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Cmd020122 Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 1 EDMONDS CITY COUNCIL VIRTUAL ONLINE MEETING APPROVED MINUTES February 1, 2022 ELECTED OFFICIALS PRESENT Mike Nelson, Mayor Vivian Olson, Council President Kristiana Johnson, Councilmember Will Chen, Councilmember Neil Tibbott, Councilmember Diane Buckshnis, Councilmember Susan Paine, Councilmember Laura Johnson, Councilmember ALSO PRESENT Brook Roberts, Student Representative STAFF PRESENT Michelle Bennett, Police Chief Dave Turley, Administrative Services Director Angie Feser, Parks, Rec., Cultural Arts & Human Services Director Doug Merriman, Interim Comm. Serv. & Econ. Dev. Dir. Shannon Burley, Deputy Parks, Rec., Cultural Arts & Human Services Director Megan Menkveld, Deputy Admin. Serv. Dir. Emily Wagener, Human Resources Analyst Jeff Taraday, City Attorney Scott Passey, City Clerk Dave Rohde, GIS Analyst 1. CALL TO ORDER/FLAG SALUTE The Edmonds City Council virtual online meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Nelson. The meeting was opened with the flag salute. 2. LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Councilmember K. Johnson read the City Council Land Acknowledgement Statement: “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.” 3. ROLL CALL City Clerk Scott Passey called the roll. All elected officials were present, participating remotely. 4. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER TIBBOTT, TO APPROVE THE AGENDA IN CONTENT AND ORDER. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 5. AUDIENCE COMMENTS Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 2 Mayor Nelson invited participants and described the procedures for audience comments. Linda Ferkingstad, Edmonds, spoke regarding the tree ordinance voted in last year. To Mayor Nelson, she said in January 2019 when he announced his run for mayor, he stated, we are seeing Edmonds families struggle to keep up with increasing taxes and rising costs in housing. He said he would help, but he made it worse. The tree ordinance has contributed to the lack of available home inventory which has increased home prices and property taxes. He has bragged about the increase of the City’s tax income, and has deliberately devalued all single family zoned vacant properties by the value of their trees and slowed division permit acceptances, and now he endeavors for the City to purchase these properties at a steep discount, a loss for the owners. Every homeowner in Edmonds has benefited from trees cut for homes on their property. If someone cuts down a neighbors tree, you owe them three times the worth. Imagine having to pay a 25% tax, $100,000 because the City wants them to keep their trees instead of building homes on property that is zoned for homes. Mayor Nelson and the council have made undeveloped property undesirable for those needing to build homes with a pay-to-build scheme. Ms. Ferkingstad continued, taking property, the worth of their trees, from an owner no matter the reason violates the takings clause of the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which states, nor shall property be taken for public use without just compensation. Its intent is to uphold the principle that the government should not single out isolated individuals to bear excessive burdens even in support of an important public good. When this happens, the payment of just compensation provides a means of removing any special burden, not half of it. In 1960 the Supreme Court wrote, the Fifth Amendment’s takings clause was designed to bar government from forcing some people alone to bear public burdens which in all fairness and justice should be borne by the public as a whole. The Edmonds mayor and council are enforcing illegal takings. She questioned when the illegal burdens placed on owners of land in single family zones would be removed. All single family land owners have been harmed with lowered worth, delays and regulations requiring double costs for submitting applications. She questioned whether they were waiting for a class action lawsuit to restore property rights. When the tree ordinance is proven illegal in court, Edmonds may be ordered to pay three times the damages incurred by the owners. She requested the mayor and council respect Edmonds property owners and give them back the legal use and rights to their property without demanding hundreds of thousands. Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Edmonds, referred to an Edmonds Beacon article that stated revisiting the budget is good governance and accuses the mayor of hyperbole and fear mongering. She opined in the last six months, Councilmember Buckshnis and Council President Olson have been fear mongering, gaslighting, dismissive, making threats, humiliating, blaming, and belittling to anyone with an opinion that differs from theirs. The prior council worked very hard and spent months on the budget. Councilmember Buckshnis voluntarily missed four meeting during October and November when the council was discussing the budget, but because she chose to miss these important meetings for vacation plans, she now is dragging everyone back into the budget. She recalled what former Mayor Haakenson said about Councilmember Buckshnis, she does not have an accounting degree or a CPA. She was an auditor for a third world country 20 years ago. Ms. Fraley-Monillas said she has seen documented implications of Councilmember Buckshnis and Council President Olson’s half-truths, lies and stories about Councilmember Distelhorst and her to get them out of office to give her clear control over the four, coordinated with Donald Trump’s campaign associate Carolyn Strong. Ms. Fraley-Monillas said she has discussed the council’s redoing of the budget with many electeds and official boards; Edmonds is the laughing stock of the county. She knew of no other elected body that has allowed this sort of deceit and hoped the rest of the council could fight off the nonsense and create their own budget next year. To Council President Olson, Ms. Fraley-Monillas said she had hopes for her to be a good councilmember but unfortunately she has allowed Councilmember Buckshnis to run the council. Ms. Fraley-Monillas said she has given up on Councilmember Buckshnis’ ethics but hoped Council President Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 3 Olson could move forward. Councilmember Buckshnis has forced two finance directors and one HR director to quit to get away from her. After the last election, two directors gave notice and now the City faces another lawsuit from staff due to Councilmember Buckshnis and Council President Olson. The writing is on the wall if the council follows her. She hoped they were independent and looked at this for what it was and that they moved forward in a productive manner. She said she enjoys being off council and it gives her a voice that she will continue. Natalie Seitz, Edmonds, referred to the comments she provided in writing which were not attached to the January 25, 2022 minutes. She regularly reads all the comments and would appreciate them being included in the minutes which she believed was the intent of the city based on the note that written comments submitted to PublicComment@Edmondswa.gov are attached. She read her January 25, 2022 comments, noting they contain a slight modification based on new information and to meet the time limit with this expanded introduction. With regard to Marina Beach, I would like to thank council for the courage to pause the Marina Beach project as a pre-decision to the marsh and to support the equitable distribution of park resources. I fully support and commend the council for this tough decision. I also want to thank and recognize the significant effort that city staff put into getting a project to 30% design and grants for 20% of the cost. With regard to the proposed budget amendments, a REDI manager is needed. I want to point out the need for this position by highlighting two decisions that the council made at the January 18th meeting. Acceptance of the Frances Anderson Center lease agreements which provide taxpayer maintained space at below market value and at lower tax burden to recreation service providers including a daycare. Private daycares in other areas of the city that are more densely populated, diverse and have greater financial need have to pay fair market rate for their facilities, applicable maintenance and taxes which are passed on to families in the form of tuition. A REID program manager would help the City better understand the relationship between these decisions and equity. Ms. Seitz continued, the council just paused the Marina Beach project to promote more equitable investment, but only after a tremendous amount of City staff time and costs. The REDI program manager is needed and would prevent critical staff resources from being spent on projects ultimately not carried forward. A public information officer is needed. The City needs better capability to inform all Edmonds residents, 83% of which do not live in the downtown area. A new FTE is likely needed. I support the transition of a part-time contract project manager to a full-time project manager planner staff position. This is a needed staff resource to allow for the City to implement park systemwide initiatives around ADA, equity and maintenance and to allow the potential to implement asset management systems that would both save the City money, provide better service and better information to support long term decision making. I support any needed expenses for the new satellite city hall office on Highway 99. I support the study of a police station relocation and/or city hall relocation to a location that is central to the City population and commercial center. I support streetlights in the Lake Ballinger area. I do not support the motion to add $100,000 for the 4th Avenue corridor project. This is planning for a special use park that exceeds the investment identified in the draft PROS Plan for all three new neighborhood parks in underserved areas combined. The downtown area already has 38.62 acres of special use park, far more than all areas of the City combined which is 8.22 acres. Corky [no last name provided], Edmonds, asked why cuts to the police department were being considered and pointed out the importance of providing them current vehicles, techniques and leadership. It seems these tactics mirror everything going on in the country. The people that defend us and keep us safe are valued and that needs to be recognized. Edmonds will continue to grow and the residents need to be kept safe. No other department in the City is on duty 24/7. When responding, they often do not know what situation they will encounter. They need to be protected as much as they protect us. Instead of beating up and discussing what they have done wrong, he suggested finding things they have done right and praise them. They should not be required to drive in poorly functioning equipment and they should be involved in the community. The members of the police department are all great people who go home each day to Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 4 families; their families need to be safe and they rely on their teammates to do that. Every time the council looks at the police department, either they do not totally understand what goes on or take them for granted; you shouldn’t take the people who keep you safe for granted, something he urged the council to consider. He commended the selection of the police chief and recommended keeping all these things in mind when looking the 2022 budget. Cheryl Foster, Edmonds, urged the council’s strong consideration of a budget allocation in support of the 4th Avenue corridor. Everyone was justifiably proud when Edmonds won the first cultural designation in the state. Part of that designation was predicated on the fact that the City would be working on the 4th Avenue corridor. That designation has brought a lot of status and tourism dollars, something the City would not want to risk losing by not supporting the 4th Avenue corridor project. If an allocation is not made, it was her understanding the City was in danger of losing that designation, a huge embarrassment for the City. The City would also lose the potential $34,000 in matching funds from the State. She urged the council to give a lot of thought to keeping the prestigious designation as a cultural center. Councilmember Buckshnis raised a point of order, stating the last four audience comments were related to the budget other than Ms. Seitz who was reading her January 25th email. Mayor Nelson said he mentioned that and people do not seem to listen. If he tries to enforce it, people say he is silencing them so, “I can’t win ‘em all.” Jim Ogonowski, Edmonds, said overall the PROS Plan is a good overview of the City’s existing park system and obviously a lot of effort went into the document. His primary concern with the plan was the goalposts seem to have been moved as it seemed like the plan reduced the metric for park area per capita by almost 50% which alters the perspective of what we have versus what we need. He questioned the wisdom of altering the metric by which the City measures itself. Left as proposed this will become another enabler for higher density housing in Edmonds since park area per capita will be diminished. He suggested this plan could be a cornerstone of a comprehensive plan to develop a one Edmonds type philosophy which would require integrating the thoughts of this plan with other stakeholders. However, it would required a vision for the City to do it right. The plan also highlights accomplishments over the last six years; he asked how these accomplishments aligned with the 2016 PROS Plan, noting that was difficult to determine by reading the document. He questioned whether the PROS Plan was simply relegated to the bookshelf and the City does what it wants. He asked how much confidence residents should have that this plan will be any different than the 2016 plan relative to accomplishments. During the 2022 budget review and CIP process last year, it was stated that the parks budget would need to be altered based on the new PROS Plan. He questioned how it would be altered; over $6 million is allocated to land acquisition over the planning period identified in the plan. He asked whether the plan was to build a reserve in the current budget for this purpose. He did not see anything in the PROS Plan that addressed safety, specifically sidewalks and safety within parks which he felt should be first and foremost in all deliberations. Ken Reidy, Edmonds, said the night Resolution 1150 was passed, former City Attorney Scott Snyder stated release of confidential executive session information was a crime and a potential basis for forfeiture of office and that executive session information remained confidential as long as city council felt it should remain confidential. Resolution 1150 was intended to establish an orderly way to decide when executive session privilege ended. Resolution 1150 passed unanimously and has never been repealed or rescinded. He questioned whether the council is reaching consensus regarding when to break the confidentiality of an executive session. For example, has this been done for current, pending property purchases? The city council used to keep minutes of executive session to satisfy the public at a future date that the council discussed appropriate issues in executive session which was in the public interest. Such practice was done away with via Resolution 1360, a legislative act contrary to the public interest. He requested the council add an item to next week’s agenda to reconsider and rescind Resolution 1360. Per RCW 42.30.110, the Edmonds City Council may exclude the public from the meeting place and meet in executive session to Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 5 discuss certain matters. However, entering executive session is optional, not mandatory. Executive session discussions sometimes do not warrant permanent confidentiality. Mr. Reidy continued, rescinding Resolution 853 via Resolution 1360 was a decision promoting permanent confidentiality of all executive session discussions, even when the reason for the executive session has expired. The 1996 Edmonds City Council voted it was in the public interest to maintain summary minutes. The rescission of Resolution 853 twenty years later was contrary to open government and not in the public interest. History shows council has a practice of reaching consensus in executive session. The October 2, 2012 city council meeting minutes indicate council reaches consensus in executive session by head nods and/or by discussion. Resolution 1150 even adopted policy requiring the city council to reach a consensus prior to adjournment of the executive session. The 2016 vote by city council was a blow to open government and harmed the citizens of Edmonds. The 2016 city council had an opportunity to be the beacon for open government and transparency in the State of Washington and improve on Resolution 853; instead, the 2016 city council chose to rescind this good policy adopted because it was in the pubic interest. He hoped the 2022 city council will change all that and requested they reconsider Resolution 1360. Beth Fleming, Edmonds, shared her support and thanks for the city council taking the opportunity to review the proposed budget amendments and to discuss whether what was passed was actually fiscally responsible for the City. Bringing the budget back and not spending unrestricted reserve dollars was a priority and something that could be considered in the discussion of the amendments. She referred to the amendment related to the REDI manager, commenting money could be saved via the use of a consultant versus a full-time new position. There is a lot of discussion around the marsh and Perrinville Creek watershed and the partnership with Lynnwood which she supported. She referred to #61, green streets and raingardens, which seemed to need further clarification based on the federal funds received earlier this year. She also supported reviewing the $200,000 for the human services division. She thanked the council for doing their due diligence and showing the citizens that good governance can happen in Edmonds. Cynthia Sjoblom, Edmonds, expressed support for the blue and every word stated by Corky. With rising crime in all areas including Edmonds, the City needs to ensure the police are provided with what they need to protect Edmonds citizens. She urged the council not to cut their budget. She urged citizens to support SB 5919 that will help restore the ability for Edmonds police to do their jobs and help untie their hands. The council needs to revisit the budget as citizens were not happy with the way the budget was handled. She expressed support for Mr. Reidy’s comments; there should not be confidential executive session as the council represents their constituents. Minutes of executive session need to be provided to ensure transparency; government is not meant to operate in a clandestine manner and that is the reason the public trust has been violated. 6. APPROVAL OF THE CONSENT AGENDA COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO APPROVE THE CONSENT AGENDA. Council President Olson announced Item 6.7, Temporary Employment Agreement, was removed as it was not ready. A MOTION WAS MADE BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON AND SECONDED THAT ITEM 6.3, APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 25, 2022, WOULD BE AMENDED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CITY CLERK’S MEMO THAT WAS SENT AT 12:24 TODAY. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, THAT CONSENT AGENDA ITEM 6.7, TEMPORARY EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT FOR ADMIN Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 6 HELP IN COUNCIL OFFICE, BE SET OVER TO THE PERSONNEL COMMITTEE FOR NEXT WEEK’S COMMITTEE MEETINGS. Councilmember Paine commented there are elements of the draft contract that need further discussion and the committee is the proper place for that. Council President Olson said she was supportive of having personnel related items go through that committee. However, this item is already somewhat down a path with the support of the HR director and the legal team. To the extent that effort is in conflict with the amendment, she requested the council not mandate anything for the temporary contracts. She will coordinate with the personnel team to the extent she is able based on the timing. UPON ROLL CALL, AMENDMENT FAILED (3-4), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, PAINE AND L. JOHNSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS K. JOHNSON, TIBBOTT, AND BUCKSHNIS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING NO. MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. The agenda items approved are as follows: 1. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 25, 2022 2. APPROVAL OF 6:30 PM COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 18, 2022 3. APPROVAL OF COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES OF JANUARY 25, 2022 (AS AMENDED) 4. APPROVAL OF CLAIM CHECKS 5. ACKNOWLEDGE RECEIPT OF A CLAIM FOR DAMAGES FROM DAWN RIDGWAY 6. ARTS COMMISSION CANDIDATE APPOINTMENT 7. PUBLIC HEARING 1. PUBLIC HEARING ON PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE 2022 ADOPTED CITY BUDGET Mayor Nelson asked if the Council wanted to have discussion first or go straight to the public hearing. Council President Olson said unless Councilmember Buckshnis had an opinion, otherwise she was happy to go straight to the public hearing. Councilmember Buckshnis recalled the council voted so the sequence of events was clear. Mayor Nelson opened the public hearing. Brad Bernatek, Edmonds, said he has an MBA, a master’s in financial economics and 25 years of financial experience including in the public sector; despite that experience and a review of the budget, he was not in a great position to offer feedback on the specifics of the amendments and would hazard to guess that most citizens are in the same boat. He offered comments regarding the process moving forward, stating his comments were directed at the mayor, previous council majority and new council majority. With regard to the budget timeline, it seems completely reasonable and prudent to have an adopted budget before early December so City staff can act on the budget in a timely fashion, particularly in the current economic climate where hiring timelines are extended. There should always be opportunity to revise the budget based on new information, but it is now 32 days into the new budget year and it is hard not to wonder whether Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 7 some of this isn’t a game of tit for tat. Some of the amendments seem reasonable, many he was unable to speak to with any authority but overall he wondered about the process. When it comes to citizen input, as many opportunities as possible should be offered, but at the end of the day, the council makes the decisions on citizens’ behalf which is why they are paid the big bucks. Second, related to governance, he appreciated Councilmember Chen’s financial experience, but there should be a clear and consistent process regarding which elected council approves the budget. For the most part, councilmembers are seated in January and he assumed there was an exception due to there being an appointed seat. He may have some questions about the acceleration of the budget approval by a week or two but he also had great concerns about the rhetoric about invoking the will of the people when one thinks it is advantageous to their position, commenting that sounded a bit like Mitch McConnell politics. He said it would be wise to decouple the budget process completely from the timing of the seating of new councilmembers. Mr. Bernatek continued, third, the hyperbolic rhetoric on any side of the issue is unhelpful; these expenditures represent a fraction of the City budget and it seems overblown to suggest these cuts would make Edmonds unsafe, polluted and uninformed. Likewise, it was not financial Armageddon. Fourth, related to the use of unrestricted fund balance, it was his understanding the City was to maintain a fund balance of 16%, but the estimated yearend was well above that, he recalled 46%. If there are policies that should be followed to draw down fund balances such as going to the Finance Committee, those should be followed. He requested those who voted in favor of the 2022 budget explain more clearly why the draw down of the fund balance is sustainable in the long term as a short term funding solution. Conversely, he did not understand why the City was maintaining such a high fund balance relative to City policy. If there is a strong argument for a higher fund balance relative to best practice, that should be reflected in policy, otherwise it is too easy to appeal to potential economic downturns that are always on the horizon and to never draw down an excessively high fund balance. He thanked the council for their service, recognizing budgeting was never easy but asked that the council do better going forward. Maralyn Chase, Edmonds (Esperance), said although Esperance is not yet part of Edmonds, she knew the City wants to annex their square mile of real estate with 4,000 residents so residents watch the City’s governance structure and public policies. The existing budget reflects the community’s priorities for themselves and future generations and expect the budget to demonstrate their belief in universal human rights and that they will be governed with fairness and justice which she believed the existing budget did. The community wants to support the council in the spirit of principled, centered governance, but that presents challenges in times of scarce resources and the ever increasing unfairness in the distribution of incumbent wealth. The budget reflects our priorities and she hoped the council’s deliberations would be driven by concerns for justice and fairness and human rights of all people across the City. She urged the council to maintain the full human services budget and fund efforts to fight climate change including preparations for resilience should the big one hit. She also supported a full-time racial equity advisor, commenting it was needed as the public record demonstrates. She thanked the council for their service. Adrienne Fraley-Monillas, Edmonds, thanked Senator Chase for her comments and said she would love to meet with Mr. Bernatek for a few moments. She referred to the budget request for a fence around the police department parking lot, pointing out there have been over 50 incidents of vandalism, it would provide a pedestrian safety barrier, and the police department has been asking for a fence since she was on council in 2010. She urged the council to continue to move that item forward, finding it ridiculous if they didn’t. With regard to police cameras, she said there have been multiple lawsuits over the years due to alleged police abuse which she did not believe had happened, but until the police wore body cameras, those could not be deterred. She said the proposal to get rid of the cameras was one of the dumbest moves she had seen yet. With regard to human services funding, she pointed out a homeless person cannot be removed unless an equal or better satiation was provided; there is nothing in the City of Edmonds. Cutting the human services budget was incompetence at best. She was very disappointed and hoped the council would move forward with funding for human services. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 8 Ms. Fraley-Monillas recalled every councilmember ran on the promise to fix Highway 99, something she had heard for the last ten years; everyone wants to fix Highway 99. The only one to do anything is the current mayor and Councilmembers Paine and L. Johnson are interested, but everyone else talks about it and then does nothing. She encouraged the council to continue supporting Highway 99. She found it so silly that some councilmembers wanted to reduce the PIO from full-time to part-time when the PIO is the only person who gets out in the community. She anticipated few councilmembers besides Councilmember Chen knew the boundaries of Edmonds. It is important to have a PIO to reach out to different areas of Edmonds and gather people together. She envisioned Councilmember Buckshnis, Council President Olson and possibly Councilmember K. Johnson were doing this as a personal vendetta against the mayor. She supported the PIO due to the need for improved communication and not in the downtown. Heather Damron, Edmonds, expressed support for the previously adopted 2022 budget, especially keeping the PIO as a full-time position rather than reducing it to part-time. Edmonds residents have become more engaged and vocal over the past few years with more callers into council meetings and comments online voicing opinions on local matters important to them, but for the most part, the City only hears from people who regularly engage online. The City Facebook page has slightly over 6,000 followers and the local news pages reach just over 12,000 and she suspected there was a lot of over lap between the three. She wondered how residents who rely on print or who are not online daily were being informed. With only one part-time communications person, it is understandable why other methods like mailings, a blog or print media, ideally translated into multiple language, were difficult because those methods require more time and planning than can be accomplished in 20 hours/week. Other jurisdictions in the region have one or more full-time staff dedicated to keeping residents informed. Mill Creek employs at least 2 in their communications department for a city of approximately 21,000 and the Edmonds School District, which serves 22,000 students, has a communications department of 6. She hears from older neighbors and friends, especially those who work and do not have a lot of time to spend online, that they do not learn about workshops or surveys with enough time to be involved. She never hears people say they get too much information from the City. A part-time position can do a great job of informing residents of urgent emergencies and can reach residents who are active online, but older residents and those who are not online daily also deserve to be informed. She urged the Council to retain the full-time PIO role as approved in the original budget. The return on investment is a more informed citizenry, broader scope of conversation and overall better citywide communication. Dee Shaw Cooper, Edmonds, looked forward to City meetings being held in person soon and City offices open to the public. She voiced her concerns about the City subsidizing or granting car charging stations and solar panels with taxpayer money. If someone purchases an electric car, they can purchase their own charger and if someone purchases a home, they should purchase their own upgrades such as solar panels. She suggested workplaces could supply car chargers for their employees as a perk, but that was not something the City should provide for citizens. She did not support hiring a full-time PIO; if there is a question, citizens should be able to reach out to councilmembers or other City officials if the part-time staff person is unavailable or wait for their reply. It is nice that friends of the mayor and the PIO call in to support her, but it is not a reason to keep the position and increase it to full-time. She thanked the council for reviewing the budget tonight, especially items that were not thoroughly reviewed. She appreciated the council’s hard work. Natalie Seitz, Edmonds, said she supported investment in the public information officer, transition of the part-time contract project manager to a project manager planner FTE, any needed expense for new satellite city hall office on Highway 99, study of the relocation of the police station and/or city hall and improved lighting in the Lake Ballinger area. She did not support the motion to add a project design for the 4th Avenue corridor; this investment should be evaluated as part of the PROS Plan process. She relayed her support for a full-time REDI program manager as it is a needed investment for the City and is commensurate with the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 9 investment made by cities of similar size. The long-standing investment pattern within the City has elevated the property values in the downtown area and compressed property values in the commercial center of the City, the SR 99 corridor. The corridor is now painted red for redevelopment in the buildable lands report which is in many ways the result of the City’s long-standing under-investment in this area. The lack of investment in combination with specific risk factors for this area based on the 2015-2019 American Community Survey, more than 40% multiracial or non-white population, more than 60% without a bachelor’s degree or higher, more than 55% renters, median individual income less than 80% of median household income and more than 15% of children below the poverty level. Ms. Seitz continued, these risk factors, in combination with significant redevelopment of the roadway, gateway revitalization and nearby Community Transit, all point to the City being on the verge of experiencing significant population displacement. A REDI program manager would be central to the development of an anti-displacement strategy to help the diverse SR-99 community stay in Edmonds. In so many facets of the City, the fondest saying is, we are not like Seattle. Seattle has redeveloped Columbia City and South Lake Union, gentrifying and displacing that population. She urged the council not to be like Seattle when it came to the SR-99 corridor and to make the investment now in the existing Edmonds community and a permanent REDI program manager in order to prevent displacement. She thanked the council for the opportunity to read her January 25th comments during Audience Comments. She was happy to be part of the public discourse, wished all a Happy Lunar New Year and thanked the council for their service, time and consideration of her comments. Jim Ogonowski, Edmonds, thanked the council for the opportunity to speak as he was one of the ones who was silenced last year. He agreed with most, although not all, the budget cuts proposed by various councilmembers tonight. Many of the amendments were proposed due to lack of information from the administration to justify the budget in the first place, so many could be reinstated in whole or part if the administration cooperated with the city council in a working together approach to find common ground. His overarching concern with the current budget was it spends more than projected revenues, relying on depleting reserves to balance it, a concept that needed to change. He recommended getting back to basics and develop a budget based on what the City needs, not what the mayor wants. A budget that is balanced and within projected revenues and not spending from reserves intended for emergencies. A budget that is practical and pragmatic, prioritized to provide essential services and not for unrealistic or unsubstantiated ideals. A budget that prioritizes public safety first, that improves the public infrastructure for all and not a few, and that is directed toward a future vision for the City which all had a hand in creating. Once there is a well-thought out budget, the mayor needs to be held accountable for spending the taxpayers’ money in an efficient manner that provides expected results per predetermined schedules and milestones, all of which will require leadership which hopefully will begin tonight. Scott Merrick, Edmonds, said he is retired after a career in technology and legal technology marketing, and currently serving his second term on the Edmonds Economic Development Commission. He offered his support for the budget amendment to move forward the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor. He relayed his reasons, first, the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor project is vital to the community to increase the focus on diversity in Edmonds. The corridor will provide a focal point for all of Edmonds to recognize different cultures represented in greater Edmonds. Last Saturday’s Lunar New Year’s event was a great example of how the corridor could be used to facilitate awareness and cultural traditions and bring disparate parts of Edmonds together to learn about diversity and celebrate differences. Holding that wonderful event in the crowded Centennial Plaza prevented a lot of people from participating. Imagine having that cultural event and others like the Day of the Dead in an exciting cultural corridor. Second, there is a significant grant matching opportunity of $35,000 from the State if the budget is approved. This would provide a significant contribution to begin the next steps of design development for the corridor. The grant must be applied for by February 15, 2022; failure to apply could indicate to the State that the City is no longer pursuing the 4th Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 10 Avenue Cultural Corridor project and without that capital improvement project, the City risks losing the designation of the State’s first Creative District. Mr. Merrick continued, third, Edmonds is known as an arts town; people come to Edmonds to experience visual, performance and culinary arts and it is a primary driver of the economy. The ECA brings in a significant amount of revenue to the City; having a cultural corridor that links downtown to the ECA will enhance experiences to eat, shop and enjoy all that Edmonds has to offer. It will be a truly unique experience in the State to have such a wonderful street demonstrating creative ways to connect the community and its culture in a Creative District. The money could be spent in other parts of Edmonds, but the economic benefits of this investment will be realized by all Edmonds communities for a long time and help bring them together as we look to better days ahead. He referred to lights in the road on 4th Avenue which have been in place for a number of years, and look like a runway lighting the way to the ECA. The lights are solar and are starting to dim a bit as they age. Imagine how bright it could be if the vision for a true cultural corridor was fulfilled that lights all of our hearts and travels through Edmonds. Nora Carlson, Edmonds, said she was honored to serve along with many other arts advocates on the Creative District Advisory Committee and recommended the council reconsider providing funds for the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor. The funding will propel forward the next phase in a project that has been supported by City leadership along with the community and planned for since its original inception in 2005. To retain the exceptional recognition of being the first designated Creative District in the State by the Washington State Arts Commission, the City is required to continue forward momentum on the special project of the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor. Funding will make the difference for this project. She pictured a wonderful space along 4th Avenue from Main Street to connect with the Edmonds Center for the Arts, greatly enhanced by street design and other improvements where special cultural events can be held when the street is closed to vehicles. This street also features several historic homes and buildings that can be highlighted for people to enjoy viewing as they stroll the area. She referred to the Lunar New Year celebration at two locations where marvelous performances delighted the crowd; imagine if there was space along the 4th Avenue Cultural Corridor where the lion dance could move through the space and many more people could easily view the action. Multicultural events along 4th Avenue would be a wonderful addition to the wide variety of inclusive performances that the ECA regularly holds. She appreciated the council’s service to the community and consideration of her request. Ken Reidy, Edmonds, said the December 10, 2020 meeting minutes show that he asked council to please budget to complete a full rewrite of the city code. The city code contains two parts, the Edmonds City Code, ECC, also known as the Edmonds Municipal Code, which consists of titles 1 through 10 that address issues such as health, safety and finance. The Edmonds Community Development Code, ECDC, consists of titles 15 through 24 that address issues such as building, planning and land use. Both the ECC and ECDC have required updating for years. He has asked City officials to provide a status update of the code update for years as well as asked why hundreds of thousands of dollars previously budgeted have not resulted in execution of the code rewrite; city officials have refused to answer these basic questions. While doing all budgeting, he urged the council to ask themselves what they could do if their budget was not executed by a mayor and City staff; this is a very important question and citizens deserve to know how this works. The December 3, 2013 council meeting minutes indicate he said the code rewrite is the biggest issue facing the City and that establishing a comprehensive, accurate, consistent and easy-to-administer city code is critical to the City’s efforts to provide a high level of government service that invites economic and other beneficial activities. Mr. Reidy continued, former City Attorney Scott Snyder stated in his November 2007 Annual Report that the biggest issue at the start of 2007 was the code rewrite. Mr. Snyder stated the intent was to begin the rewrite last year and finish this year, 2007. Mr. Snyder summarized that the code rewrite was approximately a year behind scheduled as of November 2007. Today is February 1, 2022; as a citizen he argued that the Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 11 code rewrite is still the biggest issue that needs to be resolved. He urged the council not to dip into $2.1 million of unrestricted reserves, especially when mayors refuse to explain why previous budgets are not executed. He requested the council: • Define what a green street is. He questioned how DP 61 got approved when this is so vague. • Eliminate the public information officer position. He asks City government many questions on a regular basis and in his opinion, this position has not impacted the City’s practice of refusing to answer questions. • Delete DP 60, develop a Perrinville Creek restoration plan, detail the cost involved, properly involve the public during council’s approval process. Have council approve a plan before budgeting for it. Lora Hein, Edmonds, said she has frequently watch city council meetings over many months and the amount of disruption caused by disagreeable behavior on the part of some citizens and councilmembers does the City a great disservice. It is time for all, residents and councilmembers alike, to take Edmonds forward with civil and mature attention to the very real challenges that need to be addressed. We are still grappling with a pandemic that continues raging here and elsewhere. There are environmental and social imperatives that need attention. Last year, after lengthy deliberation, the council passed a budget that met many of the essential needs for safety, shelter and security for all Edmonds residents as well as measures to protect against environmental degradation and support economic vitality. She was dismayed that some councilmembers are now choosing to undo what was decided to prevent forward motion and exacerbate divisions sown during the contentious election of last year. She urged the council to use taxpayer dollars as intended, to improve services rather than degrade them, protect from changing conditions rather than leave the most vulnerable unprotected from pollution and increasing exposure to harm, and continue to improve the unique character that makes all of Edmonds a desirable community to live in and visit. Rather than attend to every detail and the factious claims made in the numerous budget amendments proposed last week, she urged the council to choose their actions carefully with the long term wellbeing of Edmonds in mind. Senator Chase spoke articulately to many of her concerns and she urged the council to consider the views she expressed. She thanked councilmembers for their service and wished them Happy New Year. Janelle Cass, Edmonds, thanked the council for taking another opportunity to look at the budget and felt it was important to have Councilmember Chen’s voice heard and accounted for in the amendments. She supported this effort in view of rising costs of goods and services. As she approaches the renewal of her lease downtown, which is affected by CPI, the increase is over 7% this year, last year it was 2-3%. Now is not the time to dip into reserves; the council should be extra cautious with taxpayers’ money because of unknowns around the bend and because of increased expenses to run the City. She supported cutting the installation of the electric charging stations and to wait to purchase vehicles because they are extremely expensive this year and perhaps as supply chains improve, pricing will be better next year. She thanked the council for relooking at the budget and encouraged them to be fiscally responsible in these uncertain times. Hearing no further public comment, Mayor Nelson closed the public hearing. Councilmember Buckshnis advised the intent was to provide information, ask questions, etc. Mayor Nelson said his staff is available to answer questions. Councilmember Buckshnis reviewed the proposed 2022 budget amendments: # 1 - REDI Manager • There was not sufficient information to support an on-going FTE. With this issue comes two motions: 1) Hire consultant to evaluate City on REDI metrics (what has already been done and what needs to be done) and propose three alternatives to accomplishing that work” and with that the allocation reduced to 70K Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 12 2) Substitute Motion: Hire REDI Manager for year one of a intended three year position to assess what is done, what needs to be done, to do the work, to train staff, and to set systems in place to carry on the work internally and with an occasional professional services contract after the three year period. Councilmember Buckshnis advised subsequent information had been provided by HR Director Neill Hoyson, but it was her understanding she was on leave now. Mayor Nelson agreed she was on leave but other was staff was present to answer questions. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was summarizing this on behalf of the councilmember who submitted it and no information was provided regarding why it was a full-time position. She recalled $70,000 was allocated last year for a REDI consultant, relaying the question regarding the difference between a full-time position and what the City was using now. Human Resources Analyst Emily Wagener relayed her understanding that the consultants are working with the leadership team to identify what is needed in this area. Ultimately, the position would provide ongoing support to staff to carry out what the consultants determine is needed. There are several ongoing job duties that would be required of the ongoing full-time position such as working with mayor on issues, assisting the HR department and just being the point of contact for these kind of concerns. She anticipated the position would grow as more is learned about what is needed throughout this process. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if this position would handle the hate portal. Ms. Wagener said she did not know. Councilmember L. Johnson referred to the comment that there was no justification for this position, pointing out the justification has been seen across country; a call to action to address the impact of the injustices related to race privilege, prejudice and power. Front and center is the need to address these in a meaningful way, in a way that is more than just lip service. This call is also coming from the Edmonds community; the REDI position is a recommendation of the Diversity Commission as well as the Mayor’s Equity and Justice Task Force. Social justice is a process that requires action; to not perpetuate or cause additional harm, there needs to be an expert trained in REDI work and this individual’s knowledge will help more effectively and equitably allocate City resources. This was mentioned quite eloquently during in citizen comments. Councilmember L. Johnson continued, the position will reduce problems and promote community wellbeing. The best justification came in an email from Ms. Neill-Hoyson who said REDI work is ongoing work, it is not any different than having a person dedicated to ensuring streets are worked on regularly. Having this person on staff shows the City’s commitment to this work on an ongoing basis. With everything in the news and everything people are talking about, she was surprised there was a suggestion to cut this position. This position was needed a long time ago and she firmly believed it needed to be retained in the budget. Councilmember Paine encouraged councilmembers to ask questions now when they have the opportunity. She supported the REDI manager position, anticipating they would work as a program manager, adviser, consultant and trainer on tasks for which the need has been highlighted over the last several years and gaps that are becoming more visible. This work will be internal for the City and external for the entire community. Equity work is apparent in some of tonight’s budget proposals as well as last year. Examples include the body-worn cameras; a new focus on the PROS Plan, what is done with parks and having an equity lens on that effort; revisions and review of the comprehensive plan. All of this is work that would benefit the entire community and all the City’s programs, policies and procedures need to be refreshed. She referred to comments about the need to review the code, noting the policies and procedures used to develop policies need to be reviewed. It is absolutely important to have a permanent position so changes can be put in place through training, guidance and coaching. She recalled when these amendments were proposed two weeks ago, it was the day after the Martin Luther King holiday. She reminded that this struggle is still Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 13 ongoing and the community recognizes it is an ongoing body of work that all communities are facing. It is important to do the work necessary on this issue . Councilmember Chen thanked Councilmember Paine for encouraging councilmembers to ask questions. This position on the surface is super important; everyone wants racial equity and inclusion. His question is what are we hiring this person to do, are we throwing money at it and waiting for this person to figure out things to do or do we know what we want them to accomplish? Mayor Nelson recalled a presentation by Ms. Neill Hoyson before Councilmember Chen was a councilmember and said there is a job description with all the position’s duties. Ms. Wagener pointed out the current consultants are working with the departments and the mayor to identify areas that this position will work on. Some of the key roles for the REDI manager will be working closely with staff, directors, the mayor and the HR director to ensure the areas identified by the consultant are put into action. The position will likely grow, but there are already some identified areas. Councilmember Chen cautioned the council and the audience that racial equity and inclusion is a change of heart, it is not something that one person can do. Certainly one person can identify programs and steer people in the right direction, but everyone knows it is important. The reason there are still opportunities to improve is because everyone needs to work on it, it is not just one person’s job. It is about HR’s hiring practices, about leaders at the top, how treat we each other on a daily basis, how people looking at someone who looks different from them or a political candidate that is not their favorite and try to exclude them. He said some of the people who made comments earlier and some councilmembers know exactly what he is talking about. Councilmember Tibbott agreed that this was an area that everyone wants to move forward in the City. A number of resources are available to councilmembers; AWC recently added courses. He has attended two diversity training opportunity in the last two months. There are many opportunities to grow as individuals in this area; he encouraged all to think about equity, diversity and inclusion training as something everyone embodies, particularly at the director level. He was interested in a consultant that would be available to all City staff and councilmembers, not just directors and the mayor. He expressed support for a consultant that broadens training and availability and supported the opportunities for staff, councilmembers and the mayor to take advantage of training available to them. Council President Olson said inequity and injustice in the way we do business is not acceptable. She took opposition to a statement made earlier that the sitting council had not acted on equity during the last two years. The council made some significant changes to approaches and decisions and she expected that to continue. To the point that Councilmember Tibbott made that much of it comes from personal efforts; that can be enhanced by the City encouraging and supporting training, but a lot of councilmembers have done that on their own. Although she is overall onboard with this as a priority, she was resistant to it being a full- time, forever-after liaison, watchdog position because she felt this was the mayor’s role. It is the mayor’s organization and it something that is carried from the top and a culture that is built. To the extent that some support from the outside is needed for one, two or three years to help electeds and staff get up to readiness to take that on internally, she was supportive of that and assessing the need on an annual basis. She did not think this was something that should be shopped out and located into a hub, it needs to be in all of us, in every departments and be an internal culture as opposed to a single person who is an enforcement arm for the City. Council President Olson said she was very supportive of one of the two budget amendments, neither says it should not be done; she would even support amending the first motion to increase the dollar amount. She was not supportive of the concept of it being an FTE that is repeated automatically, commenting when bureaucracy is created in a city, it never goes away. There is always the opportunity to go to a full-time Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 14 employee in the future if it is a position that needs to be there forever after. She summarized, until we build the culture, we won’t know if that position still has relevance once it’s there. Councilmember K. Johnson said it was without question that diversity, equity and inclusion were key words for this new era we’re living in; it’s part of the state legislators’ goals and like many unfunded mandates, there are struggles with how to implement it. She asked several questions regarding the past use of consultants including how much was spent and the products they produced and it was only recently that Councilmember Chen got an answer when he asked that question. She was very frustrated with the lack of transparency on this subject with the council. It would have been great if the council had all been briefed as part of this budget amendment rather than proposing a new FTE. She reminded with all FTEs, there is an associated 30% for benefits. Unless we know what we’re asking for, there is no way to know what we’ll get. For those reasons she supported these two budget amendments, because it tries to bring some reality to the situation rather than a blank check. These were her questions and frustrations; it was not that she did not believe the City should not move forward in this area, but she was interested in what was the best and most fiscally responsible way to move forward. Those issues are behind the philosophical questions that are being asked tonight. Councilmember L. Johnson referred to a January 25, 2022 email from Director Neill Hoyson that contains 25 bullets items that outline what the REDI manager will do. The vast nature of the position has been well answered and she was confused why there were still questions about what the position would do. She encouraged councilmembers to read Director Neill Hoyson’s very detailed analysis of what the position can do. Councilmember Chen said he also asked Director Neill Hoyson about what the REDI consultant the City hired has accomplished over the past year. It sounds like what they are working on is mapping from department to department and there were no concrete plans, actions or programs reached which was part of his concern. He would support a REDI manager and agreed it was a full-time job, but he wanted the council to have an option to renew the position on an annual basis to ensure the right person was doing the work. As everyone knew, this was a very sensitive subject he did not want to commit to a position because if the wrong person with the wrong skill set was hired, they could potentially cause more harm than benefit. Councilmember Buckshnis asked for a time check, recalling one hour was allocated for this item. She recognized there were a couple amendments that people want to discuss such as the REDI manager. She asked if the intent was to continue reviewing the amendments, noting people seem to be repeating their positions. Mayor Nelson said the agenda specified 60 minutes for this topic; the council is 1/4 to 1/3 into it. Councilmember Buckshnis suggested continuing on with other important amendments. As Councilmember Buckshnis began to introduce the next amendment, Councilmember Paine raised a point of order, stating she had one more discussion point on the first amendment. Councilmember K. Johnson relayed councilmembers are only allowed speak twice on any motion or topic. Mayor Nelson said this would be Councilmember Paine’s second time speaking on this topic. Councilmember Paine pointed out social justice and equity work has been ongoing in the broader community for over a decade. Some communities have been work on this for over 15 years. Edmonds would benefit from putting better practices developed by other communities put into place with the support of a REDI manager. To Councilmember Paine, Councilmember Chen said people have been working on this issue for 150 years, not just 5 years. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 15 Councilmember Buckshnis reviewed: #11 – One Commander FTE • Proposed organizational restructure of the Police Department should be brought forth to a council committee. Appropriation is premature. • Motion: Remove this decision packet. Councilmember Buckshnis said she was in total support of the police department restructuring. This decision package is one commander FTE which is definitely needed and the department definitely needs to be restructured, and the addition of body cameras creates additional work. The amendment proposes rather than the one commander FTE, to fast track the restructure through the council committee process and identify all the necessary positions for council review and discussion. The crime analyst is another important position as well as two positions associated with the body cameras. Budget amendments are done quarterly and a restructure would result in a fully staffed department. Council President Olson expressed support for the motion, noting people who have followed her at all know that public safety is a huge priority to her. The earlier comment about things that are budgeted for and don’t happen with transparency, that is what this budget amendment addresses. If it goes through the committee process to take a holistic look at the entire department, good decisions can be made about whether this is the right amount of money to budget. She summarized no one was against the police department getting what they need, but wanted the need fleshed out before it was funded. Councilmember Paine said discussions at the end of last year were sufficient; Police Chief Bennett was very explicit about the need for the position and the decision package was very explicit. This position should be installed right away as there are pay compression issues, this is a necessary position that came to the council along with the organizational changes. It provides greater flexibility and functionality to the police department because with the pay compression, there is very little opportunity for movement. She offered that the existing budget was optimal for this need. Councilmember L. Johnson agreed this was addressed during budget deliberations in the fall. She requested Chief Bennett restate the justification for this decision package. Chief Bennett said the justification for the position is related to the CPSM audit as well as her experience in law enforcement administration where there is no mid-level management within the department. The current rank structure goes from sergeant to assistant chief; just as the CPSM audit stated, there needs to be mid-level management for transparency and accountability within the department. Additionally there are significant pay compression issues; currently a top step sergeant to assistant chief is a difference of .09%, a significant compression issue. She believed that mid-level management positions were necessary. It would also be good to flesh out the body cam positions and other positions that are needed; those are not mutually exclusive but a commander position as proposed in the budget needs to be added. Councilmember L. Johnson asked why now in budget and why it was a priority in this budget versus waiting for a restructure. Chief Bennett answered the department is in the process of hiring two assistant chiefs; they are currently in the polygraph and psychological interview process and she hoped to hire them by March. However, it is worrisome if they will accept due to pay compression, because both are external candidates. Adding the commander position and funds in the budget to address pay compression would provide a better package for the two assistant chief candidates. She summarized that was in part the necessity for addressing this sooner rather than later. Councilmember L. Johnson recognized there have been challenges with hiring overall. She asked if not having this in place would add to the challenges of hiring. Chief Bennett said that was concern; she was not even sure adding a commander position would provide any differentiation. Part of the budget amendment Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 16 was addressing the compression issue and putting set differentials in place so the best candidates can be hired for these positions. Councilmember Buckshnis was glad Chief Bennett said the hiring of the other individual was not mutually exclusive because all the police department’s hiring needs need to be addressed. She asked if the positions were non-represented or bargained. Chief Bennett answered they were non-represented. Councilmember Buckshnis said she did not see the positions in the non-represented summary and asked if they would be added so their new salaries would be adjusted to what was found in the survey. Chief Bennett said that would be the desire, that they would be added to that study. The commander position is represented; that is where the compression issue is between top step sergeant and commander needs to be addressed. The assistant chief positions are non-represented so they need to be adjusted commensurate with differential pay between commander, assistant chief and chief. Councilmember Buckshnis relayed her understanding there would be three commanders. Chief Bennett agreed. Councilmember Buckshnis asked if the commanders needed to be updated to the non-rep policy. Chief Bennett clarified the commanders are represented; the two assistant chiefs are not represented. Councilmember K. Johnson said what caught her attention was about 1/3 of the salary is overtime; there is a base salary of $160,000 and an overtime salary of $56,000. She asked Chief Bennett to explain why there is built in overtime that is higher than the benefits. Chief Bennett said the three commanders are positions the City does not currently have. The $56,000 is actually divided among those three positions, approximately $17,000 per position per year; they are represented positions and subject to overtime. For example, during last week’s SWAT callout, the sergeant (who would be a commander) was on overtime for 12 hours which equates to $1500 in one day for one commander. Councilmember K. Johnson said that was not clear in the decision package. It talked about converting the two assistant police into one commander position and adding two sergeant positions and converting one into a commander and hiring a new commander. Chief Bennett agreed there would be three commander positions that will need to be bargained with the union and will be subject to overtime. There were additional funds in the decision package to address the pay differential issue plus the position itself. Councilmember K. Johnson said the bottom line is there will be one assistant chief and three commanders. Chief Bennett clarified there will continue to be two assistant chiefs and three commanders. The two assistant chiefs are still in the budget; this package adds one commander and two current sergeant positions will be converted to commander positions, the professional standards current sergeant and the administrative sergeant, which should probably be commander positions already due to their job descriptions. Councilmember K. Johnson referred to the narrative which states the decision package recommendation is to take one of existing two assistant chief positions and make it a commander position. Chief Bennett explained after further reflection and speaking with Administrative Services Director Dave Turley and internal discussions she has had with people in the industry, she believed it was a better idea to keep the two assistant chiefs. There is no change to the budget to add one commander and converting the two current sergeant positions. Councilmember K. Johnson recommended updating the decision package to reflect the current thinking. Chief Bennett agreed. Councilmember Buckshnis reviewed: #14 – Police Scuba Team • In the past, we had a three member dive team. While a five member team may be optimal, suggests looking for community partners to fund the service level between minimum and optimal in future years. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 17 • Motion: Decrease scuba team to three. Chief Bennett referred to an email from Sergeant Damian Smith who wanted to clarify this following the introduction at the previous council meeting; the police scuba team has had five members because two were alternates for days off so it has never been a three person team. Council President Olson said if the police scuba team is provided, it needs to be staffed properly. She was one of the councilmembers who was discouraged and unhappy that when Edmonds is basically the playground for all of Snohomish County coming to the waterfront and the dive park, that there were no community partners who contribute financially. She suggested the Fire District, Washington State Ferries and the Port of Edmonds as potential stakeholders and partners who should contribute to this. She hoped the City would make it a priority in the future to work together financially as well as in terms of response and support, etc. so the City was not carrying the bill for a service utilized by many in Snohomish County. Councilmember Paine pointed out there is an need for this due to the active dive community. The dive community talked about the needs of their community at the Planning Board’s PROS Plan presentation. If people are coming to the Edmonds community, their public safety needs to be actively supported. Councilmember Buckshnis reviewed: #16 – Public Information Officer • Not sufficient support for FTE provided. • Motion: Remove this decision packet Councilmember L. Johnson said any reduction in a community strategist PIO is a reduction in the administration’s ability to get message out and communicate with residents. Most cities Edmonds size have more than one FTE allotted to this critical function; smaller cities have a full-time person, yet this proposal is to reduce the City’s ability to engage with the public. The council prioritized engaging with the public at council retreats. Since the position was implemented, the number of press releases has increased dramatically and the amount of outreach via social media, the method many people use to communicate and get information today, has increased substantially. With that type of increase comes a more informed and engaged constituency, but that increased engagement takes time and follow-up such as media requests, monitoring social media, etc. The position also coordinates multiple events including town halls, State of the City and serves all departments of the City. Councilmember L. Johnson said she recently used the PIO, with permission, to assist in carrying out Suicide Prevention Month. The person in the position was able to help with a number of things she would not have been able to do on her own and was able to pull off a very successful event for the City. A full-time PIO helps the City to be proactive instead of reactive and is not something that can be accomplished effectively as a part-time position. There needs to be someone available full-time to respond to needs and events as they occur. Being able to engage with constituents and get information out was a priority of the previous and current council and was proposed by the earlier administration. When there are so many people interested in increased communication, she did not understand a request to reduce that ability; if anything it should be increased via the PIO, message board, any and all ways to reach out to the public should be encouraged. Councilmember Paine echoed some of what Councilmember L. Johnson said. She recalled vividly that every councilmember during the 2020 budget retreat said communication was important and that was also important at the last budget retreat. Having a full-time person adds to transparency, adds to community discussions and results in a more rich discussion. Having a more informed community helps everyone and the PIO needs to be a full-time position. The need will increase as more people become engaged so it is appropriate for the position to be full-time. Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 18 Council President Olson said she has had confusion and concern regarding the approach to communications which grays up this issue for her. She referred to the citizen comment that there hasn’t been communication from the City on a lot of admin/City topics that citizens should be able to get answers to. She had a different experience than Councilmember L. Johnson when she suggested using the PIO to get the word out about adding lighting to existing electric poles. Two different times she included the mayor and PIO on that subject, thinking that was something the public would want to hear and it wasn’t something she should be informing them as a councilmember, but nothing ever went out on that topic although it seemed like something the PIO is supposed to be doing. At the same time, the PIO is being used to put out messages that are somewhat inflammatory and concerning, causing division, or undermining what people’s motives must be if they do not agree with the mayor. She said all those things end up being bundled up for her and confuse the issue. Mayor Nelson said he is the moderator and will not tolerate someone making attacks on him. If the intent is to have a professional discussion on items before the council, that’s great, but he requested councilmembers refrain from providing examples that make personal remarks about members, particularly about the moderator who cannot defend himself. Council President Olson said she was asking if it was appropriate for the PIO to be used to undermine other City electeds. Mayor Nelson said he obviously cannot answer that question. As a refresher for those who are confused, he explained the mayor is in charge of the day-to-day operations and running of the City; the council is in charge of legislation, policy and budget. Council President Olson said she had nothing else to add but that was why she was having an issue with this budget item. Councilmember L. Johnson recalled this was discussed during budget deliberations, but since it is coming back, asked if the interim director was available to speak to this item. Interim Community Services & Economic Development Director Doug Merriman recalled the same issue was raised in Oak Harbor two years ago and they ended up hiring a full-time person. He described what he sees as the need for the position: • Why retain the PIO position at full-time 1. To take a proactive, forward thinking approach to community information and transparency rather than reporting “after the fact” 2. A part-time position does not allow for enough time capacity to incorporate a more strategic approach how we communicate to the community o Data: 2021: 97 press releases - nearly double the previous year o Last 28 days: Facebook page reached 9,571 interactions and 520 comments to be monitored 3. Allows City staff to be “out there” actively engaging with our community o Public topics of interest o Quick responses to media inquires o Enhance our transparency to citizens on city initiatives, project and council goals and objectives o Emergency events – provide a “go to” resource in times of emergency ▪ Road conditions, weather alerts, beach closures o Marketing the best of City of Edmonds community 4. Centralize internal departmental efforts. Potential cost savings o Consolidation and pre-planning of print and digital media o Streamlined effort to press releases o Consistent form and style to information output o Avoids conflicting information output 5. Examples of possible products and value-added opportunities: o Possibilities! ▪ A possible city mailer Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 19 ▪ Possible city blog ▪ Strategic planning of communication of 4-6 week work plan o Value added opportunities ▪ Improved transparency ▪ Possible cost savings by consolidation and planned media production ▪ Enhanced response time to cruitial inquires and events ▪ Reduction of risk ▪ Creation of a PIO template database so that outgoing communications are consistent and recognizable citywide ▪ Enhanced and responsive social media presence ▪ The ability to highlight the good things about the community • Examples of other cities with PIOs o Oak Harbor, population 23,000 when hired first full-time PIO o Marysville, population 70,000, has three PIOs o Mill Creek, population 21,000, has two PIOs Councilmember L. Johnson suggested depersonalizing this and speaking to the need for Edmonds. She appreciated the examples of other cities and found the information that press releases have doubled and about the number of Facebook interactions in one month very helpful information as it speaks to what a full-time position can do. Councilmember K. Johnson spoke in favor of the motion, commenting the best example was the public information piece put out by Kelsey Foster this past week, Mayor Nelson’s statement that council budget cuts will make Edmonds unsafe, polluted and uninformed. Her reaction to that was it was not the role of the PIO. She has noticed over the past couple years that council often gets information in this manner; instead of being told by the mayor about closing Sunset Avenue or starting Walkable Main, council is informed via public information announcements which she did not feel served the City. She viewed expanding the role of the PIO as a marketing piece for the City that is not in the council’s best interest and that concerned her. Council President Olson asked Mr. Merriman whether Oak Harbor required applicants have any government or corporate communications experience when hiring a PIO. Mr. Merriman answered they looked for some previous PIO background; that was key because the city was starting from scratch and wanted to get going right away and not have a long learning curve. Oak Harbor looked for previous experience and examples of work they had done in the past. Council President Olson referred to Mr. Merriman’s comments about the tsunami warnings, pointing out the City has an emergency manager and she could see those positions working together. She asked if he agreed that in the case of a natural emergency, there would be a coordinated program through that other office. Mr. Merriman said he would definitely see that being coordinated, particularly to avoid conflicting information. Steps would need to be taken to ensure everything was lock stepped and information is coordinated when it goes out to public. Council President Olson asked whether there was reporting associated with the PIO position in Oak Harbor; how did he know if the person was meeting the objectives that were laid out for the city in terms of strategy, whether they were meeting the mark with regard to doing positive things and getting the word out to citizens about opportunities. Mr. Merriman answered there were some definite benchmarks such as the number of responses. The city could not respond to every comment on Facebook, but if there were recurring themes, there was an expectation that those would be addressed. The city council and mayor were both interested in some type of publication to the public. It was easy to look at the metrics because there were easily measured deliverables. There was also a process of setting standards for the PIO person as far as their Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 20 development. He summarized some things were very easy to monitor; others were more of a conversation that came up at the city council retreat where one of the topics was the PIO position and whether it was meeting the needs that the council thought it should. The council, mayor, staff and members of the public were polled about whether the PIO added value to the city. Councilmember Paine commented the PIO has gotten a lot more information out since the position became full-time at the beginning of 2022 and there has been much better communication. The more personalized concerns that have been voiced do not belong as part of this discussion. The entire City, both staff and residents, need fast, proactive information that that they can use right away. She did not believe the City could skimp on anything less than a full-time PIO position. She referred to the data in Mr. Merriman’s presentation about press releases and Facebook interactions and comments. She was hopeful any wrinkles could be ironed out and that there could be a full-time PIO position to ensure transparency to the public and that all the departments’ needs are met. Councilmember Buckshnis suggested out of respect to the agenda, moving this discussion to next week. She invited councilmembers who provided information, amendments or comments about the amendments to review the data and make any changes. Mayor Nelson declared a brief recess (9:13 - 9:19 p.m.) 8. COUNCIL BUSINESS 1. 2022 PARKS, RECREATION & OPEN SPACE (PROS) PLAN Parks, Recreation, Cultural Arts & Human Services Director Angie Feser introduced Deputy Parks, Recreation, Cultural Arts & Human Services Director Shannon Burley and Steve Duh, Project Consultant, Conservation Technics. Tonight is a presentation on the first stage of the proposed 2022 PROS Plan approval process. No action is requested tonight, but staff and Mr. Duh will be available to answer questions. There are three Council presentations this month; the capital program related to PROS Plan will be presented to the Parks & Public Works Committee next Tuesday, a public hearing will held on February 15th followed by council consideration for plan approval on February 22nd. The Planning Board has been quite involved with the PROS Plan, more than five presentations and reviews, and are currently developing their recommendations which will be shared with the Council during the public hearing presentation on February 15th. Mr. Duh reviewed: • PROS Plan Overview o Planning Forward ▪ The PROS Plan is a 6‐year guide for managing and enhancing parks, open space, trails, and recreation opportunities for the Edmonds community. ▪ Plan adoption required to retain eligibility for state & federal grants o Relating to Citywide Plans ▪ Comprehensive Plan - Transportation Plan - Stormwater Plan - Climate Action Plan - Community Cultural Plan - Urban Forest Management Plan - Highway 99 Plan - Economic Development Plan - Water System Plan ▪ Integrated Pest Management Pan Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 21 ▪ Civic Center Playfield Site Master Plan ▪ Aquatic Feasibility Study ▪ Recreation Cost Recovery Plan o Steps to Building the Plan: ▪ Inventory Site Assessments ▪ Community Engagement ▪ System‐wide Needs Assessment ▪ Goals & Policies Review ▪ Capital Project Planning ▪ Implementation & Funding Strategies ▪ Plan Review & Approval • Project Timeline • Community Outreach o Intention and focused effort by the City to reach out to the complete Edmonds community in terms of different language groups living in Edmonds; community engagement occurred in four different languages: English, Spanish, Korean and Chines. o Community survey conducted in four languages and virtual public meetings which had live interpretation in four languages • Community Feedback o Community Survey ▪ Total Responses: 1,958 o Virtual Public Meetings (July & October) ▪ ~ 60 attendees participated o Website/Social Media ▪ Ongoing ▪ Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish o ~2,000 engaged respondents ▪ 99% feel parks and recreation is essential or important ▪ 81% visit Edmonds parks at least a couple times/month o Priority improvements to park system ▪ Connect gaps in the trail system & expand trail connections ▪ Improve or upgrade existing parks and amenities ▪ Buy more conservation & open space lands ▪ Renovate or replace the pool ▪ Community events, such as outdoor movies and summer concerts • PROS Plan Structure o Contents: Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 22 ▪ Introduction & Community Profile ▪ Community Engagement ▪ Goals & Objectives ▪ Inventory & Classifications ▪ Parks & Open Space ▪ Recreation Programs & Facilities ▪ Trails & Connections ▪ Capital Projects & Implementation ▪ Appendices o Sample chapters ▪ Chapter 1: Parks & Recreation Planning Forward ▪ Chapter 2: Community Profile ▪ Chapter 4: Goals and Objectives ▪ Chapter 6: Parks & Open Space • System Analysis o Examining System Gaps ▪ Park Access & Distribution ▪ Physical Accessibility ▪ Diversity of Places & Spaces ▪ Programs, Events & Activities ▪ Serving Today’s Residents ▪ Planning for Future Growth o Approaches to Service Standards ▪ Acreage / Population‐based - Quantity of places; # of park acres per # of people ▪ Distribution / Proximity‐based - Coverage; Travel distance between people & parks ▪ Quality / Condition - Condition of existing amenities ▪ Available Amenities - Variety & range of recreational amenities and opportunities o Considerations ▪ Compares today’s inventory to current and future population (per capita metrics) ▪ As population grows, demand for facilities increases ▪ Considers development patterns & future opportunities ▪ Goal is for locally‐appropriate, reasonably attainable, and fiscally prudent standards ‐ relatable to the capacity to grow the system ▪ Reframe: example – trail connectivity vs. mileage o Level of Service Review ▪ Prior plan noted acreage standard as 11.4 acres per 1,000 population ▪ Applying that standard, creates current deficit of over 220 acres Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 23 ▪ 2022 Plan proposes reframing standards on active‐use and open space ▪ Public Satisfaction (based on survey responses) ▪ Site Conditions Assessment (based on physical site assessments) ▪ Distribution / Travelsheds (based on GIS analyses) ▪ Usage / Visitation (based on survey responses) • Changes from 2016 Plan o Intentional & focused diversity‐oriented outreach o Diversity, Equity & Inclusion goals and objectives explicit and written into Plan o Acquisition focus recommended for south and southeast Edmonds o Future land acquisition strategy as tool to guide and refine property searches o Expanding level of service metrics to include distribution, condition & satisfaction o Adjustment to acreage‐based standards to focus on active‐use parks and open space o Increasing acreage‐based standard for neighborhood & community parks from 2.7 ac/1000 to 3.25 ac/1000 o Trail connectivity as policy, rather than mileage‐based metric • Key Recommendations o Acquisitions to Fill Gaps and for Conservation ▪ Secure additional parkland in south and southeast Edmonds ▪ Pursue acquisitions that adjoin city properties or conserve unique natural areas (e.g., wetlands, forests, stream corridors) ▪ Parks Development and Upgrades ▪ Complete renovation of Civic Center Playfield ▪ Playground replacements at Maplewood Hill Park, Sierra Park & Yost Memorial Park Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 24 ▪ Add amenities to Mathay Ballinger Park, Elm Street Park & Pine Street Park o Trail and Bikeway Connections ▪ Acquire easements & rights‐of‐way for trail connections ▪ Coordinate with the Comprehensive Transportation Plan regarding bicycle & pedestrian system improvements o Yost Pool Replacement ▪ Refine options for replacement of Yost Pool o ADA and Accessibility Enhancements ▪ Remove barriers and improve universal access to and within parks, natural areas and trails o User Convenience Improvements ▪ Upgrade or replace restrooms ▪ Improve signage & wayfinding • Next Steps o City council review and approval (February 15 & 22) COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER CHEN, TO EXTEND TO 10:15. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. Councilmember Tibbott said he appreciated the community comments/feedback the City received, it is a very helpful part of the PROS Plan report. He asked how public schools were factored in as part of the City’s recreation capacity. For example, his kids spent a lot of time on school playgrounds and soccer fields. Mr. Duh answered schools and school facilities play a role in the overall suite of amenities the community has access to. However, due to limitations on usage, time of use, and safety and security of students, they are not captured within the system for numeric acreage or other amenities. Ms. Feser said the plan also tried to focus on property the City owns, manages and maintains because the City can control improvements, changes or additions. Obviously, the City has community partners on other facilities but the focus was on amenities for which the City makes decisions. The City has an ILA with the City of Lynnwood for two facilities, the Lyndale Skatepark and the Lyndale Playfields, and half the acreage is counted in the inventory because the City has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars into those facilities so it is equitable to count them. Councilmember Buckshnis said one thing she found lacking was an action plan. The goals and objectives are great, the plan is very readable, nicely done with lots of pictures, but she wondered how the goals and objectives made it into action plan that was carried forward. As far as an action plan, Mr. Duh referred to the capital project list that identifies the specific enhancements at the project site level or systemwide enhancement such as ADA, signage and similar enhancements. Beyond the capital projects, the three needs assessment chapters, Parks and Open Space, Recreation Programs and Open Space and Stewardship, they each have additional recommendations that suggest additional follow-up such as an acquisition strategy to identify key purchases to fill gaps going forward, trail corridor connectivity, recreation program enhancements, etc. If that could be more clear, he was open to taking direction from council identifying those differently or more boldly. Councilmember Buckshnis felt it was important because one of her concern is the watersheds and watershed issues. There are Yost Park, Perrinville, and the marsh, but there is no conservation stewardship type of goal or action plan that scores things. She was looking for an action plan in this PROS Plan, similar to the one in the 2016 PROS Plan. An action plan makes it easy to see what is being done; now she has to look at the capital project list and other chapters. Councilmember Paine referred to the open space plan, specifically slide 17 in the presentation titled system analysis, commenting the plan talks about increasing the existing level of service for open space from 1.76 acres/1,000 to 3.5 acres/1,000 and increase of 74.4 acres. Mr. Duh explained that reflects the existing demand/need for another 74 acres based on today’s population which will grow going forward. The plan Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 25 suggests additional open space/conservation acquisitions to fulfill that gap and would rely on an acquisition strategy to more appropriately define and refine where those targets might be. Councilmember Paine pointed out that goal anticipated doubling the open space through the end of the PROS Plan period. Councilmember L. Johnson commented in the interest of time, she thanked staff and the consultant for the presentation, it was very thorough and there was a lot to take in. She planned to watch the presentation again and was certain she would have questions. She appreciated the presentation, especially the part about increasing open space and specific kinds of park accessibility. Councilmember Chen applaud applauded the tremendous efforts to develop a complete package with tags, pictures, etc. to layout a six-year plan. The presentation referred to Parks’ outreach to the non-English speaking population. He asked the participation rate with those efforts, whether people came out or nobody showed up. Mr. Duh answered the response to the community survey from non-English participations was light, but they recognized engaging the community in multiple languages was a process over time and it takes relationship building. Ms. Feser said this is the first time in the history of the City there has been a concerted effort to reach out to under-represented populations in the planning process. It was felt parks was one of the easier topics to talk about instead of police efforts or utilities. Development Services Director Susan McLaughlin has contacted her to discuss Parks’ efforts to reach out to these populations related to her efforts on Highway 99 planning, to reinforce Parks’ relationships and hopefully expand on them. Having a table at the Uptown market and providing materials in various languages is an indication to those populations that the City is sincere and wants to build relationships. They have created some relationships in the Korean community; Councilmember Chen helped introduce her to those individuals and those relationships, which did not exist prior to this planning process, will continue in the future. Councilmember Chen encouraged staff to continue that effort, commenting he will be happy to help make more connections in the future. Councilmember Chen referred to page 23 in the presentation about bike lane connectivity, suggesting consideration be given to having bike lanes in certain confined areas like within parks. That is a new concept that he encouraged Parks to explore in addition to connectivity. For example, it would be great to have a bike trail in Yost Park that could create miles of exercise pathways. He asked if that would be something worth exploring. Mr. Duh answered absolutely. The notion of pathways within parks is part of this plan. Ms. Feser said there has been interest from the public about mountain bike trails inside parks; they are happening organically which demonstrates a need and desire for them. Creating those in a more appropriate way is important and she saw that as a planning effort moving forward. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER BUCKSHNIS, TO EXTEND TO 10:30. MOTION CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. 2. ENTERPRISE RESOURCE PLANNING SYSTEM (ERP) REPLACEMENT: ACTION ITEMS Deputy Administrative Services Director Megan Menkveld reviewed: • ERP – product selection in process; no recommendation yet o General Ledger o Payroll o HRIS o Utility Billing • OpenGov Budget Suite – separate product not ERP, that is an add-on to any ERP o Reporting o Planning o Budgeting Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 26 o Transparency • Reporting o Eden ▪ Requires training ▪ Formatting is only preset ▪ Staff downloads data to create offline reports and calculations o Crystal Reports ▪ Requires training ▪ Formatting is customizable ▪ Report queues ▪ Calculations can happen within the report, rather than Excel o OpenGov ▪ Looks like Amazon.com menu ▪ User friendly ▪ Accessible and transparent ▪ Drillable ▪ Staff’s recommendation • Action Items 1. Authorize the mayor to execute an agreement for implementation of OpenGov’s Budget Suite for a fixed-fee five-year SaaS contract of $67,822 per year and a $55,500 one-time implementation fee for a five-year total of $394,610 using ARPA funds. 2. Waive RFP purchasing requirements for ERP replacement. • Action 1: ARPA ARPA: American Rescue Plan Act Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds: A subset of ARPA o 2 CFR Part 35 | II. Eligible Uses | A. Public Health and Economic Impacts ▪ Purpose is to “authorize the use of payments from the Fiscal Recovery Funds to respond to the public health emergency with respect to COVID 19… ▪ Must be in response to the disease itself… • Action Item 2: Wave RFP requirement for ERP Replacement o Uniform exemptions to competitive bidding requirements (39.04.280 RCW) 1. Purchases that are clearly and legitimately limited to a single source of supply (Sole Source Vendor): 2. Purchases involving special facilities or market conditions (auction) 3. Surplus Property (surplus property from another government 4. Purchases in the event of an emergency 5. Interlocal Agreements (State standard contracts) 6. Competitive Negotiations Competitive negotiation can be used as an alternative to the competitive bidding procedures for the acquisition of electronic data processing and telecommunications systems; energy saving or energy related equipment or services; or Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 27 when it is determined in writing that the use of competitive bidding is neither practical nor advantageous to the City. With regard to using ARPA funds for the budget suite, City Attorney Jeff Taraday said they considered this recommendation and the rules regarding how ARPA funds can be used. He quoted from what he felt was the most applicable part of the rule, State and Local Fiscal Recovery (SLFR) funds may be used to address administrative needs of recipient governments that were caused or exacerbated by the pandemic…such as technology infrastructure to adapt government operations to the pandemic, e.g. video conferencing software, improvements to case management systems, or data sharing resources. When he considers the language in the rule and hears Ms. Menkveld talk about how this will allow the City’s Finance employees to work more effectively from home, many of whom are working from home due to the pandemic, it seems to be an appropriate use of those funds if the council wants to spend them that way. Council President Olson asked if it was also Mr. Taraday’s opinion that the council had the authority to wave the RFP purchasing requirements. Mr. Taraday said the reason was not related to the reason cited by staff; he did not analyze 39.04.280 because that applies where there is a competitive bidding requirement. This is a software service contract; services are a different category of acquisition and there is no state competitive bidding requirement to bid service contracts. The only question is, there is a City policy that says service contracts over $100,000 should have focused public solicitation. Elsewhere in the policy it states (page 15 of the City’s purchasing policy), on a case-by-case basis, the city council may waive any requirement contained in the City’s purchasing policies and procedures as long as the result complies with applicable State laws. As is no State law that requires competitive bidding or RFP process for a service contract, it is up to the council whether they want to take advantage of the waiver that the policy contemplates. COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCILMEMBER L. JOHNSON, TO AUTHORIZE THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE AN AGREEMENT FOR IMPLEMENTATION OF OPENGOV’S BUDGET SUITE FOR A FOR FIXED FIVE YEAR SAAS CONTRACT OF $67,822 PER YEAR AND A $55,000 ONE TIME IMPLEMENTATION FEE FOR A FIVE YEAR TOTAL OF $394,610 USING ARPA FUNDS AND WAIVE THE CITY COUNCIL REQUIREMENT FOR FOCUSED PUBLIC SOLICITATION.. Mr. Taraday said he recommend a couple small edits to the contract: delete Section 7.2 of the contract in its entirety and replace Section 7.3 with the following language: “City may terminate this agreement for any reason upon [to be determined number] days written notice.” As written, it is a five year contract with basically no clear termination. He did not recommend signing a five-year contract for services because if the services are not being performed well, the City wants to be able to terminate the services. For example, if the City gets two years into the contract and OpenGov is not as great as everyone thought, staff will want to get out of it. It was not clear under the existing language that that could be easily accomplished. He was hopeful the vendor would be agreeable to his proposed changes. Ms. Menkveld said she talked to the vendor and they are totally open to negotiating that. She suggesting amending her recommendation to allow the mayor to negotiate and execute Sections 7.2 and 7.3. Council President Olson said she has experience as a government contracting officer and acknowledged the waiver of solicitation was an uncomfortable concept for a lot of people who are cautious with spending. In previous discussions, staff provided examples of cities who went through the solicitation process and selected OpenGov as a result. That was very reassuring to her and she felt it prudent to go forward with the waiver. COUNCILMEMBER PAINE MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO AMEND TO ACCEPT MS. MENKVELD’S SUGGESTED AMENDMENT, ALLOWING THE Edmonds City Council Approved Minutes February 1, 2022 Page 28 MAYOR TO NEGOTIATE SECTIONS 7.2 AND 7.3 OF THE CONTRACT FOR OPENGOV. AMENDMENT CARRIED UNANIMOUSLY. UPON ROLL CALL, MAIN MOTION AS AMENDED CARRIED (6-0-1), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT, BUCKSHNIS, PAINE, AND L. JOHNSON AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBER K. JOHNSON ABSTAINING. Mayor Nelson observed the time was 10:28 and asked if the council wished to extend. Council President Olson pointed out there are still council and mayor comments as well as an update on hybrid meetings which the council had committed to voting on this month. The council either needs to vote to change the date for that item or discuss it tonight. COUNCILMEMBER CHEN MOVED, SECONDED BY COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON, TO EXTEND 15 MINUTES TO 10:45 P.M. Council President Olson was hopeful the staff that was present to discuss virtual meetings could do so in the shortest amount of time possible. Councilmember L. Johnson preferred to move the discussion on hybrid meetings to an upcoming meeting as it is late and it is an important topic. Therefore she will vote no on the motion. UPON ROLL CALL, MOTION FAILED FOR LACK OF A SUPERMAJORITY (4-3), COUNCILMEMBERS CHEN, TIBBOTT, AND BUCKSHNIS AND COUNCIL PRESIDENT OLSON VOTING YES; COUNCILMEMBERS K. JOHNSON, PAINE AND L. JOHNSON VOTING NO. 3. HYBRID MEETINGS UPDATE AND VOTE TO EXTEND VIRTUAL MEETINGS 9. MAYOR'S COMMENTS 10. COUNCIL COMMENTS 11. ADJOURN With no further business, the council meeting was adjourned at 10:30 p.m. ____ ____ MICHAEL NELSON, MAYOR SCOTT PASSEY, CITY CLERK