT, VIEW, OR LISTEN TO THE EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL MEETING IN ITS ENTIRETY, PASTE THE FOLLOWING INTO A WEB BROWSER USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE: HTTPS://ZOOM. US/J/95798484261 OR JOIN BY PHONE: US: +1 253 215 8782 WEBINAR ID: 957 9848 4261 PERSONS WISHING TO PROVIDE AUDIENCE COMMENTS USING A COMPUTER OR SMART PHONE ARE INSTRUCTED TO RAISE A VIRTUAL HAND TO BE RECOGNIZED. PERSONS WISHING TO PROVIDE AUDIENCE COMMENTS BY DIAL -UP PHONE ARE INSTRUCTED TO PRESS *9 TO RAISE A HAND. WHEN PROMPTED, PRESS *6 TO UNMUTE. IN ADDITION TO ZOOM, REGULAR COUNCIL MEETINGS BEGINNING AT 7:00 PM ARE STREAMED LIVE ON THE COUNCIL MEETING WEBPAGE, COMCAST CHANNEL 21, AND ZIPLY CHANNEL 39. "WE ACKNOWLEDGE THE ORIGINAL INHABITANTS OF THIS PLACE, THE SDOHOBSH (SNOHOMISH) PEOPLE AND THEIR SUCCESSORS THE TULALIP TRIBES, WHO SINCE TIME IMMEMORIAL HAVE HUNTED, FISHED, GATHERED, AND TAKEN CARE OF THESE LANDS. WE RESPECT THEIR SOVEREIGNTY, THEIR RIGHT TO SELF-DETERMINATION, AND WE HONOR THEIR SACRED SPIRITUAL CONNECTION WITH THE LAND AND WATER. - CITY COUNCIL LAND ACKNOWLEDGMENT CALL TO ORDER COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. Council Discussion Regarding Resuming in -Person Meetings (45 min) ADJOURN Edmonds City Council Agenda July 6, 2021 Page 1